Stairs

[Taylor's mom]

Ok, I got the "Advice on breeders" and I thank everyone for their information. I really appreciate it.

NOW -- I really have a problem. With our last two newfs we did not have stairs. Last night someone came over and we told our "little secret" (we were going to surprise everyone) about getting a baby and they said you can't let them go up and down stairs until they are mature. It will hurt their joints.

That thought had never crossed my mind! Probably because we have never had stairs. Now the little guy would have to go up and down two flights for most everything.

Anyone out there with LOTS of stairs and full grown dogs with NO problems????

I have been doing research online and everywhere I go says no stairs the first year! I am trying to get ahold of an ortho vet. I have to find out quickly because I will have to tell the breeder.

I am just sick! Now the whole "contact with the breeder" seems pretty lame. Now I may not be able to get one at all!

I am sure I could chance it but I DO NOT want to hurt my baby at all. And surgeries are no fun for anyone.

Any info. will be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ina/puusty]

I have outside kenneled newfys..with 15 steps to my upper porch. HB at 8 and a half years..and so far..Kesa at nine months..have shown no problems. I think jumping from a height..would be a concern..but one tumble per pup..and they learn. The outside activity..and unusual variety..of body-movement..avail. here..means that every tension/movement, that can happen to them..does happen. The inside in the main..living situation..makes for a restriction in many movements..and therefore..may be the problem..when the inside dog..meets outside time/experience. Here..all options are always..on the table..so MORE musculature..is being used..24/7. Does this ..'hold water'..I can only report what I see happening here. ina n HB n Kesa

 

[toblerone]

IMO a young pup needs help up/down when young. When they become more steady/strong, I allowed a few steps at a time while using a harness for control. After the pup was confident and sure footed I allowed the pup to do steps to go do "business" but no play.
I found that the pups ended up with very strong legs front and back which serves as the best joint support.
Never more than 1 pup at a time on the stairs, no slippery stairs and no play or racing up and down though.
I found that after the dogs stopped doing the stairs, due to a move,the tone in their legs was not as good.
This offers the opportunity for knee/elbow injuries.
IMO

 

[newfam]

Living on the German economy one story house are a VERY rare so needless to say we have stairs. Our dog goes up and down stairs at least twice a day. As a puppy I carried him down and up. At about six months or so I would let him go up while I carried him down... this didn't last very long as I couldn't lift him anymore so it became I would walk him down with support say "Slow, Slow". I NEVER let him run up or down the stairs and the few times his puppy brain took over he slipped and he has learned. I think you shouldn't have any problems. Just teach him slow and easy on the stairs.

 

[wrknnwf]

I always teach stairs to a puppy, because it may present problems later when they are grown. It's a lot harder to convince a 100+ lb reluctant dog, than a 30 lb puppy. But I do think you need to control them going up and down. You can carry the pup for a while, but that won't last long. Teach them to go very slow and not race.

We tell people that we encourage pups to run up and down hills in self-exercise, so I never quite understood why stairs would be much different. The only problem I see is controlling the rate that they go up and down. They tend to want to gallop and that could be dangerous if they slip. You should always attend the pup on stairs. It helps, too, if your stairs are carpeted. Be careful of open stairs that don't have closed risers. Little feet can slip through. Perhaps you should gate the stairs when you can't supervise.

However, you should talk to the breeder and see how s/he feels. Also look to see if that is specifically addressed in the contract or find out if it invalidates the contract if the pup uses stairs.

Edited to add: My dogs have to go down a flight of stairs to get to their dog door. When they were young, I did take them out the front of the house where there are only 2 small steps and wide landings. But, I still taught them how to use the big flight of stairs as puppies. As adults, they have no problem with stairs and I think it's good exercise for them (and me). They come and go as they like. When they get old and decrepit (like Yogi was) they get to go out the front again. He let me know when the stairs became too much for him.

 

[Bojie]

I carried Bojie up and down flights of stairs, till he was too heavy to do so, as my breeder instructed me to do. I did introduce him to stairs when he was little though, a few at a time just so he wouldn't be scared of them when it was time to climb them, but anything more than a 3, he was carried up.

 

[Taylor's mom]

I understand that the only way this will work is to carry him. But I have found on many, many sites that there should be hardly ANY stairs the first year. As it is, I am not able to carry anything more than 10 pounds -- so that puts me out of the picture and my husband works very LONG days (that is why I wanted one so bad again) so he is not here.

However, like I said before -- both of our other houses did not have stairs and this one has two long flights. I guess I just had never thought of it until someone brought it to my attention.

I would never get a puppy just because I "think" it would work, knowing that I could be doing damage and then down the road have the poor little guy in pain or have to have surgery just because I was selfish.

I always keep the animals welfare first....

 

[ShadieLady]

My breeders have cautioned me about allowing my pup to do stairs. They told me to teach him the stairs, maybe 4 at a time at a controlled pace up and down, but once I see he's not scared, to try and avoid stairs. For me, I don't have to worry about stairs, which is good, and I plan on not letting him really use stairs until he's about 1.5 years old. Is there anyway you can do some type of ramp set up?
Maybe if you really teach him to go slow and take his time, it will work out. Even if it takes him 10 min. to do 2 flights, that might be just fine. Maybe ask an Ortho vet about that, since I see you are trying to contact one.

 

[Connie w Tuck]

We moved a bedroom downstairs into the office area. We have 6 steps going into our house - so my husband built a ramp.

 

[gitchegumee]

Somewhat off topic, but our Gitche is so strange about stairs. She has no problem going up or down wood or cement steps (3 or 4) to get in or out of our house or other houses. And she had no problem at all going down and then up (thankfully) some 170+ steep open wooden steps down to a river at a state park. But she will not go down our carpeted stairs in our house. It is a split staircase with a wide landing halfway down. She also will not go down a straight carpeted staircase at my inlaws. This is not a problem because 90% of our living is done on the main/upper floor. It also gives the kitties a place to escape the "big black monster".
She will lay at the top of the stairs and stare at the kitties just 2 steps below her as if there is force-field or something.
Just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this.
fftopic:

 

[Bojie]

One more thing I thought of, are your stairs open under each stair, or closed? I have found staircases that are open, meaning you can see what is underneath each step, are very dangerous, and very hard for pups to get used to. Bojie still has difficulty with open stairways, as his paw can slip right through the back, and he trips on them, or gets stuck. The smaller they are the more dangerous it is.

 

[Taylor's mom]

No they are enclosed but there are so many! What I have been told is that it will hurt their joints as they grow because of the pressure on them....something like that.

All I know is that I am not a happy camper right now!

My husband told me that getting one would be out of the question unless we moved. Don't think that is going to happen.... (I am making a sad face right now)

 

[NessaM]

I agree with Toblerone 100% and in fact one of the exercises that the rehab place suggested for my newf with dysplastic hips was walking up stairs because it builds tone in the hindquarters. As a wee baby they should be carried. When they start getting too heavy for that, introduce the stairs slowly and always make sure you've got a good grip on a harness to prevent accidents.

Even now that my dysplastic dog is an adult, I ALWAYS walk with him with my hand holding his collar when he goes down the stairs so if he slips I can catch him. My two only did the stairs twice a day as adolescents, and now they probably only do them four or five times a day.

 

[zennewf]

i think with all the advice your getting ... gradually introducing, walking them / up / down the stairs ... you should be fine.

Also, why not carpet the stairs? Much less likely to slip. And you can gate the bottpm and the top inexpensively to restrict movement when you are not there to escort.

good luck

 

[TinaM]

We had a baby proofer come out and put up a baby gate for the stairs. We have had lots of surgeries, but not because of stairs!

 

[enan]

We had a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep Hukser out to help prevent accidents, he goes up and down the stairs no problem, Helo goes up and down the stairs to the second floor with no problem, but he will not go down to the basement. But I think that has more to do with it being the basement than stairs.

 

[ardeagold]

I carried Cole up and down the stairs until he was about 60lbs, then I just couldn't do it anymore.

He walked up and down stairs twice a day, from our first floor to our second (bedroom). That 3am potty break was a killer! LOL

He was 60 lbs by 4.5 mos ... but he did just fine. We just went slowly.

 

[4ondafloor]

Palin was carried up and down the stairs until she became too much of a moose. Then we introduced the steps a few at a time such as the back landing..It has 4 and the front, it has 6 (I think) Interior stair have a gate at the bottom. She was taught to go up easy a few at a time (taking a break and me sitting with her for a few seconds) Coming down in the morning she has learned to wait at the top until my hand in on her chest and we walk down together so that I can tell her to "go easy" adn help her in case she slips or goes too fast. She has never gotten so excited that she tried to run down the stairs. She always looks up at me as if to say "You got me Mama?"
The stairs don't worry me..it's the hardwood floors!! (another thread)

 

[BoundlessNewfs]

We have full flights of stairs out the front and back, so there was no choice. They do stairs.

We carried our girls until they got too heavy, then we taught them "Slow, Slow" and always took them out on a leash. Maggie has bad hips, but that was totally genetic. She was symptomatic a month after we got her, and at that point we were still carrying her on the stairs.