Question
I've gotten some good reassurance here about our feral rescue shepherd. (See How do I convince my dog that a collar or harness is not the end of the world? for back story). We've finally worked out our slip lead technique and started taking him for regular walks. He's absolutely terrified of the elevator, but definitely prefers it to the stairs. After taking him up and down some staircases in the park, I decided the problem isn't the very concept of stairs -- he does just fine on them -- but something about ours in particular.
So I basically drag him to the stairs (+1 for polished tile hallways) and then he walks down them. He's slowly getting better about going down -- I don't have to drag him again around each bend (we're on the 5th floor) anymore, but he is having no part of going up the stairs.
Going down, I think self-preservation kicks in. He can either walk down like a normal mammal, or he's just going to fall. So he walks. But going up he just fights and fights. I don't want to push him too hard so I usually give up and take the elevator, but I don't like it. He hasn't shown any aggression in the elevator but I'm still not comfortable with other people getting on and off while he's shaking in the corner because I'm not confident he won't lash out. And plenty of people are scared of dogs. I don't want to ask someone with fear of dogs to share a confined space like that. So I'd really like to get him taking the stairs up and down.
Suggestions?
Answer
A good place to start with any fear a dog has is to try and manage how often they have to encounter that fear and then slowly show them that it's really nothing to be afraid of by giving them lots of positive reinforcement around it. Unfortunately, you have to get your dog downstairs some way or another, and I agree the stairs are better than the elevator; confined spaces are never good for a dog with his history. Perhaps while you work on it you can try just carrying him up and down until he gains confidence? It sounds like he's likely too afraid to learn anything on the stairs right now and it might be easier on you both.
As for getting him to tolerate the stairs, I would start playing as many games as possible around the stairs. You don't need to start on the stairs either. Start as far away as possible that makes him comfortable and then slowly work your way closer. You can just teach tricks, play tug, fetch, or whatever gets him excited. Recall games, tugs, and fetch can be especially good because you can bring your dog closer for a short time. If he's excited enough and focused on tugging for example, he's likely to not even notice he was by the stairs for 5 seconds. And chasing a ball or toy up the stairs is great exercise.
You can also work at shaping him up and down the stairs. Use a clicker to click and treat any time he gives attention to the stairs, and eventually for putting feet on different stairs. As an aside, shaping him to put his rear legs on one step is great for rear-end awareness and a start to 2-on-2-off position for agility. Other proprioception games would include putting two side legs on a stair and backing up the stairs. I wouldn't recommend backing down the stairs; that could be dangerous.
You mentioned you thought it might be something about your specific stairs. If you're able to isolate the different aspects of the stairs (too narrow, too deep, too slippery, etc), introducing him to other things that have those characteristics but in different environments may help as well.
It sounds like he may have been mistreated in the past, and so he may have very low confidence. Playing games and teaching lots of tricks will help to improve his confidence and help reduce fear in general. It will probably take a while but by keeping your rate of reinforcement high, he'll eventually get better. Depending on what happened in his past, he may never truly enjoy stairs, but he can learn to recognize them as a way to get fun things like walks, chasing, and games.
Answered By - jeffaudio