what age to let pup go down and up stairs

[shadowtracker]

Hi Everyone, I have read that you should'nt allow a pup to climb stairs when their young.I have an 11 week old long coat GSD,and since I brought him home I've carried him down and up the stairs everytime he needs to go out.I can understand the impact on his hips going down,but what about climbing up? Would'nt climbing up strengthen his hip muscle's?At what age will I beable to allow him to use the stairs on his own? He is growing quick and it won't be long before he'll be to big to carry
Thanks Shadowtracker

[LissG]

i had my GSD since he was 6 1/2 weeks old. he couldn't figure out stairs and they were too big for him lol i tried to coax him up and down but he was too scared so i carried him up and down. he eventually got more comfortable with it and did it on his own a little at a time. it's a general rule of thumb not to let them climb stairs if you're not watching them cause they can fall or trip and hurt themselves, but if you're right there i don't think it's an issue he's now a little over 7 months old and his hips/elbows are in great condition.

[shaner]

I let my 3 month old GSD go up the stairs on his own, although I stand behind him to make sure he doesn't barrel roll back down. He's pretty comfortable going up. I carry him down for the most part, although every now and then he'll go down them very slowly so I let him.

The issue with stairs is that their legs are too short to properly go down them, so what the puppies will do is plant both front legs on each stair while going down. They can't do one leg at a time. When they plant their legs on each stair, it's a hard impact. Sometimes my pup will go down slowly and will attempt to do one leg at a time, or he'll kind of go sideways down the stairs. It's usually only if he's tired that he does that. I will let him do it that way. If he's wide awake, he'll attempt to fly down them by hopping from stair to stair and planting his front legs. I don't let him do that and I carry him down.

[kitmcd]

I didn't let mine go up and down stairs routinely until she was a little over 4 months. There is one step to go down out of our door and that she did from very young. I don't know what the definitive answer is, like you, I had just read some things and decided to play it safe.

That said, I don't have a whole flight of stairs to do in order for her to go out and potty....not sure I would have carried her along as I did if I had to deal with that

[carmspack]

I don't prevent my dogs from using stairs.
I don't carry dogs up or down the stairs.

If a pup is reluctant I will place them mid way and they have to decide up or down , but they are learning about stairs. To encourage the foot timing and mechanics of how to use their feet I may place them well within sight of the top level -- maybe 4 steps from the level they need to get to .
I have never told a pup buyer to carry the pup .
People will carry the pup up and down stairs for months! - and yet go out and play fetch with a frisbee (reg trademark) flying disc (having fun) . Now this is harmfull because now the dog is landing on its hind feet absorbing impact stress unnaturally .

Carmen

[marshies]

I've never stopped Amaretto from using the stairs.
Sometimes though, when she just wakes up, she'll need a little encouraging as I have bare wooden stairs and they're slippery.

[idahospud49]

I carried Glock up and down the stairs for awhile, after reading here about the HORRORS of what might happen otherwise.... after a little bit though he got to the point where he would just dart down the stairs to go back to my bedroom. Who was I to grab onto him and carry him down?? I think about how rough puppies play together and the things they get into, don't think going up and down stairs is REALLY going to damage them.

[marshies]

Originally Posted by idahospud49

I carried Glock up and down the stairs for awhile, after reading here about the HORRORS of what might happen otherwise.... after a little bit though he got to the point where he would just dart down the stairs to go back to my bedroom. Who was I to grab onto him and carry him down?? I think about how rough puppies play together and the things they get into, don't think going up and down stairs is REALLY going to damage them.

That's exactly it. In the beginning I was all worried and carried her a little. But I realized a little stairs every day isn't going to do her any harm. It's not like I'm making her run up and down them doing drills.

Completely off topic but...did you use Amadeus as your dog's call name as well? Did you find it cumbersome to use in training? Please feel free to PM me if it's taking the thread too off topic.