Steps - when are they okay

[jenebekka]

Hello again,
Just a quick question regarding steps - when are they okay? Bella is 14 weeks old and is 20 pounds (and healthy so far). We have around three steps to navigate out our house either the front or back doors. I have been picking up Bella so far but she is getting heavy on my arm and when she squirms, I am scared I could drop her now. Is it okay to encourage her to learn to climb up and go down the steps now? Or, should we wait a little longer?

I have let Bella go up our front steps a few times, three of them, as they are shorter and not as steep. However, our steps out the back of the house are a little steeper and make me nervous. We have not let her go upstairs inside of our home yet.

Thanks!

Jenny

[ZoeysMommy]

Yes its fine for her to use the stairs. Certainly much safer than u dropping her

For Zoeys first year we lived in a second story condo. I did not allow running up and down the stairs or jumping. Stairs are perfectly safe on hips and joints when its normal use

She is so clumsey, she used to trip up the stairs all the time, it was kinda cute

[Maxx&Emma]

I have the same amount of steps. I just made sure Maxx went slow and kept my hand in front of his chest until he understood steps were not to fly up and down.

[Snowshoe]

LOL, our breeder said no steps till 6 months old. Our Vet had a fit because another of her clients was trying to carry a Neo puppy up and down and Vet was afraid she'd fall and kill them both. Nevertheless I did carry Jet up and down the three short, shallow steps off the deck.

Second time around I got more detail from the breeder. Turns out she meant no excessive running up and down full flights of stairs. Our 3 outside and 7 inside were fine once in a while. They need to learn how to manage them, we just don't want them doing them too much.

Best bet is to ask what your breeder meant, exactly.

[Jeff]

There actually have been a lot of studies on this. A large article and scientific study was done on stiars and different forms of exercise and hip dysplasia. You can read a great summary of the findings here. However a short summary, yes using steps as a pup can increase the likely hood of hip dysplasia. However, this is only up to the 3 month age. being that yours is 3 and a half months old, and also you do not have what I would consider a lot of steps, I would say your safe to start teaching them how to use steps. I wouldn't go full flights of steps or if you do I wouldn't let them do them on their own you be in front. Biggest problem with full flights of steps is lab pups are really clumsy. Imagine trying to walk down stairs in a different pair and height of high heels when your first learning to walk in heels. Every day the pups legs are longer.

Link to article and study.
USDAA - News & Events

[JenC]

My feelings, using step is fine. Horsing around on steps is not. Some pups think it's fun to launch from 6 steps up and land on the ground. That's a no-no.

[TooLabs]

My Murphey learned carpeted steps from a very early age.. quite impressive and to watch him it was like a modified bunny hop both up and down hitting every step... he just turned 1 year old in the middle of October and at that time discovered he could suddenly go up and down the hard wood steps.. now he zooms up and down still using a somewhat modified bunny hop and is very happy he can run up ahead of me and eat the cat food off the loft before I can stop him by putting the baby gate up!!! Baylee, my now 10.5 year old refused steps until she was many months old and had to be carried.. this was not fun nor safe for either of us. It took many days and treats and practice until it clicked with her and she was comfortable going up and down the carpeted steps.. she was older when we moved to house with hard wood floors and steps and had no problems. It is only now in her older years that she has trouble going up the carpeted stairs and takes them one at a time with assistance and won't go up or down the hard wood stairs at all. I try to avoid having her go up and down the stairs but if she is capable and not causing her too much I want her to remain as active and limber as possible!!!

[doubledip1]

Luna's been going up and down 3 flights of stairs since she was a pup. It's not ideal, but it's our situation. We carried her until she was 30 pounds.

[POPTOP]

While we don't have puppies, steps are a concern in our house with seniors and I believe the same safety rules apply.

If possible, put down some type of nonskid surface. This can be something temporary like carpet squares cut to fit or, being outside, a rubber mat cut to fit held in place with double stick carpet tape. If there are a lot of steps in one area, a temporary ramp. Inside, a nonskid surface is necessary for just about any dog.

A little caution, blocking off steps you don't want your pup to go up or down unattended, and your back will be a lot happier.

[barry581]

I've got six steps off the deck to the yard, 5 going down to the family room, and 9 going up to the bedrooms, so stairs are a fact of life here. I carried Sophie and Bruce down the stairs until they were around 40 pounds or so. I let them start going up the stairs when they were about 3 1/2 months old. I always walked right with them just in case they slipped. When I started letting them go down the stairs, I'd walk with them, making them use every step, telling them "easy" the whole way down.

I feel as long as you teach them to take is slow, and as Jen said, not jump from six steps up, you should be ok.