lab puppy and steep stairs??should i carry him?

[mommyofthree547]

hi everyone..
I am going to have a lab puppy end of this month and since this will be my first pooch I want to do everything right:) Anyways, we have a house with steep stairs. It's not too steep though..just a little.  We have carpet so I don't think he would slide.

Should I tr. him from the begining to walk upstairs so he won't get scarred of the stairs or should I carry him up???
He might get used to it and have problems doing it later on his own. Or should I carry him for a little while until he gets a little older??  

See many questions need an answer ..please :)

[tonyb286]

No problem at all. Once your little guy arrives, tell us more about him and how he settles in. Puppies can be both exhausting and rewarding in equal measures. One final bit of useful info ... don't let your puppy near other dogs and don't take him for walks outside (except your own yard/garden) until he has finished his two or three-stage course of vaccinations. The reason for this is, until he has finished his vaccination course, he will not have any immunity to various canine viruses, including the often deadly parvovirus, which can be passed on through the poop of other dogs and through contact with other dogs that are carrying this and other infectious viruses. Tony

[mommyofthree547]

thank you so much your advise is really helpful, Alex

[tonyb286]

Hi. Firstly, congratulations on the expectant happy addition to your family. It sounds like you are trying your best to prepare for the day your little guy arrives, which is good sense and a sign you will be a great dog owner. Stairs are usually quite frightening things for a new puppy that hasn't had to deal with this kind of obstacle before. The second thing you need to know is that just like humans, a puppy's skull is very fragile (the bone hardens later, but is initially very soft and quite thin), so if he were to fall down the stairs he could potentially injure himself very badly.

If I were you, I would go out and buy myself a baby-gate, which you can then put across the stairs (top or bottom depending on where you are and where your puppy is at the time), which would give you the reassurance of knowing that no accidents could occur while you are not supervising your puppy. I would also then introduce him to the stairs and see how he explores them, while you stay behind him, just in case he slips and falls. You will be surprised how quickly he will learn to cope with the stiarcase - and once he has found this ability and the confidence, he will be running up and down them quite happily.

I would follow the same rules as you would for a toddler and maintain your supervision of him while he explores the stairs - and employ the baby-gate while you are unable to fully supervise him. After a few weeks or a couple of months, you should be able to leave him to go up and down on his own and be confident about his abilities. Tony