How to Train Your Blind Dog to Walk Down Stairs

Hello Tracey, since Cieco is blind, the stairs are probably very scary for him. All he knows is that the ground ends. He has no concept of there being another stair only a few inches away. For all he knows it is a hundred feet down before there is something secure to stand on. When you pick him up, he might be frightened because he feels like he is going to be dropped, even though you haven't dropped him, or because he doesn't know where he is when you put him back down. What would help him the most would be a ramp. You could create a ramp wide enough for him to go up and down, on one side of your stairs. You would need to use a material with great traction for the bottom, and a rail type bar between the edge of the ramp and the rest of the stairs. The rail would help him to feel secure while he is learning to use the ramp. Rather than making the entire bottom of the ramp out of the material that provides traction, you can choose something fairly thin and nail it to the floor of a wooden ramp. You can also likely buy or contract someone to create a ramp for you. When you pick him up, tell him what you are about to do by saying something like "Up" right before you do it. This is to remove any fear of being picked up randomly, which can make him feel generally stressed when you touch him, and it's to prevent his fear from becoming worse due to unpredictability. While you are holding him or when you put him back down, give him a treat to help build his confidence. Also when you carry him make sure that you wrap one arm around his chest and one around his rear end, behind his back legs. That way he will not feel like he is leaning forward or backward and is about to fall. For most dogs falling is not a huge deal because they can see that it is only three or four feet down and can move their bodies while in the air to soften the fall. For your dog there is no concept of how high he is. He might be as high as an airplane for all he knows. He also has no control of how he lands if he falls, because he cannot judge the fall and where the ground is. I would recommend building the ramp from what you have told me. That is the most likely approach to help him, but something else that you can try, is to practice getting him comfortable being picked up by the harness handle. You would need to do this very gradually by giving him treats throughout the process, especially when you have worked up to actually picking him up for a second by the handle. When you get to the point of being able to lift him up briefly with the harness handle, then have a friend give him treats every two seconds that he remains in the air. It might be easier to let him lick peanut butter off of a spoon instead eat treats because it will be hard for him to chew while lifted. Gradually increase the amount of time that you hold him in the air for, until you have reached thirty seconds in a row. Make sure that he can breath OK while lifted, and only add more time when he is relaxed with the current amount of time. When he is comfortable being lifted completely in the air for thirty seconds, then when you get to the top of the stairs, practice having him go down the stairs by completely carrying him down using the harness handle. Go slow, and make the trip down smooth and not jerky. Have your friend reward him while you carry him. When he is comfortable with that, then gradually have him touch the stairs more and more as he improves. The end result should be him going down the stairs while you lift up on the handle. He will be doing the walking but will feel more secure because he knows you are supporting him, and preventing a fall. It's a bit like a rock climber learning to trust their harness and rope. The harness and rope are always there to prevent a fall so the person can navigate something dangerous and still feel safe. You are his safety net. With this approach he will probably still never be able to navigate the stairs without your help holding the handle a bit, but it might remove the stress of the stairs and can save your back from having to carry him. It also might be less scary for him in the long run because he is less disoriented having walked somewhere himself. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Bonnie, The kindest thing to do for Rocky in this scenario is to create a ramp for him. You can either make that entire section of stairs a ramp, or even a one-foot to one-and-a-half foot wide ramp along the wall-side of the stairs will help. The width he needs will depend on how wide his feet are apart. He will still need help learning to go up and down it, but it will be far less scary for him and he will be able to learn more quickly. To him, unfamiliar stairs feels like a bottomless drop-off. He has no way of knowing if the stairs are still safe or if he for sure has the correct stairs. With the other stairs, he had developed a life of trust in them and knew your entire home by memory, so he could go down them and feel certain he was at the right stairs through his long-term memory. Whether you do the ramp or not, either way purchase a padded back-clip harness with a handle and support that goes under both his chest and his belly. RuffWear makes a WebMaster Harness like that. Encourage him over to the edge of the stairs while he is wearing the harness. Lift up on the harness handle just enough for his weight to rest on it a little bit, without lifting his feet off of the floor entirely. Encourage him forward with a spoon dipped in peanut butter or liver paste, while lifting the handle and helping him down the stairs or ramp. The stairs will be easier for him while doing this. If you do not use a ramp, then before you add the stairs in, practice lifting him with the harness and every time that you do, let him lick the peanut butter spoon. This is to help him get used to being lifted and to learn to trust the harness. Once he is used to the harness, then you can leave the harness on him and help him down the stairs when he gets stuck by holding onto the handle. He should get used to cooperating with you with practice and the rewards. He may or may not transition to being able to walk down the stairs on his own though without the ramp. That will depend on his level of confidence, how long it takes him to commit those stairs and your entire new home to long term memory, and how much you practice the stairs with rewards and the harness with him. Practicing with the harness and rewards will give him enough opportunities to at least learn and potentially transition. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Patricia, First, you may want to purchase a padded back clip harness with a handle so that she can feel you supporting her weight while she navigates going down, so she feels less fearful. If you can create some sides for the stairs I also recommend doing that, so that she can tell where the edge of the sides of the stairs are and not feel like she will fall off it - imagine being blind and how dependent on the rail you would be, opposed to open stairs you could step off the sides of. With pup in a padded harness with a handle, spend time gently lifting up on the harness and giving a treat each time you do, so that pup simply feels you supporting their weight but don't lift pup all the way off the ground. This is just to get them used to that sensation. After pup is used to that, use really smelly delicious treats to encourage pup to the top of the stairs. Lift up slightly on the harness so they can feel you helping to support their weight and slowly move the treat from their nose to the first step so that pup is crawling from the end of the bed toward the first step, until pup can touch the top of the first step, then give the treat. Repeat with just the top step until pup is acting more confident about moving onto that first step. Once pup can do that, very slowly encourage pup to the next step and the next step, while helping to support their weight so they don't feel like they will fall. Honestly, I recommend switching to a ramp with sides the case of a blind dog though. Pup can likely get more comfortable with the stairs than they are now, but the drop off between steps is difficult for a blind dog to differentiate between it being a step and the edge of the bed they could fall off without their vision. Adding scent to the stairs can help pup locate them without having to step off without seeing first, but they may always be a bit hesitant. A ramp with sides will be easier for pup to locate if it comes onto the bed enough so pup doesn't have to step off the bed onto it, but can simply go straight from the bed to the ramp without a drop at any point. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Theresa, I would made an exercise pen area lined with disposable grass pads and a non-absorbent bed for her in an area of the home without carpet or rugs. www.freshpatch.com www.porchpotty.com www.doggielawn.com I am very sorry you are having such a hard time. It can be very hard when out dogs get older and are struggling physically. If you haven't already done so, be sure to speak with your vet to see if there is anything they can do to help her incontinence. Sometimes it can be improved a bit, other times it can't. I am not a vet though. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden