Onward and Upward: Klee Conquers the Stairs

When a pup hasn't experienced something, or hasn't had a positive experience with something, they need their human to slowly teach them that maybe that thing isn't so scary after all - maybe it's actually FUN!

And that is the lesson Klee learned yesterday about stairs. After a little hesitation she had figured out the two steps up each of our 3 levels of decks outside - easy peasy. However the 1/2 flights of stairs to the upper and lower levels of our house were too scary for her to even think about. We would all go downstairs to watch TV and Klee would sit at the top, whimpering. The thing is, she doesn't like to be carried either so she was really stuck.

We started out with treats and a clicker and started out with a combination of shaping and a tiny bit of luring. First I put a treat on the bottom step and when she put her paws up on the bottom step I would click and hand her the treat. When that proved to be super easy for her we upped the difficulty and I put treats on both the first and second step. She stretched her long little body trying to get to that second step and then finally hopped onto the bottom step to get the treats on step two. Click and Jackpot!! She munched her treats and then tore back down to the bottom. We did this one more time and she again got a jackpot on the 2nd stair. After that it was the end of that session. It took about 3 minutes. I wanted to keep it short because all I wanted from this session was for her to get the feel for hopping up a step and then hopping back down. That would build confidence but also start some muscle memory of the action of hopping up a stair. We followed the training session with a play session with me on the ground wrestling with her - something that she absolutely loves and that would burn off any nervous energy.

Standing on step one and front paws up on step two

A couple hours later we had another "stair session". This time she was hopping up and down off the bottom step, excited for the game but a little nervous too. I moved higher up the stairs but still just put treats on the 2nd stair. Well that was super easy. Frodo joined us this session for moral support - well Klee found it comforting to have another dog around but Frodo was just there because I had a treat dish in my lap. Frodo thinks puppies are both horrific and wonderful: horrific because they are unpredictable spazzy messes but wonderful because they get so many treat filled training sessions.

Closer to the top

Well now she had the hang of it. Up and down she went, each couple tries one step higher until before she knew it, she peeked over that top step and realized she had made it to the top floor! This was a reinforcer in itself. She had never been on that level of the house - just the lower 2 levels - and she tore around, investigating the bedrooms and bathrooms. Exciting stuff for a seven month old pup!  And then without even thinking about it, down she ran, to the bottom of the steps - and then up again - and then down.

Just two to go!

What a great thing to witness! A fear that had been keeping her separate from places she wanted to explore and people she wanted to see had been turned into a super fun game! I am SO proud of this little pup. My hope for her is a new home that will ease her into life like this, turning the scary unknown into happy experiences.

This video shows the result of her two training sessions. When I called all the dogs downstairs, down Klee came, just one of the pack. And when Troy got home from work he was treated to the sight of little Klee, right in the middle of a thundering pack of four terriers, tearing up the stairs to greet him.