Mind(set) the stairs!

Calm behaviour on the stairs is always a must no matter how big or how small the dog. I often talk about good manners on the stairs from the safety point of view that big rushing dogs can easily knock people down. But little dogs need to slow things down on the stairs too so that they don’t get stepped on or knocked over by scooting under our big people feet! As I’m walking on the stairs I ask dogs to follow me and match my speed. If they scoot ahead of me so I give remote collar guidance to help the dog stay in a position closer to me and paying more attention to matching my slower speed. After a few more reps, the dog will pay close attention to following me rather than rushing ahead excitedly.

Stairs can be the biggest nemesis for an insecure dog, so we had a lot of basic confidence building work to do before they can confidently follow me up and down the stairs without feeling worried. A lot of anxious and insecure dogs really struggle with these kinds of common obstacles so by using the right approach and a language that they understand (aka the language of the remote collar) we can boost their confidence and help them overcome their fears by giving them guidance and information with the remote collar.