Afraid of Stairs

Question
My 9 month old Chocolate is afraid of stairs.  Open or closed, he won't do them.  He'll hide if I try to get him to go up or down our basement stairs and he just freezes on deck steps (sometimes he starts to pee a little too).  I've never tried to force him, and even treat coaxing doesn't work.  He'll go to the top of them sometimes and look a little but if I say "C'mon boy" he tucks tail and goes someplace else.  The few times it's been necessary to get him up/down I've carried him (securely...no dragging or real force).  He's about 75lbs now so carrying is not really an option!  Any suggestions?  Thanks for your help!

Answer
Dear Randy,

What I did was, since the stairs led outside, I left the door open, and right infront of the door was a treat or one of her favorite toys.  She would put her paw on the first step and then move back a few steps.  When she finally moved down I had someone close the top door so she couldn't go back up the stairs, and she had to come all the way down.  Going up for a dog is simple, going down stairs are hard for dogs, if you've ever seen one walk down a flight, their back legs, somewhat hover for a bit before they meet the next step, and dog's dont like that.  Start putting his meals on the bottem of the stairs, and leave him be.  Do this every night, till he becomes acustomed to moving up and down the stairs.  If you need any more help I'd be glad to answer them. Thanks for your question, and please tell me how it goes.
Thanks,
Amy