basement stairs

Question
I have a 10 yr old lab. I got him when my lab/shepherd was about 6, He passed away at the age of 14. Although my lab would climb rocks and jump into water from 10 ft above with no fear he remained too scared to climb the stairs to the second floor until my lab/shepherd died. A few months after he died my eldest daughter carried him up ( even though he was about 80lbs ) since then he will climb to the second floor on hos own after initial encouraging, but steadfastly refuses to go near the basement stairs, whining and crying if asked, and moving away from them, even though he has no problem lying on the carpet right next to them any other time. Food/treats have not worked, forcing only makes it worse, and he is now 120lbs, too big to carry now! In most other ways he is pretty obedient. comes, sits, waits, stays etc, does not pull when walked, and is generally much more submissive than the lab/shepherd was. (lab/shepherd was the alpha) I have my sewing room in the basement where I spen a lot of time, and I know he wants to be near me, he occasionally cries for me to come up. Any suggestions?

thanks
jody

Answer
training involves reward not force. While we don't know at this point WHY the dog doesn't want to go to the basement, you can entice the dog by putting small treats or toys on the steps that the dog eventually will attempt to reach. As the dog moves down praise the dog and encourage the dog to get the next treat. It will take often many tries before the dog is willing to go the entire distance.

The dog may sense something it does not like in the basement, odor, sounds, or the view. Using an agility bridge outside often works since the dog learns first to go down, the go across and down, and finally up across and down. Many dogs do not want to go up or down because from their viewpoint there is a cliff where the world ends. They do not recognize that the end of the plank leads to another plank they cannot see. You could also try using a board or plank on outside stairs or make a ramp to play on. Agility items provide a wealth of experience for the dog so it can deal with similar challenges elsewhere.

The opposite of reward is no reward, not force or punishment.

regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
www.dogkennel.org