So finally getting settled into my new place in Charleston has been a rocky road! I got everything set up, but unfortunately Sora is a little less than pleased! My fiance's place used to have hardwood floors, which Sora was never fond of, probably because of the feel, as well as she is clumsy and slips and slides everywhere!

Well moving into this new place, the bottom floor is hardwoods and the top is carpet. The stairs are straight up, no turns, probably about 12 steps but they hardwood, and along with being hardwoods they are the first stairs she has ever encountered in a house. The first day into the house, she ran straight up no problem, and straight down, she tripped slightly on the last step, and hasn't been up them on her own since.

We have been having to carry her up and down the stairs every morning and night, and she is not one for liking to be picked up, so it has been challenging. We did leave her downstairs one night by herself and I had hoped she would come upstairs, but she never did, with that being the first time she didn't sleep on my bed.

I have read a few comments on websites with dogs concerning fears of stairs, some say they will eventually climb them, others say use food, attach them to a leash and guide them up. I have tried all of these, but she never gets past the 3rd step.

I have been looking for something to put on the stairs, like carpet squares or treads, but can't do too much since it is a rental house and not my own.

Any suggestions?

That's one of the reasons that if there are stairs in my house they MUST be carpeted. My dogs handle carpeted stairs just fine but smooth, hardwood is too slippery for them and they just don't work for pets very well. I don't have any suggestions for you since that's something I wouldn't come near with a 10' pole. Just don't force them because the last thing you want is your dogs to slip down the stairs and then have to rush them to the emergency vet and spends oodles of cash to fix them up. Hopefully someone else has more helpful suggestions for you and good luck!

what about those goofy foot pads you can buy to attach to the pad of the dog to give them better traction on hardwood surfaces? i have seen them in pet stores and just laugh at them but maybe they really do work and you can try that out? if she is not slipping around she might feel better about trying to go up the steps? you can also buy the carpet foot treads that go in the center of the step but i think they are a pretty penny but are removable as its just a rubber bottom on them to keep from slipping and do not leave marks

Something like this might help, just an example there are various colors.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140454672504&hlp=false&rvr_id=153123729427&crlp=1_263602_304652&UA=%3F*I%3F&GUID=fef316aa1280a0e20252faf2fe0b9bcf&itemid=140454672504&ff4=263602_304652

those look nice..i may have get some for my stairs. my dogs don't seem to have any issue with them but their nails are destroying my steps

i believe they sell stair carpet runners, might want to invest in one

Lordbroll wrote:

Something like this might help, just an example there are various colors.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140454672504&hlp=false&rvr_id=153123729427&crlp=1_263602_304652&UA=%3F*I%3F&GUID=fef316aa1280a0e20252faf2fe0b9bcf&itemid=140454672504&ff4=263602_304652

We have those and they work great. That was my recommendation too.

Nice! I will have to look into those!! Do you know if they leave a residue when taken off?

I looked for carpet runners and didn't have much luck, so hopefully I will find something soon! Thanks for all your help!

We used staples to put them down, but depending on your stairs and what they are made out of (in terms of staining or paint, etc) you could put clear, masking, or painter's tape down on top and then use a glue. They might come off once in a while, but then at least you're not ruining anything and they're firm enough for the dogs.

This is what I would use. We used it on our marble stairs at the old house. It has much much better grip compared to fitting any other type of fabric matting.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=Non+slip+matting&_sacat=See-All-Categories

You can also find stair runners online too. Another thing to consider, are the stairs in the rental real hardwood floors? Real hardwood floor can easily be damaged by not only the dogs' nails but also by cheap latex, synthetic rubbers, plasticized mats, vinyl, etc. So while you may find something that works for the dogs to go up and down the stair comfortably you don't want to irreversibly ruin the owners' hardwood floors in the process via discoloration, etc from using the wrong type of material on hardwood.

I have hardwood floors in my house so I am finding out what a pain they are to protect.

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Resurrecting this thread. My 5 month old slips a bit here and there on the hardwood. It's nothing serious but when my rescue's health started to decline, he couldn't keep his paws under him. Is this a thing with huskies because of the fur on their paws?

I don't think it's because of the fur in their paws. I think it's more of a size, speed and age thing. Thanks to the age of this thread, 8.5 years later we've lived in 4 more homes, 3 with different hardwood floors (and some tile) and wood stairs, 1 with all tile which can be just as slippery.

In his earlier years my boy learned how to walk the wood floors AND stairs just fine. It was just a matter of taking it slow. Trying to rush or run would result in a wipeout which he learned plenty quickly, the same went for tile.

My boy is now 14 and struggles to get up or keep his feet under him. Of course this is an age/health issue for him because he has this same struggle no matter what he's walking on be it hardwood, tile, carpet, or even his orthopedic dog bed for that matter.

I really agree it is more of a size, speed and age thing.
Or a familiarity thing..... my one dog was very nervous the first time she did open stairs (think minimal style basement stairs). She just never had open airy see through stairs before and it took some time to get used to. But she had done concrete stairs hardwood laminate carpeted steep narrow before.

Ugh...Colleen, the open stair thing. We stayed at a hotel that had open stairs with the "railings" being large panels of glass. Ami went UP just fine. We went to bed, I got up in the morning to take the beastie boy out for his morning constitution and...nope. Not. Going. Down. Those. Stairs!!! No way. No How. I tried treats, I tried cajoling, I tried heel command, I tried fast walking down the hallway back and forth then abruptly going to the stairs. Nope. I'm sure you've all seen the cartoons of the horse that balks on jumping a stream or log and the rider goes flying...well, I did not go flying but the balk was every bit as abrupt and final. I tried hauling on his harness. I even tried alternate stairways. Nope. Each and every time, he balked. Crouched down, turned around and crawled away.

The maid was laughing to beat the band. Ami is too big for me to carry, even Wayne. The only way that dog was going down was under his own power. Finally, enlisted Wayne, he went down first, directly in front of Wayne, I kept a close hauled leash with heel command, and a little bit of dragging on the harness. He inched down until he got to the landing, saw the first floor only steps away and bolted down the rest.

I dunno...maybe there were rattlesnakes and I just didn't see them

My guy sprained his paw on open stairs recently...maybe their fear is smart!?

He and my husband were hiking in the woods, and they began to jog across a wooden bridge that had open stairs on either side. The wooden bridge and its steps were a bit wet and slippery (morning damp) and Rumo's leg slipped between the steps into the open space. His leg got stuck in there, and he was howling with pain and fear. My husband had to free his leg, and got bitten on the hand**. Rumo was hobbling and limping for about 3 days afterwards.

**He showed me his hand...Rumo had it in his mouth...but, just a few faint red marks. Good Rumo!