Convertible Dog Stair Ramp
Training Your Dog to Use Dog Steps
You saw the commercials for the dog steps and thought how great they would be for your dog since he or she is getting older. You figured once you bought the steps, you would put them down and your do would magically take to them like the dogs on the TV commercials. Unfortunately, your dog looks at the steps as something in the way for him or her to jump on the sofa and ends up jumping right over the steps. Obviously, not the scenario you were hoping for, so how do you get your dog to take to the steps?
It is especially true if your dog is even middle-aged that jumping up and down and his joints taking the full impact are not helping him. Many dogs do take to the steps immediately, but others are more stubborn or they just do not get what they are supposed to do with them. First of all, you need to give your dog a reason to use the steps, what is going to be in it for him or her?
Most dogs that do not take to the steps can be easily persuaded to do so by some treats and praise. The idea is to have the dog associate the steps with something positive, and nothing is more positive for a dog than food. So get their favorite treats, sit on the sofa or bed where you have the dog steps up against and place one treat on each stair, your dog will gobble up off the first stair, and if the treat is something really good, he will go to the next step and the next to get all the treats.
When you continue using positive reinforcement with treating and praising, the dog then has nice feelings toward the steps, after all, the steps had a bunch of treats on them, so they cannot be that bad. Once the dog is going up and down the steps with a treat on each step, change it up a bit by sitting on sofa and place the treat directly at the end of the dog steps, make sure your dog sees you place it there. The dog may be hesitant or may wholeheartedly walk up the stairs to get the treat, you will want to use this for him walking down the stairs as well.
The more you work with your dog to use the travel dog steps, the more apt he or she will be to use them even when you are not around because they will realize that they are easier to go up and down than jumping.
Some dogs take to the stairs with no coercion at all, but others are just not sure what it is and need a little help making the connection. One thing nice about a dog is once they learn something, they never forget it, so soon you will no longer need to bribe your dog with treats to walk up and down the steps, he or she will do it willingly and on their own.
More dog steps resources:
Ezine
Buzzle
Dog Steps to Prevent the Pounce
Using Pet Steps for Exercise
Traveling and Dog Steps
Dog Steps for Use Outdoors
It is especially true if your dog is even middle-aged that jumping up and down and his joints taking the full impact are not helping him. Many dogs do take to the steps immediately, but others are more stubborn or they just do not get what they are supposed to do with them. First of all, you need to give your dog a reason to use the steps, what is going to be in it for him or her?
Most dogs that do not take to the steps can be easily persuaded to do so by some treats and praise. The idea is to have the dog associate the steps with something positive, and nothing is more positive for a dog than food. So get their favorite treats, sit on the sofa or bed where you have the dog steps up against and place one treat on each stair, your dog will gobble up off the first stair, and if the treat is something really good, he will go to the next step and the next to get all the treats.
When you continue using positive reinforcement with treating and praising, the dog then has nice feelings toward the steps, after all, the steps had a bunch of treats on them, so they cannot be that bad. Once the dog is going up and down the steps with a treat on each step, change it up a bit by sitting on sofa and place the treat directly at the end of the dog steps, make sure your dog sees you place it there. The dog may be hesitant or may wholeheartedly walk up the stairs to get the treat, you will want to use this for him walking down the stairs as well.
The more you work with your dog to use the travel dog steps, the more apt he or she will be to use them even when you are not around because they will realize that they are easier to go up and down than jumping.
Some dogs take to the stairs with no coercion at all, but others are just not sure what it is and need a little help making the connection. One thing nice about a dog is once they learn something, they never forget it, so soon you will no longer need to bribe your dog with treats to walk up and down the steps, he or she will do it willingly and on their own.
More dog steps resources:
Ezine
Buzzle
Dog Steps to Prevent the Pounce
Using Pet Steps for Exercise
Traveling and Dog Steps
Dog Steps for Use Outdoors
