How to Train Your Dog to Wait at the Stairs

Living in a two story house with two large dogs has taught me that my dogs need to wait for permission to travel up and down the stairs. After being tripped more times than I can count, I decided to follow these steps and I trained my dogs to wait at the bottom (and the top) of the stairs.

Step 1: Teach your dog to sit. You’ve probably already taught this to your dog and if not, it’s probably the easiest command for the dog to master.

Step 2: Teach your dog to stay. This is best done with a voice command and a hand signal. We’ve found that it works best to wave our hand in front of our dog’s face while saying in a firm tone, "Stay."

Step 3: Lead your dog to the bottom of the stairs and command him to and stay. When you turn your back on your dog, he will be very tempted to follow you up the stairs. If this happens, return him to the bottom of the stairs and command him to sit and stay again.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 until you are able to make it to the top of the stairs while your dog sits at the bottom of the stairs. Your dog should not move a muscle until you’ve given him a command to come up the stairs.

Step 5: Once you are at the top of the stairs, turn and face your dog. Give him the command to "come" and wave him towards you. If your dog runs up the stairs before you’ve given him the go ahead, you’ll need to return him to the bottom of the stairs and repeat the practice until he waits for your command.

Step 6: Reward him with praise, affection and treats. When your dog gets to the top of the stairs and is greeted with your rewards, he will understand what’s expected of him.

Step 7: What goes up must come down. Now you need to teach your dog to wait at the top of the stairs until you’ve given him the command to join you downstairs. You can achieve this by doing the same steps as above, with him perched at the top of the stairs until you wave him down.

Now that you’ve taught your dog this important lesson, you will no longer be tripping over him while you travel up and down the stairs.

This article was provided by pet-super-store a pet supplies store featuring dog car seat covers.