How to teach puppy to go down my stairs?

Have you tried putting treats on each step?

@Aethelflaed Yes and he still won’t do it.

He will eventually. He just has to get used to the steps. How long have you had him?

Well, walk downstairs in while coaxing him to follow you maybe? Hold a treat while going down the stairs? Carry them down a couple of times?

This may sound harsh but it’s not. Just give him a little tub to get him started. A couple of times like that and he will know he can do it himself. We had to do this with our dog.

I used to live in a dutch barn style home with an open staired loft ladder type staircase to the second floor. My dog NEVER wanted to ascend or descend that staircase. He slept on the landing and just waited for us to come down again. lol
Don’t force the issue, give him space and always use positive rewards.

I don’t agree with forcing, it’s like throwing a child off a pier to learn how to swim, maybe it will work but you have also caused trauma. Let him do his own thing and if he gets it great, if not, let him be.

Do you have carpeting on the steps? That always helps.

But I agree with @missingbite (and we probably both get attacked for this) but really, just put his leash on and pull him down behind you. He just has to learn that he is capable then he will be fine. If you assume the doggy position and look down the steps and see what he sees as he goes down, it is a bit scary so they do need a bit of coaxing.

Have you tried training him? “Experts” seem to think training works far better than teaching.

Let him grow a bit. He’ll find his own way. When he’s ready, and not before, he’ll be running up and down stairs and tripping you up doing it.

I taught my dog to walk up and down stairs, you just guide them down or up each one, sometimes by holding their front paws and moving them down, and then they will follow, I can’t recall how long it takes, but she always runs down the stairs two paws at a time because of the way I taught her.

Find something that is really high value to him (a favourite toy or extra smelly treats like cheese or ham) and guide him down the stairs gently by getting him to follow it. Take it slowly so that puppy doesn’t feel rushed, adding more stress to the situation. Are you using a clicker? If so, click and reward every time puppy goes down one step. Don’t use any force as this will only add to any stress or cause discomfort. This could take time, if puppy is genuinely scared of the situation then it could take a lot of persuasion to convince them that there’s nothing to worry about and you may find that he nails it one day and then the next he is nervous of it again. This is normal in as puppies learn about every day things but the more positive we make an experience the happier puppy will be in the long run.

Put his food at the bottom. When he gets hungry enough, he will go down.

Don’t weaken.

First, walk down the stairs and see if he follows you. If he does, don’t forget to give him a treat.
Put food in your hand or a treat(s) and lure him down
carry him down, see if he gets over his fear
Put his front legs on a step and call for him to bring his back legs down. Keep doing that until he gets it. (Hope I explained it enough. This works for me when I teach my ferrets how to go up and down the stairs)
Call him down

If none of this works, Wait until he’s older. He needs to get used to your house and stairs.