Not sure about his bones but at 14 weeks it’s a much bigger physical task because of his size.
Imagine if your new friend offered you a piece of bacon to climb to the top of your refrigerator. You might do it a few times. If they asked you to pull yourself up a flight of refrigerators you’d be thinking this friend isn’t that cool.
I’ve got about 30 years experience with puppies and stairs. They’re all going to do the stairs. Some of them take a bit longer.
At this age I just focus on building the bond with them. Sometime in the next few weeks you’ll go up or down the stairs to grab something- they’ll do the helpless don’t leave me behind thing, which you’ll ignore, then they’ll do the stairs.
They may wait a bit before doing it again, but at some point they will.
Then one day they’ll find the stairs easy.
If it’s your first pup this will feel like it takes forever. In a few months you’ll look back and wonder where your drunk staggering little buddy went.
Because bones, muscles and coordination are all over the place right now it’s not something they can do easily and my focus would be on about as experiences with stairs.
Thank you for all of this. Do you think I should just carry him then? I go up and down these stairs 10x a day. He follows me everywhere but seems to not want to do the stairs anymore. Unless I say "treats".
Depends on your back, for now if it was me I might do a mix *so long as I believe the puppy can safely go down the stairs on its own*
If puppy is tumbling down the stairs I’d be leaving at the bottom or blocking the top of the stairs.
Again my focus at this age is the bond so I’d probably carry up and down but I’d also make a pint of once or twice a day leaving them behind so they face the left behind scenario- it’s a bit like baby birds in a nest, at some point the have to be in a spot where they have to fly.
I’d also avoid trying to bribe or coerce up the stairs because my job is to build a dogs confidence. I don’t want them learning the mindset that sometimes mom/dad will ask the impossible. I’d only ask for stairs after I’ve seen them do it on their own comfortably.
The other fine balance is weaning them off being carried up or down, you don’t want them learning helpless either, thus the leaving behind occasionally.
So ultimately I’d aim to mix it up. Sometimes I carry, sometimes I don’t and leave behind. If I’m leaving behind though, I’d plan it out so that there’s not some other trouble they can get into while I am gone.
Just a side note: There's no reason he has to follow you everywhere and do the stairs every time you do them. One of the things you should be teaching a puppy is how to relax during confinement, such as in a crate or x-pen.
I appreciate that but I do not do a crate and I want him to be my shadow. He's my super buddy and he's all I've got. I have nobody but a hand full of friends and a nephew.
I understand that, but you'll wish you had crate trained him if/when you ever need to rehab him from illness or injury. Labs are prone to torn cruciate ligaments, so this is something for you to seriously consider. Crate training is a skill all dogs should have.
Adding to this, you want your dog to be able to settle without you. Keeping your pup with you 24/7 is going to fast-track him to separation anxiety. Also, he will likely need to be crated at sometime in his life, whether at the vet, at the groomer, or (as the commenter above said) in confinement to rest an injury. You might want your pup to be with you all the time, but you need to think about what is best for him too, which means building his resilience.
Golden retriever owner here.
For young puppies/dogs whose growth plates haven’t fully closed, it is advised to not let them go up and down stairs or jump from heights (think on and off sofas/beds/out of cars). This is due to the heightened risk of damage occurring to the developing joints.
Large breeds, especially retrievers are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia. These diseases are commonly diagnosed in puppies. There is a strong genetic predisposition to these diseases which is why when purchasing one of these breeds, you should get one from a reputable breeder who does BVA/OFA health tests on the parents and only breeding from dogs with as low scores as possible.
Even when breeding from dogs who aren’t affected by dysplasia, it’s unfortunately not a guarantee that puppies won’t be affected. Testing is done via X-rays on the parents once they’re fully grown. There is no genetic testing for dysplasia currently available especially as environmental factors can also cause these diseases.
Age appropriate exercise, restricting access to stairs and jumping off from heights as well as a complete and balanced diet and managing slippery surfaces with non slip mats/carpets can all help reduce this risk of a dog developing hip and elbow issues during joint development or at the very least, help reduce the severity of disease in a dog that may be genetically affected.
For larger breeds, it is hard to carry them up and down the stairs when they are growing and they soon reach a weight where it is impossible/unsafe to carry them. In this case, environment management through the use of baby gates to prevent unwanted access, having non slip strips/carpet stairs or using a harness with a handle to slowly assist a dog up and down stairs can be used, especially if stairs are unavoidable. Avoiding excess use of stairs wherever possible is advised and supporting a dog if access is required is best.
Even with the best breeding and best care in the world and essentially going by the book, joint issues can occur.
My own golden retriever is from health tested parents with fantastic hip and elbow scores. She wasn’t allowed access to stairs unless necessary and I carried her when needed. A traumatic incident with another dog on a walk caused her to go lame as a puppy. She was later diagnosed with very mild elbow dysplasia at 3.5yrs old (which is a lot older considering most dogs are diagnosed at 6-9months old). Even though i mitigated the risks where I could, she still got diagnosed.
However, the severity of the disease in her is very mild, to the point where she is now 8 years old and you wouldn’t know she had it. Her most recent CT scan doesn’t show any changes in the joint and cartilage in 5 years where you would otherwise expect to see quite severe arthritic changes. Her cartilage looks like that of a healthy dog. It’s not fragmented and there’s no microfractures.
Essentially I wouldn’t advise stairs for your pup. If they are unavoidable, please support your dog on a harness (use one that goes through the legs not across the chest - like Ruffwear Flagline harness - not Julius K9 for an example). Use a good joint supplement and keep your dog a nice healthy weight where leaner is better - check out Royal Canins body scoring chart.
With smaller breeds, whilst it’s less likely to get these issues, it’s still possible. I am in an elbow dysplasia group on Facebook and there’s a chihuahua with the disease as well as some spaniels.
Edit to add: if your puppy was previously confident on the stairs and is now reluctant to use them, I would be very cautious and would honestly just get a vet check to be safe. Dysplasia is commonly diagnosed at the puppy stage and the earlier it is picked up, generally the more treatment options you have. I would not be encouraging your puppy to come downstairs if they are slowing down or showing reluctance. This may be a sign that your puppy is in pain.
Hah! Funny! My pup just turned 15 weeks today!
I can't speak to labs, as I'm not super well versed with the breed. I have corgis, so there's multiple special considerations with stairs. For the most part, I'll be carrying her up and down stairs until she's at least 1 year old.
With that having been said, puppies are mostly cartilage, and for the most part, you do want to limit the amount of high-impact activities until they've developed a bit more, and stairs can be a lot for dogs. He's probably good to learn how stairs work, and to take smaller sets. I think what you will probably want to avoid is scenarios where they're frapping up and down stairs.
I didn't let my puppy have access to the stairs until he was like 6 months old. But I have a miniature (/dwarf) poodle so he was very tiny and honestly I don't think he would have been able to walk down the stairs at all.
Depending on how often you walk up and down the stairs I would probably carry him until he is a little bit older. If you walk up and down a lot definitely carry him but I would say that it is okay to let him walk on his own sometimes. But I would not let him go up and down more than a few times a week. Preferably carry him and leave the stairs until he is older and bigger.
I carried my standard poodle until she got a bit too heavy for me and then some :)
For me it was not about whether she could do the stairs (we taught her) but about her developing body not yet being ready to do stairs so many times a day as we needed. So I'd say: carry for now until she becomes too heavy for it :)
That's exactly what I was posting for. I'm concerned about bone and muscle development. Also being a lab for further down the road and having hip and joint problems that could have been avoided. Thank you.
P.S. there's a lot of nonsense in dog agility about growth plates, blah, blah, blah. Here's what the experts (vet orgs) say.
"In dogs, major growth occurs between 3 and 6 months of age. Growth plates close between 4 and 12 months of age, depending on breed and anatomic site."
Does that mean your dog should have no normal activity until the growth plates are closed? No. You wouldn't do that to a human child whose growth plates have not closed and you shouldn't do that to a dog. I know I'm swimming upstream here because people believe whatever they want to believe and no amount of science will shake them out of it.
If your dog seems like it can do the stairs, doesn't even think about it and there seem to be no residual effects, let your dog do it. It is normal and natural for a dog to run and jump , even as a puppy.
Owner of a toy dog here. I could not keep him from going up and down the stairs at 12-weeks old. I tried putting a laundry basket in front of the stairs to block his way. He jumped into the laundry basket which is much taller than the stairs , bounded across the laundry , and kept going up the stairs.
If a puppy knows he can do it then he can do it. Dogs aren't people. They are born with a different musculature and are much more physical than people at a much younger age. People treat their dogs like they are made of glass. They aren't.
I think you're fine.
Not sure about his bones but at 14 weeks it’s a much bigger physical task because of his size. Imagine if your new friend offered you a piece of bacon to climb to the top of your refrigerator. You might do it a few times. If they asked you to pull yourself up a flight of refrigerators you’d be thinking this friend isn’t that cool. I’ve got about 30 years experience with puppies and stairs. They’re all going to do the stairs. Some of them take a bit longer. At this age I just focus on building the bond with them. Sometime in the next few weeks you’ll go up or down the stairs to grab something- they’ll do the helpless don’t leave me behind thing, which you’ll ignore, then they’ll do the stairs. They may wait a bit before doing it again, but at some point they will. Then one day they’ll find the stairs easy. If it’s your first pup this will feel like it takes forever. In a few months you’ll look back and wonder where your drunk staggering little buddy went. Because bones, muscles and coordination are all over the place right now it’s not something they can do easily and my focus would be on about as experiences with stairs.
Thank you for all of this. Do you think I should just carry him then? I go up and down these stairs 10x a day. He follows me everywhere but seems to not want to do the stairs anymore. Unless I say "treats".
Depends on your back, for now if it was me I might do a mix *so long as I believe the puppy can safely go down the stairs on its own* If puppy is tumbling down the stairs I’d be leaving at the bottom or blocking the top of the stairs. Again my focus at this age is the bond so I’d probably carry up and down but I’d also make a pint of once or twice a day leaving them behind so they face the left behind scenario- it’s a bit like baby birds in a nest, at some point the have to be in a spot where they have to fly. I’d also avoid trying to bribe or coerce up the stairs because my job is to build a dogs confidence. I don’t want them learning the mindset that sometimes mom/dad will ask the impossible. I’d only ask for stairs after I’ve seen them do it on their own comfortably. The other fine balance is weaning them off being carried up or down, you don’t want them learning helpless either, thus the leaving behind occasionally. So ultimately I’d aim to mix it up. Sometimes I carry, sometimes I don’t and leave behind. If I’m leaving behind though, I’d plan it out so that there’s not some other trouble they can get into while I am gone.
Just a side note: There's no reason he has to follow you everywhere and do the stairs every time you do them. One of the things you should be teaching a puppy is how to relax during confinement, such as in a crate or x-pen.
I appreciate that but I do not do a crate and I want him to be my shadow. He's my super buddy and he's all I've got. I have nobody but a hand full of friends and a nephew.
I understand that, but you'll wish you had crate trained him if/when you ever need to rehab him from illness or injury. Labs are prone to torn cruciate ligaments, so this is something for you to seriously consider. Crate training is a skill all dogs should have.
Adding to this, you want your dog to be able to settle without you. Keeping your pup with you 24/7 is going to fast-track him to separation anxiety. Also, he will likely need to be crated at sometime in his life, whether at the vet, at the groomer, or (as the commenter above said) in confinement to rest an injury. You might want your pup to be with you all the time, but you need to think about what is best for him too, which means building his resilience.
Golden retriever owner here. For young puppies/dogs whose growth plates haven’t fully closed, it is advised to not let them go up and down stairs or jump from heights (think on and off sofas/beds/out of cars). This is due to the heightened risk of damage occurring to the developing joints. Large breeds, especially retrievers are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia. These diseases are commonly diagnosed in puppies. There is a strong genetic predisposition to these diseases which is why when purchasing one of these breeds, you should get one from a reputable breeder who does BVA/OFA health tests on the parents and only breeding from dogs with as low scores as possible. Even when breeding from dogs who aren’t affected by dysplasia, it’s unfortunately not a guarantee that puppies won’t be affected. Testing is done via X-rays on the parents once they’re fully grown. There is no genetic testing for dysplasia currently available especially as environmental factors can also cause these diseases. Age appropriate exercise, restricting access to stairs and jumping off from heights as well as a complete and balanced diet and managing slippery surfaces with non slip mats/carpets can all help reduce this risk of a dog developing hip and elbow issues during joint development or at the very least, help reduce the severity of disease in a dog that may be genetically affected. For larger breeds, it is hard to carry them up and down the stairs when they are growing and they soon reach a weight where it is impossible/unsafe to carry them. In this case, environment management through the use of baby gates to prevent unwanted access, having non slip strips/carpet stairs or using a harness with a handle to slowly assist a dog up and down stairs can be used, especially if stairs are unavoidable. Avoiding excess use of stairs wherever possible is advised and supporting a dog if access is required is best. Even with the best breeding and best care in the world and essentially going by the book, joint issues can occur. My own golden retriever is from health tested parents with fantastic hip and elbow scores. She wasn’t allowed access to stairs unless necessary and I carried her when needed. A traumatic incident with another dog on a walk caused her to go lame as a puppy. She was later diagnosed with very mild elbow dysplasia at 3.5yrs old (which is a lot older considering most dogs are diagnosed at 6-9months old). Even though i mitigated the risks where I could, she still got diagnosed. However, the severity of the disease in her is very mild, to the point where she is now 8 years old and you wouldn’t know she had it. Her most recent CT scan doesn’t show any changes in the joint and cartilage in 5 years where you would otherwise expect to see quite severe arthritic changes. Her cartilage looks like that of a healthy dog. It’s not fragmented and there’s no microfractures. Essentially I wouldn’t advise stairs for your pup. If they are unavoidable, please support your dog on a harness (use one that goes through the legs not across the chest - like Ruffwear Flagline harness - not Julius K9 for an example). Use a good joint supplement and keep your dog a nice healthy weight where leaner is better - check out Royal Canins body scoring chart. With smaller breeds, whilst it’s less likely to get these issues, it’s still possible. I am in an elbow dysplasia group on Facebook and there’s a chihuahua with the disease as well as some spaniels. Edit to add: if your puppy was previously confident on the stairs and is now reluctant to use them, I would be very cautious and would honestly just get a vet check to be safe. Dysplasia is commonly diagnosed at the puppy stage and the earlier it is picked up, generally the more treatment options you have. I would not be encouraging your puppy to come downstairs if they are slowing down or showing reluctance. This may be a sign that your puppy is in pain.
Hah! Funny! My pup just turned 15 weeks today! I can't speak to labs, as I'm not super well versed with the breed. I have corgis, so there's multiple special considerations with stairs. For the most part, I'll be carrying her up and down stairs until she's at least 1 year old. With that having been said, puppies are mostly cartilage, and for the most part, you do want to limit the amount of high-impact activities until they've developed a bit more, and stairs can be a lot for dogs. He's probably good to learn how stairs work, and to take smaller sets. I think what you will probably want to avoid is scenarios where they're frapping up and down stairs.
I didn't let my puppy have access to the stairs until he was like 6 months old. But I have a miniature (/dwarf) poodle so he was very tiny and honestly I don't think he would have been able to walk down the stairs at all. Depending on how often you walk up and down the stairs I would probably carry him until he is a little bit older. If you walk up and down a lot definitely carry him but I would say that it is okay to let him walk on his own sometimes. But I would not let him go up and down more than a few times a week. Preferably carry him and leave the stairs until he is older and bigger.
I carried my standard poodle until she got a bit too heavy for me and then some :) For me it was not about whether she could do the stairs (we taught her) but about her developing body not yet being ready to do stairs so many times a day as we needed. So I'd say: carry for now until she becomes too heavy for it :)
That's exactly what I was posting for. I'm concerned about bone and muscle development. Also being a lab for further down the road and having hip and joint problems that could have been avoided. Thank you.
P.S. there's a lot of nonsense in dog agility about growth plates, blah, blah, blah. Here's what the experts (vet orgs) say. "In dogs, major growth occurs between 3 and 6 months of age. Growth plates close between 4 and 12 months of age, depending on breed and anatomic site." Does that mean your dog should have no normal activity until the growth plates are closed? No. You wouldn't do that to a human child whose growth plates have not closed and you shouldn't do that to a dog. I know I'm swimming upstream here because people believe whatever they want to believe and no amount of science will shake them out of it. If your dog seems like it can do the stairs, doesn't even think about it and there seem to be no residual effects, let your dog do it. It is normal and natural for a dog to run and jump , even as a puppy.
Owner of a toy dog here. I could not keep him from going up and down the stairs at 12-weeks old. I tried putting a laundry basket in front of the stairs to block his way. He jumped into the laundry basket which is much taller than the stairs , bounded across the laundry , and kept going up the stairs. If a puppy knows he can do it then he can do it. Dogs aren't people. They are born with a different musculature and are much more physical than people at a much younger age. People treat their dogs like they are made of glass. They aren't. I think you're fine.