This topic must have been discussed before. I tried to search but couldn't find the answer So if I am asking y'all to reinvent the wheel, I apologize in advance.

Our house has lots of stairs (all stone), including a steep flight down to the yard area where our dogs use as a bathroom. My 5.5 month old Presa pup, Cleo, has been going up stairs, on leash, in a controlled manner, for quite some time now. However, I have been carrying her down stairs. She is now over 70 lbs and getting bigger by the day. Her mother is 120 lbs. I still carry her down without a problem. (Although once when it was raining, I slipped and bounced down about 8 stairs. I kept Cleo in my arms the whole time Came away with a newspaper size bruise wrapped around my hip and butt ) However, my wife, who is 115 lbs, can't do it. This becomes an issue on those few occasions when I don't have Cleo with me and my wife is home alone with her.

So, my question is, when is it OK for a large breed puppy to go downstairs without being carried? She is very active but I try (often unsuccessfully) to limit her jumping and running. I don't want her to have hip/elbow issues as she grows up.

She can definitely do it.

My litter (65 lbs now at 1 year) could by 3 months. By helping her, you are making her think she can't. It's all in your minds!

Start on concrete stairs if you have a porch, as they have tbe best grip. Otherwise wood stairs (deck) or carpeted stairs are good too.

Put a kibble on each step (if you have kibble) or a small treat to encourage her to come down. Place her in the middle of the staircase so she only has to go down 4 stairs. Stand at the bottom and cheer her on. Repeat. Then have her do 5, 6, etc steps.

I do remember you asked this before. I can't believe you are STILL carrying her!!! WOW!

thanks Angela,

She is able to go downstairs, I have carried her out of concern for her growth plates. She always wants to run/jump and I'm worried that the extra force of going downstairs will adversely impact her development.

So, it is OK to let her walk downstairs from that perspective?

On leash?

yes, on leash.

Oh, I understand now. I am also concerned about my dog's growth plates, as I intend to compete in agility.

However, your dog is so big that stairs would probably not be a big obstacle. If she was a chihuahua and had to jump down each stair it might strain her more, but I think walking down would not hurt her at all. My puppy (12 mos now) runs down at top speed every time we go outside (my backyard access is in the basement). He is fine. If you are concerned, by all means train her to walk down the stairs rather than run, or restrict her with a leash.

I think to protect growth plates, you need to avoid *excessive* jumping, running on concrete and such things. Running freely on soft ground (grass, sand etc) and going up and down stairs shouldn't affect her unless she has hip/elbow problems (or she has known hip dysplasia in her pedigree).

In any case, you want to help her build muscle tone to help support her growing bones and joints and use a high-quality diet. Stairs should be fine.

Thanks Angela,

Nice to hear that your pup does things Cleo does and is fine. We have all stone on our house and deck (backyard is grass). Cleo does run and jump on the stone floors and deck, but I would not say she does so "excessively." Hope that's OK because it would be just about impossible to stop her completely. For exercise, I swim her in our pool and/or the ocean everyday. I also take her to the park to play frisbee (only about a half dozen throws).

Cleo's parents hips are good. And she seems fine at this point--no bunny hopping, no irregular gait when walking or running, no trouble getting up, etc.

My concern arises from two things: First, I could've sworn I read something here about not letting large breed dogs go downstairs until they are at their adult weight. Second, although Cleo is already pretty big, she's all paws and ears and is still a little clumsy. We have long runs of stairs and I'm concerned that she may do some permanent damage if she takes a spill.

I can reduce the risk of the second issue by always walking her down the stairs (on leash) and training her not to rush down.

Any other thoughts from anyone???

It sounds to me like she has a good life.

I would let her go down the stairs on her own at this point if it were my dog. So long as she's not rushing up and down the stairs like a goof I see no issue with it. if she is having a tendancy to rush down the stairs and hit the bottom hard, work with her a little to teach her to be a little more careful.

You can teach her to be a little more careful about her foot placement as well. For the lab I used logs to teach her to be more careful about where she put her feet and helping her balance. So far so good, no major spills.

Thanks Melissa and Angela,

Melissa, I try to give her a good life; she certainly makes mine happier

I am now walking her SLOWLY down short runs of stairs to teach her not to bound down. She's still a little uncoordinated and likes to "weave" down the stairs. We'll keep working and I'll let you know the progress.

Thanks again for your input.