09/05/2026
🩷👏🏻🐾
Miss Nova being nervous about going down those stairs is completely understandable. They’re fairly steep, and from a puppy’s perspective, going down can actually be much more intimidating than going up. When they look over the edge, they’re seeing a big drop in front of them, and they haven’t yet developed the coordination, balance, or confidence to judge those steps the way an adult dog does.
I didn’t want to force her down the stairs because that can make the fear stronger. Instead, we wanted to build her confidence gradually and let her learn that she is capable of navigating them safely. We can use encouragement, treats, and controlled practice so she learns to focus on where her feet are going rather than on how scary the stairs look. She actually choose to utilize the wall at one point 🤷🏻♀️😂 but it all helped.
Think of it as a confidence-building exercise rather than an obedience issue. Once she develops better body awareness and realizes, “I know how to do this,” her confidence should improve significantly. ❤️🐾
Great job Nova and hoomans!! Don’t yell at me later when she’s into all the rooms bc now has more confidence to do all the things haha 😏🩷🫶🏻🐾👏🏻
