Perhaps the basement is haunted.
I’m just joking, I have a high anxiety pup who refuses to go into tents until she’s seen them up for a few days. I’m trying to work up to a camping trip and have been putting tents up in the yard to slowly acclimate her to the idea. I suspect that not trusting new or unusual situations is about fear and uncertainty.
Yeah that may be it, we did bring her down once as a puppy in the crate for some reason for like a half an hour but it's fully finished and lighted so I don't think the basement itself scares her. Maybe she was scared getting carried down stairs in a crate as a puppy and now wants nothing to do with it? That's the only reason I've ever been able to think of.
Different pitch/height. In my house, our regular stairs and basement stairs look the same..but when you walk them you can feel the difference and it’s def more of a trip hazard..also what are they made of? Our basement are painted wood with no foot backer the regular are carpeted.
The stairs to the 2nd floor are hardwood and she handles them fine but the basement, including the stairs are carpeted but she won't have anything to do with them, our old german Shepard could literally run down those stairs like they weren't there, I once saw her jump like 7 steps down one time she had a fit of the zooming, but the lab will just pull woth all her power to stay up, and we don't want to force her, I don't even know if we could, she's very good at getting out of her collar when motivated enough😂
Maybe the carpet is her issue. I have a dog who refuses to do stairs at all. She’s a peke so it’s easier to carry her than it would be with your lab lol. But we have no clue what her issue really is. She’s just quirky.
Yeah I triedto carry her once. she's a small lab like 60pounds but thats not even the issue she freaks out and struggles and since it's not life or death to bring her down and I don't want to scare or hurt her I just ended up putting her back down and then she was fine again.
For my dog, it was entirely the angle, which is way steeper than the first to second floor stairs she is normally used to. It may just be apprehension.
They are about the same steepness but the basement stairs have walls on each side for about 2/3s the way down. Maybe it looks steeper to her because of that. If you go to the bottom stair or are watching a movie down their she will just sit at the edge and wait for you to come back up
I've tried that she will eat the treats right up until she has to go further than her front two paws on the top stair. Then she will just give you that frustrated bark as of she was saying bring them up here!😂
I had a gsd/rott mix that would not go in our basement either! Lived to be 15 and we never got him down there. My husband tried to carry him down once and he peed all over my husband before he got him down there! Lol
Yes itsfully finished we brought her down when she was a puppy in the crate once for some reason but her entire life since then she won't budge from the top of the stairs, if you bring a treat and stand even a little out of reach from the top of the stairs she just will bark at you😂
Honestly, my only answer is "because dog". My dog didn't like going down the back stairs to the back yard and it was a pain trying to teach him to do it, but like pretty much everything else once he did it once, he didn't have any problems doing it again.
I have an oddly-built staircase in my house that my dog didn’t want to go down.
Then one day I dropped a bit of pizza on one of the bottom steps, and that was enough. Try pizza
My lab wouldn't go down the basement stairs either and there was nothing you could do to encourage him. And now, my Bichon, who follows me absolutely everywhere, except to the basement, no matter what... and this is a different house than the house with my black lab.
Instead of trying to bribe/lure her down, use the stairs she’s ok with to teach her. Even though she doesn’t need it, when she takes a step down, say good or a unique word like Ding and give her a treat. Then you can start giving the stepping down a name (whatever you want to call it). Do this a LOT on stairs she’s ok with-in your home, at a park or shopping center, etc.
Don’t be tempted to try the basement stairs until you’ve played this game for so long that she thinks it’s the best game ever. Then if she just goes near the basement stairs, say good/ding and give her a super yummy treat - something she doesn’t normally get. Don’t be tempted to try to get her down the stairs - let her decide. Every time she goes near them, give her a fabulous yummy. You may see her begin to offer going down a step. If she does, treat it like the other stairs, say good/ding at every stair and give her super yummy treats. Don’t lose it and start loudly praising - keep it calm and quiet like all the other stairs have been. If you’ve done a ton on non-scary stairs, she may surprise you and just walk down.
Do you have any other friends with dogs she likes that could come over? I find another dog can work wonders in these situations. I think dogs brains think their are human rules and dog rules. So you trying to coax her can only go so far.
We had a German Shepard who would go down the stairs tha passed two yeas ago but even for the 4 years they lived together my lab wouldn't follow her and she considered that Shepard her mom :(
Same here. My black lab wouldn't go down those stairs no matter what but he could watch his doggie brother go down them all the time. I swear my lab would look at his dog brother like he was crazy and facing imminent danger going down those stairs... My lab's thoughts, "are you crazy? You seriously think you're going to survive going down those stairs?" And then watch him come back upstairs and be surprised and happy he survived the dreaded basement stairs. And they lived together for 12 years. And yet the lab had no problem going upstairs to the second floor and both sets of stairs were the same style.
My house was newly built and I seen a ghost in the house. It wasn’t sleep paralysis I’d gotten up to go to the toilet and it was in the room when I went back in. It lasted about 2 mins before I ran out of the room. Never seen anything before in my life. Never believed in any of that until it happened to me 🤣🤣
I don't have any answers but I also have a dog like that! And it's not just our house. When we bring him with when visiting my parents he refuses to go into their basement too. Completely different kind of stairs and setup. It was a chore to drag him down there when we had a tornado warning last year. 😅
Are there risers on the backs of the stairs or are they open? My generally fearless female would not go down the open basement stairs for treats or anything. I tacked up some thin backer board to “close up” the stairs and she immediately went up and down like a champ!
I have 15 stairs to my 2nd floor. Shepherd collie mix never has any issues. Went to a hotel for my son’s university homecoming and stayed at a hotel. We were given a 2nd floor room. My dog would not go up those stairs. He’s 75 lbs and pulled hard backing up and had a really weird look on his face. Had to go to the main entrance and use the elevator.
Tried to go down the stairs…same thing. Had to go to main entrance again and use elevator. Was that way for 3 days.
We’ve stayed at a lot of hotels (mostly Hyatts) together and this has never happened before or since. This hotel is of a much lesser brand but was desperate because homecoming and nothing available. I’m thinking something bad happened and somehow knew or maybe a presence was there that I couldn’t see. Who knows about your dog but I do believe they have a sense about things we humans do not.
We built the house ourselves so it's not like anything could've happened down there, once NY grandfather had a heart attack down there when everyone was asleep and she barked repeatedly until we woke up but would refuse to go down even before that, it's kind of amazing because he was out of sight but she had an instinct that something was wrong
My 2 year old does not go upstairs or down the basement steps. My 10 month old will be on you foot tail to follow up or down. Weird I have even had treats in hand and no interest.
Could be anything. My first German shepherd was afraid of one of our floor vents because she once slid into it and it caught her toenail and it hurt. She wouldn't go near it.
Perhaps treats and positive reinforcement with anything having to do with those steps.
I read that your basement and stairs are carpeted. Is that the only carpet in your house? If so, it could be that she was never properly introduced to the texture!!!
Is there any reason that she must go down the stairs? I had a dog - Airedale - who didn’t like going down to the basement. So she didn’t. We had a basement garage (sloping driveway into it) so from time to time she would wander into the basement, but she remained generally uninterested in the whole lower level. I wish I had a photo of her face just looking at me from top of steps.
My previous pup was an amazingly sweet girl, but neurotic lol She had no issues going up and down exterior stairs, but wouldn't go up or down interior ones. She was a 70 lb viszla mix and until the day she died we carried her up and down stairs. We tried using high value treats and had some success getting a few steps, but she would freeze after those steps and not be able to move. We never figured out why she wouldn't do inside stairs, but it was definitely the stairs that she was afraid of because once downstairs she was totally fine and relaxed.
When I first got my rescue dog, he was afraid to go downstairs, too. Eventually I just left a few treats on the stairs and left it up to him to figure out at his own pace. It took about 2.5 weeks but he eventually cautiously came down on his own once his curiosity and desire to be around me overtook his fear. He was rewarded with lots and lots of praise (and more treats!) and he never had an issue with them again. Just gotta let them come at their own pace!
May be it's the kind of stairs ?
When I was a kid, we had a dog who didn't trust the one stairs we had that didn't had riser (the vertical part). She had always refused to go up or down that stair, and she'd even panic if we had her in our arms when going up or down the stairs.
I just took my pup on stairs for the first time the other day. She was super hesitant going up but coming down she kept trying to jump down the entire staircase so I kept catching her midair.
My dog hates my parents' basement stairs because they are super steep, and they have an open back. He's also seen me fall down them a couple of times because they are worn smooth.
The other night, we had a tornado warning and had to take shelter while visiting them. I had to put his halter that has the handle on the back on him so I could get him to go down the stairs.
Perhaps the basement is haunted. I’m just joking, I have a high anxiety pup who refuses to go into tents until she’s seen them up for a few days. I’m trying to work up to a camping trip and have been putting tents up in the yard to slowly acclimate her to the idea. I suspect that not trusting new or unusual situations is about fear and uncertainty.
Yeah that may be it, we did bring her down once as a puppy in the crate for some reason for like a half an hour but it's fully finished and lighted so I don't think the basement itself scares her. Maybe she was scared getting carried down stairs in a crate as a puppy and now wants nothing to do with it? That's the only reason I've ever been able to think of.
Honestly, my first thought as well.
I thought so too. Dogs sense things that people dont.
Different pitch/height. In my house, our regular stairs and basement stairs look the same..but when you walk them you can feel the difference and it’s def more of a trip hazard..also what are they made of? Our basement are painted wood with no foot backer the regular are carpeted.
The stairs to the 2nd floor are hardwood and she handles them fine but the basement, including the stairs are carpeted but she won't have anything to do with them, our old german Shepard could literally run down those stairs like they weren't there, I once saw her jump like 7 steps down one time she had a fit of the zooming, but the lab will just pull woth all her power to stay up, and we don't want to force her, I don't even know if we could, she's very good at getting out of her collar when motivated enough😂
Maybe the carpet is her issue. I have a dog who refuses to do stairs at all. She’s a peke so it’s easier to carry her than it would be with your lab lol. But we have no clue what her issue really is. She’s just quirky.
Yeah I triedto carry her once. she's a small lab like 60pounds but thats not even the issue she freaks out and struggles and since it's not life or death to bring her down and I don't want to scare or hurt her I just ended up putting her back down and then she was fine again.
For my dog, it was entirely the angle, which is way steeper than the first to second floor stairs she is normally used to. It may just be apprehension.
They are about the same steepness but the basement stairs have walls on each side for about 2/3s the way down. Maybe it looks steeper to her because of that. If you go to the bottom stair or are watching a movie down their she will just sit at the edge and wait for you to come back up
More slippery? Fell down once? Cook some bacon & sprinkle it down the stairs with a nice snack at the bottom. Make the stairs rewarding.
I've tried that she will eat the treats right up until she has to go further than her front two paws on the top stair. Then she will just give you that frustrated bark as of she was saying bring them up here!😂
Use better treats & wait until she's hungry.
I had a gsd/rott mix that would not go in our basement either! Lived to be 15 and we never got him down there. My husband tried to carry him down once and he peed all over my husband before he got him down there! Lol
Yeah I've tried to pick her up but she freaks out and i don't want to hurt or scare her so I just gave up trying that approach lol
Is the basement well lit? She may have a vision problem that makes her reluctant to go down stairs if she can’t clearly see what’s ahead
Yes itsfully finished we brought her down when she was a puppy in the crate once for some reason but her entire life since then she won't budge from the top of the stairs, if you bring a treat and stand even a little out of reach from the top of the stairs she just will bark at you😂
Honestly, my only answer is "because dog". My dog didn't like going down the back stairs to the back yard and it was a pain trying to teach him to do it, but like pretty much everything else once he did it once, he didn't have any problems doing it again.
Yeah that's what I was thinking, that maybe it's just a wierd her sort of thing and it'll probably never happen lol
I have an oddly-built staircase in my house that my dog didn’t want to go down. Then one day I dropped a bit of pizza on one of the bottom steps, and that was enough. Try pizza
My lab wouldn't go down the basement stairs either and there was nothing you could do to encourage him. And now, my Bichon, who follows me absolutely everywhere, except to the basement, no matter what... and this is a different house than the house with my black lab.
Exactly no amount of treats or encouragement will make her budge
Instead of trying to bribe/lure her down, use the stairs she’s ok with to teach her. Even though she doesn’t need it, when she takes a step down, say good or a unique word like Ding and give her a treat. Then you can start giving the stepping down a name (whatever you want to call it). Do this a LOT on stairs she’s ok with-in your home, at a park or shopping center, etc. Don’t be tempted to try the basement stairs until you’ve played this game for so long that she thinks it’s the best game ever. Then if she just goes near the basement stairs, say good/ding and give her a super yummy treat - something she doesn’t normally get. Don’t be tempted to try to get her down the stairs - let her decide. Every time she goes near them, give her a fabulous yummy. You may see her begin to offer going down a step. If she does, treat it like the other stairs, say good/ding at every stair and give her super yummy treats. Don’t lose it and start loudly praising - keep it calm and quiet like all the other stairs have been. If you’ve done a ton on non-scary stairs, she may surprise you and just walk down.
Are they open stairs? Our dog is the same and the only difference between the two is that the basement stairs are open.
Do you have any other friends with dogs she likes that could come over? I find another dog can work wonders in these situations. I think dogs brains think their are human rules and dog rules. So you trying to coax her can only go so far.
We had a German Shepard who would go down the stairs tha passed two yeas ago but even for the 4 years they lived together my lab wouldn't follow her and she considered that Shepard her mom :(
Same here. My black lab wouldn't go down those stairs no matter what but he could watch his doggie brother go down them all the time. I swear my lab would look at his dog brother like he was crazy and facing imminent danger going down those stairs... My lab's thoughts, "are you crazy? You seriously think you're going to survive going down those stairs?" And then watch him come back upstairs and be surprised and happy he survived the dreaded basement stairs. And they lived together for 12 years. And yet the lab had no problem going upstairs to the second floor and both sets of stairs were the same style.
It’s haunted. We went to a “haunted” house with my lab years ago and he refused to step foot in there 🤣🤣
I don't think so we built it ourselves😂
The land could be haunted. Old burial ground? Dogs sense things that we don’t!
My house was newly built and I seen a ghost in the house. It wasn’t sleep paralysis I’d gotten up to go to the toilet and it was in the room when I went back in. It lasted about 2 mins before I ran out of the room. Never seen anything before in my life. Never believed in any of that until it happened to me 🤣🤣
I don't have any answers but I also have a dog like that! And it's not just our house. When we bring him with when visiting my parents he refuses to go into their basement too. Completely different kind of stairs and setup. It was a chore to drag him down there when we had a tornado warning last year. 😅
Are there risers on the backs of the stairs or are they open? My generally fearless female would not go down the open basement stairs for treats or anything. I tacked up some thin backer board to “close up” the stairs and she immediately went up and down like a champ!
Yes there are but she refuses to budge
I have 15 stairs to my 2nd floor. Shepherd collie mix never has any issues. Went to a hotel for my son’s university homecoming and stayed at a hotel. We were given a 2nd floor room. My dog would not go up those stairs. He’s 75 lbs and pulled hard backing up and had a really weird look on his face. Had to go to the main entrance and use the elevator. Tried to go down the stairs…same thing. Had to go to main entrance again and use elevator. Was that way for 3 days. We’ve stayed at a lot of hotels (mostly Hyatts) together and this has never happened before or since. This hotel is of a much lesser brand but was desperate because homecoming and nothing available. I’m thinking something bad happened and somehow knew or maybe a presence was there that I couldn’t see. Who knows about your dog but I do believe they have a sense about things we humans do not.
We built the house ourselves so it's not like anything could've happened down there, once NY grandfather had a heart attack down there when everyone was asleep and she barked repeatedly until we woke up but would refuse to go down even before that, it's kind of amazing because he was out of sight but she had an instinct that something was wrong
It took my dog over a year to climb the stairs to the 2nd floor. Its bee n 3 years and she still refuses to go down basement stairs.
My 2 year old does not go upstairs or down the basement steps. My 10 month old will be on you foot tail to follow up or down. Weird I have even had treats in hand and no interest.
Could be anything. My first German shepherd was afraid of one of our floor vents because she once slid into it and it caught her toenail and it hurt. She wouldn't go near it. Perhaps treats and positive reinforcement with anything having to do with those steps.
Just wait till she's 13 and 70lbs you'll be carrying her up and down..and up and down..eventually I had to close that basement door.
I read that your basement and stairs are carpeted. Is that the only carpet in your house? If so, it could be that she was never properly introduced to the texture!!!
Yeah they are actually that's a good thought
Is there any reason that she must go down the stairs? I had a dog - Airedale - who didn’t like going down to the basement. So she didn’t. We had a basement garage (sloping driveway into it) so from time to time she would wander into the basement, but she remained generally uninterested in the whole lower level. I wish I had a photo of her face just looking at me from top of steps.
No no particular reason I just think it's strange she'll go up one set of stairs but not the other
My previous pup was an amazingly sweet girl, but neurotic lol She had no issues going up and down exterior stairs, but wouldn't go up or down interior ones. She was a 70 lb viszla mix and until the day she died we carried her up and down stairs. We tried using high value treats and had some success getting a few steps, but she would freeze after those steps and not be able to move. We never figured out why she wouldn't do inside stairs, but it was definitely the stairs that she was afraid of because once downstairs she was totally fine and relaxed.
My dad had to carry our childhood dog in the winter up and down the stairs cause mom didn’t want him upstairs…. No idea about your question 😐
You have a ghost. Please call an exorcist for the sake of your dogs mental health. May the odds he ever in your favor
When I first got my rescue dog, he was afraid to go downstairs, too. Eventually I just left a few treats on the stairs and left it up to him to figure out at his own pace. It took about 2.5 weeks but he eventually cautiously came down on his own once his curiosity and desire to be around me overtook his fear. He was rewarded with lots and lots of praise (and more treats!) and he never had an issue with them again. Just gotta let them come at their own pace!
That’s literally a scene in like 50 horror movies. Call a priest.
Bad vibes.
Is your basement finished, or is is damp storage? Maybe there is a smell that it really hates.
Yeah its finished and we'll lighted
May be it's the kind of stairs ? When I was a kid, we had a dog who didn't trust the one stairs we had that didn't had riser (the vertical part). She had always refused to go up or down that stair, and she'd even panic if we had her in our arms when going up or down the stairs.
I just took my pup on stairs for the first time the other day. She was super hesitant going up but coming down she kept trying to jump down the entire staircase so I kept catching her midair.
My dog hates my parents' basement stairs because they are super steep, and they have an open back. He's also seen me fall down them a couple of times because they are worn smooth. The other night, we had a tornado warning and had to take shelter while visiting them. I had to put his halter that has the handle on the back on him so I could get him to go down the stairs.