Stairs

This weekend was the first attempt at the basement stairs for Lucy. It was a mixed bag. Initially she went up without difficulty, although each step was thought out. There are 14 stairs, so it isn't an easy task and her deliberateness was understandable. I stayed with her going up. Going down she uses momentum and although "crashing" is a possibility, she is coordinated enough to avoid that.

I noticed after a dog walk, that the stairs became more monumental for her and her hips weren't quite up to it. She stopped part way (I'm still beside her) before completing them.

We're dog-sitting a friend's dog for 3 weeks and there is some rivalry between them. The other dog is alpha and definitely uses intimidation techniques to bully Lucy. One of the methods is to lay in a doorway so Lucy won't go past. Another is to lay in front of the dog door (not a comfortable spot and chilly) preventing Lucy from getting into or out of the house. The other is to stand at the top of the basement stairs...

Lucy and I were coming in from a walk and started up the stairs. We were about 2/3's of the way up when the guest dog plopped herself at the top. Lucy stopped, hesitating. I went to the top to move the other dog (verbal commands were ignored). Lucy's stalled upward momentum must have made her want to back down or caused some disconnect between her front and back ends as she started to sink in the rear and slide backwards. I was at the top and around the corner when I heard the noise of her scrabbling to get a grip. I ran back only to see her slide backwards, catch, try to turn to go down, slide sideways down a stair, catch, turn and complete the run to the bottom without falling.

Yikes! Way too close! My heart was pounding. While the other dog is here, no stairs, I can't monitor Lucy and the other dog at the same time. It also means, Lucy must be monitored using the stairs. I hope DH truly understands this. It also might mean, Lucy can't do the stairs, period. I doubt the latter, but it's something we'll have to watch closely.