Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Flip

Original poster

How to stop dog from going upstairs

24 replies

Whaleandsnail6 · 05/02/2022 08:49

Other than the obvious physical barriers such as stair gates or doors, is there any way I can train my dog not to go upstairs when we are out?

We have had her about 18 months. She knows she isn't allowed upstairs and never comes up when we are home, but in the last few weeks has started going up when home alone.

We noticed, at first my eldests bin had been strewn over the floor and the bed messed up and then some teddies moved off my youngest bed. Then teddies were being taken from his room onto the landing and last night we spent an hour looking for the favourite "can't sleep without teddy" to eventually find it behind the settee with a couple of others!

She's good in that she seems to know they aren't hers as she isn't chewing them up (which she does with her own toys) she's just carrying them round and then hiding them.

She's also dug the landing carpet trying to get into the closed door of our room and ripped it off the runner. There is no point in closing the kids bedroom doors, as she has worked out that of she leans on those doors, they open as we always shut doors.

I don't know why the sudden change in her behaviour and I'd like her to remain downstairs but it now seems the temptation of upstairs is too much!

I don't really want to shut her in the kitchen and our stairs are open plan so hard to fit a gate on.

OP posts:

Clymene · 05/02/2022 08:52

18 months is peak naughtiness. I'd try and figure out a way of fitting a gate. Do you not have a bannister?

gunnersgold · 05/02/2022 08:53

Get one of the material gates that rolls back into itself .then shut it when you are out!

Soontobe60 · 05/02/2022 08:56

Is she left for too long, and is bored?
Can you put a gate at the top of the stairs rather than the bottom?

SolasAnla · 05/02/2022 09:11

You wont get her to stop as this is likely a reaction to being on her own.

We had a dog who would do this but only if left alone for more than a couple of hours at a time. She was checking th rooms to see if anyone was home and would get on the beds to take a nap on your pillow. She would also have the classic guilt look when you first opened the door.

Your dog has no need to range over the house when you are out. Close her off in the kitchen pick a command word to mean "we are out" and she will learn that this is a signal that everyone is going out.
Then if she is stressed about being on her own you can work on solutions for that.

Original poster

Whaleandsnail6 · 05/02/2022 09:15

She isn't only 18 months old, she is about 4 years old (retired greyhound)

I could try and fit a gate to the bannister. When we first got her, we did use a dog gate on the kitchen as advised by the rescue but she started jumping over it or knocking it down (it was one of those temporary ones)

I think I've been reluctant to try that as I don't particularly want a stair gate, we are both rubbish at DIY and thought the faff of stairs gates was done with now the kids are old! But if it's the only thing that will work, I'll have to get one as it's more annoying her messing about upstairs.

She is left anything from half an hour twice a day whilst one of us nips on the school run, to about 3 hours if we are doing something else.

If she knows we are in, she doesn't come up. I work nights and if she knows I've gone upstairs to bed, she stays downstairs and sleeps on the settees.

We had a dog cam when we first got her and she just lay down and slept if we went out, she hasn't ever seemed distressed.

She isn't really interested in toys unless they squeak and she can chew them up so I don't like leaving her alone with her own toys in case she swallow something but I could try a Kong in case she is bored.

I'm just hoping for a magical solution to stop the sudden interest in the wonderful, exciting world of the bedrooms!

OP posts:

steppemum · 05/02/2022 09:41

We had a rescue.
Got him aged 3.

What surprised me was that even over a year later we would discover something new, and some of that was as his trust and 'comfort' in us and his home deepened, he would feel safe to try something 'naughty'

So I wonder if initially he lay downstairs and didn't go up because he was a bit wary/cautious. But now, he know this is a safe place so he is off exploring it!

Distraction toys, like Kong with peanut butter in it.
Stair gate, or shut him in one downstairs room.
bolt on kids doors so he can't open them.

Floralnomad · 05/02/2022 09:45

Greyhounds love beds so unless you put up a barrier I doubt you will stop her . Personally I’d choose a room that you don’t mind her going in , close all the other doors and try that .

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 05/02/2022 09:48

You can't train a behaviour when you're not physically there to prevent it.

The only way to stop her is to prevent her from getting upstairs in the first place - so yes, baby gates, or just shut her in one room while you're out instead of giving her free range.

My beagle is left with access to one room only - we use locked doors and baby gates to keep him out of the rest of the house.

Powerplant · 05/02/2022 09:58

We have something like this but homemade, it sounds like we have similar set up of stairs to you, you do have to lift on and off but no drilling into walls.

Clymene · 05/02/2022 10:02

I have gates which are pressure fit so no DIY required.

ErrolTheDragon · 05/02/2022 10:11

@Powerplant

We have something like this but homemade, it sounds like we have similar set up of stairs to you, you do have to lift on and off but no drilling into walls.

That would stop a sausage, but I'd have thought a larger dog could knock it down - or try to and possibly hurt itself? I'd have thought the first thing would be to try to fix the bedroom doors so they latch properly. Some of ours need attention from time to time to stop our dog pushing into them when we don't want him to.

Otherwise I think the OP needs a proper stair gate or shut the dog in the kitchen. Does he have (or would there be room for) a comfy bed in it?

PollyRoulllson · 05/02/2022 10:32

Can you just shut all the doors upstairs when you go out. Then there will be no reason to go upstairs as it will be boring and nothing to do expect sit in the landing

PollyRoulllson · 05/02/2022 10:33

sit in the landing
or
sit on the landing?

no idea why do you sit on a landing but sit in room

Devilmakes3 · 05/02/2022 10:41

We have a greyhound. We have set the stair gate higher than usual to stop attempts at jumping over. Our stair gate is one of the fabric/plastic ones that hides away better and it keeps him confined to 3 rooms when we are away. Can you close a door to the upstairs or is the stairs in open plan. Close bedroom doors too and make upstairs less interesting. Our guy is petrified of coming down stairs but I have turned around to find him at my heel on occasions. They are absolute divils.

itwasntaparty · 05/02/2022 10:41

Just shut the upstairs doors when you go out? We have a gate because we've got a zoned alarm. Ddog loves to sit on the middle stair where they bend so we have to. It's a pressure fit one so no big deal to fit.

ErrolTheDragon · 05/02/2022 10:57

The people saying 'just shut the doors' missed There is no point in closing the kids bedroom doors, as she has worked out that of she leans on those doors, they open as we always shut doors.

The OP needs to fix those doors for that to work. Or if they really won't latch, add bolts or hooks on the outside of the doors.

SolasAnla · 05/02/2022 11:00

@PollyRoulllson

sit in the landing or sit on the landing?

no idea why do you sit on a landing but sit in room

Off topic Its language designed around communal understanding of words, by not needing to pass on extra detail around current social design and construction of homes and furnishing layouts😉

you will be in the livingroom sitting on some seating placed in the sitting room.
V.
You will be sitting on the floor surface of the landing small space used to transition on and off a stairs as its designed to be a passage way with no suitable seating.

3luckystars · 05/02/2022 11:01

We have a stair gate but just lay it across the top of the stairs, it’s not attached to the wall. We have also used a bed rail and that worked too.

Snowisfalling33 · 05/02/2022 11:05

She misses you and goes to the places that smell most strongly of you.
Can you put a few more toys and clothes that smell of you downstairs for her?
Also, can you not just shut the bedroom doors so she can go upstairs but not in the rooms?

Snowisfalling33 · 05/02/2022 11:07

@ErrolTheDragon

The people saying 'just shut the doors' missed There is no point in closing the kids bedroom doors, as she has worked out that of she leans on those doors, they open as we always shut doors.

The OP needs to fix those doors for that to work. Or if they really won't latch, add bolts or hooks on the outside of the doors.

Oops sorry I missed this too. Small hooks or bolts on the outside then? Or as pp says, fix the latches. Sorting out then closing bedroom doors does still seem to be the obvious solution.

PollyRoulllson · 05/02/2022 11:07

@SolasAnla Thank you!

Definitelyrandom · 05/02/2022 11:17

Greyhounds do seem to like some space to mooch around in when they’re left. We make sure all doors we don’t want him causing trouble in are properly shut, but leave open our bedroom door (where he sleeps on his own bed) and he’ll hop up onto our bed and be quite happy. I think it is a smell/comfort thing.

gunnersgold · 05/02/2022 12:14

This is the sort of thing I meant . You can't really see it when retracted !

Original poster

Whaleandsnail6 · 05/02/2022 12:59

I think for now, I'll put a bed in the kitchen and leave the door to the dinningroom open so she has a choice of laying in the kitchen or on the settee in the dining room , to be fair, she loves it in there as she likes the patio doors to watch the birds. That will shut off the living room and access to the stairs.

For future, I will look at fitting a stair gate (I loved the free standing one, it's so cute but I do think she would try and knock or pull it over) may try a retracting one.

I would rather stop her going upstairs as if she finds doors shut, she had dug the carpet and pulled it from the grippers. I suppose I could put little locks on the kids doors but let her in my room as there is nothing interesting at all in there, other than the bed which she would just sleep on given the chance!

Got some options to be getting on with so thanks for the responses.

OP posts:

Flip