Ddog is suddenly scared (pacing, saliva, etc) of going down the stairs. She's 10 and has always been a highly anxious dog, but this is extreme even for her. None of us recall her falling or tripping on them the reluctance just started up suddenly. I'm thinking either eyesight or hips. She actually seems OK on steps outside but the ones in the house she gets stuck at the top of, however, she'll still willingly follow us up there if we go, especially at night to sleep. She can still make it down after a good bit of coaxing so I'm reluctant to barricade the stairs off so she can't come up at night but I can see us ending up there if I can't work out a better solution. She's a big Heinz 57 so she's not the easiest dog to carry down if it came to that.
I'll be taking her to the vet next week but assuming that will lead to a barrage of tests which will make her unhappy (back to the highly anxious again) I'm wondering if any one has any ideas.