14 year old old won't come inside by herself.

[BRYANSGIRL82114]

So we have a papillon who is a drawf shorter then she should be, She is supposed to be 5 pounds but since our dog died 4 years ago she refuses to eat dog food so my parents feed her table scraps and she is now 15 to pounds she used to come up the stairs when you let her out but now she just puts her front on the bottom step and cries and cries and cries until you pick her up and bring her in I know she can come in herself because she has done it before not long ago but she just refuses to now. You can leave her outside 3-4 hours and she still will not climb the doorsteps alone. My parents yell at me when I refuse to go bring her in and refuse to stop feeding her table food although she is already 10-15 pounds overweight.
How do I get her to start coming up the stairs alone. I have got where I refuse to let her outside because the way she is. She just refuses to come inside on her own and my mom claims shes old she cant climb that bottom step alone. If you put her on the bottom step she climbs the rest of the way on her own I know it has nothing to do with her age because she can jump up in a chair 3 times the height of the step and can jump on the couch.

[JudyN]

First up, if she hasn't had one, she needs a vet check because even if she can get up the steps, it may be uncomfortable for her. The excessive weight won't be helping her joints. She's heading for a pretty miserable old age if she doesn't lose weight, but I'm sure you know that and you can only do what you can. Maybe if you can persuade your parents to take her to the vet they might listen to him.

Would she come up the steps if you put something really delicious and stinky at the top? If so, there's a chance of training her to get up the steps by rewarding her. But otherwise, I would simply carry her up. She's an old lady, she should be allowed to have her quirks, and though you might not understand why she can't come up the steps, it may seem impossible to her. She isn't 'refusing' to come up the steps, she simply doesn't know how to get up if she's not carried, so it's cruel to leave her out for hours if she won't come up them, as is refusing to let her out, which will make no sense to her at all.

Some battles really are not worth fighting

[Nettle]

Great advice!

If you can't stop your parents killing her with scraps, it's no good taking it out on the dog because she isn't doing what you think she ought. Just swallow your indignation and carry the poor beast. Think of it as a gym workout

And yes: she needs to have a full health check. She's an old dog and other things could be going wrong, your parents might listen to the vet where they won't listen to you (when do parents ever?) and if you catch yourself feeling offended, remember that if you live long enough to get old, you might well be overweight and a bit creaky too

[BRYANSGIRL82114]

The reason I know she can come up the steps because She has done it before. that is before my dad spoiled her this bad. What can we feed her to get her to lose weight she won't eat dog food you can leave the food down there for days and she will not eat it. we have tried dry dog food, wet dog food, every type of dog food she just will not eat it... She has been like this ever since we had our other dog put down about 4 years ago. They say they don't feed her very much which they don't and even some table food the dog won't eat she has gotten to such a picky eater its almost impossible finding something she will eat, we have already took her to the vet and had her teeth cleaned and the bad ones pulled out so it's not her teeth she is just a really picky eater. We tried to feed her hamburger last night and she wouldn't eat it, it sat in her bowl all night.

[JudyN]

The reason I know she can come up the steps because She has done it before.

Yes, but she was younger & lighter then. And we are all able to do things that we don't really want to do, for whatever reason. There's a difference between spoiling a dog and indulging her quirks.

As for the food - the first step is to stop giving her food she shouldn't be having. Given her weight, you really don't need to worry about her not eating enough. And dogs are definitely affected by the death of another in surprising ways. I read on another forum just the other day about a dog refusing to eat after the death of the other dog, who had always been fed first. In the end the owners discovered that if they put the other dog's bowl down on the floor, then took it up and put this dog's bowl down, she would eat.

As for what to feed her: some people find their dog will eat kibble if they pour something like gravy or stock (made without salt) over it. Other dogs are very keen on raw meat - try offering her a little chicken mince or maybe a chicken wing. If she likes them, we can give much more advice on raw feeding. Or you can find recipes for home-cooked dog food - if she likes 'human's' beef stew, say, this could be a starting point. It would be easy to cook up a large batch and feed it in meal-sized portions.

If you find something she will eat, offer her less than she really needs. This may really be a tiny amount, no more than say a tablespoon. It will leave her wanting more, and therefore more enthusiastic at the next meal, and the one after, and so on, until she learns to look forward to eating her meals.

Many dogs fast for a day every so often naturally so having reduced portions for a while shouldn't harm her. I don't know if this is so true with an elderly dog though - your vet should be able to advise, or quite possibly Nettle will know.

[delladooo]

I don't really have anything to add advice wise, Judy and Nettle can offer much better advice in a much more articulate way than I ever could.

That said, I just want to reiterate Judy's point about spoiling a dog and their quirks. My boy is still only young, not even two yet, and hates to toilet in the garden. If he is absolutely desperate, wake up in the middle of the night and need to go now, then he will but if not he will wait until I physically harness him up and take him out, regardless of the weather (and he really hates the rain!). Does this make him spoilt? I wouldn't say so, he just has a quirk and we work with it.

My point is, don't jump to spoilt dog just being difficult and proceed to be irritated by accommodating her, in my experience it will just make you irritable with her and in turn start to damage your relationship. We use our numerous outings for our daily exercise and it's a brilliant opportunity to have short and frequent training sessions. Whilst just lifting the dog up the steps doesn't have as many ways to find a positive to the quirk, use it to help build your relationship, you really can't underestimate what a good relationship with your dog can do - it was this forum that really taught me that.

[Erica]

I'd also wonder, if she doesn't seem to be eating much and is so overweight, if she might have some kind of health condition like thyroid disease.

I have a picky eater myself. Sometimes he won't eat a meal for a day or a day and a half, but then he'll start eating again. It's annoying but that's just who he is.

[BRYANSGIRL82114]

She was not any younger or lighter the last time she came up the stairs it was just like 2-3 months ago. She can jump on the couch without an issue but can't climb 1 stair

[JudyN]

Will she come up the step if you lure her up with something really tasty?

[Nettle]

So just carry her up and the problem goes away. Stop thinking of it as a competition that you must "win" and she must "lose". She's a fat little dog that finds it a struggle going up the steps, scraping her legs and tummy, hurting her all over, not being able to see up to the next step, and the whole process is miserable for her.

Trust me, the day will come when you struggle with steps, and you'll remember this as younger thoughtless people say "Come on, Gran, just try will you? You got up them okay ten years ago".

[Suzette]

Please heed Nettle's advice. At fifteen pounds, this poor little dog is morbidly obese through no fault of her own. She may well find the strength and ability to jump and climb once in awhile when highly motivated, but is certainly not in any physical shape to do these things (like climb steps) on a regular basis.

Please be compassionate and help this little creature out by carrying her up steps when she finds it too difficult. As Nettle says, there's no winning or losing the battle here. There should be no battle at all. She simply depends on the humans in her life to care for her and meet her needs.

You were kind and thoughtful enough to come here seeking advice, so it's clear that you care about her. Good for you and so it will be good for her.

[BRYANSGIRL82114]

the thing with picking her up and bringing her inside is my dad is elderly and when I am not home he must do it and one time going outside to get her he fell and broke 3 of his ribs.

[Ari_RR]

What kind of stairs is this? If just a couple of steps - maybe a ramp can be a solution?