Up & Down stairs game ....preparing for baby.

Having one or more dogs underfoot while walking around with a newborn or baby can be challenging and dangerous. You may also feel off balance towards the end of your pregnancy and not want to worry about the dogs on stairs. Here is a video of a fun game to encourage dogs to go up and or down on cue. Thanks Helen for posting this and sharing your preparation for your baby! Helen Nicholls is a Dogs & Storks presenter expecting her first baby in July.
To begin teaching this to your dog simply start talking about "going up the stairs" as you do it and "come on down" each time you are going up or down the stairs. I use a hand gesture too. Then you can make it into a game. There are many ways to teach this fun game but the way I like is to toss a kibble up the stairs and say "go on up." Then have them sit at the top and say "come on down." Reward with praise and toss a ball or kibble up again. If your dog follows the "sit" command or "down" command from a distance then you can include those at the top or bottom as Helen did for more of a challenge. This is a great energy burner too for many dogs and can be loads of fun!