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Puppy Steps

The puppies always want to get off the bed, get on the bed, get off the bed, get on the bed.  This is especially aggravating to me in the middle of the night.  They can't jump on the bed by themselves, so I have to pick them up and put them on the bed.  It's not difficult with Leo; I can scoop him up with one hand.  Gus on the other hand has gotten pretty hefty.  I have to get out of bed and use both hands to heft him up,

I decided to invest in some steps so they could climb up without assistance, saving me some sleep and a hernia.

I put treats on the steps.

They ate the treat off the bottom step and couldn't figure out how to get to the others.

This, despite the fact that they climb steps every day of their lives to get in the house.

How I get to treats?

Finally, Leo started to get the idea first.  But he wasn't taking his back feet off the floor.  That top step treat just wasn't tempting enough.

Leo finally got brave enough to get all the treats, but he still wouldn't go for the treats I had put on the bed.

To date, after a week of training, Leo will run up and down the steps to get on and off the bed.  No treats needed.

Gus is terrified of the steps and won't go near them.  If I put him squarely on the steps, he freezes like he thinks he's about to be eaten.  I can put my hands on his legs and physically walk him up the steps like a puppet, but if I take my hands off of him, he leaps for life off the side.

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but at least he's snuggly.

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