Stair Master

Boykins has really grown since we got her in July...Not only is she weighing in at about 20 pounds (she was about 10 when we got her), she's a lot taller. It's hard to imagine her as small as she was even in July, since she still seems like a little dog to us. But when we look back at pictures (here and off the blog), it's clear she's not just bigger, she's taller.

One of the benefits of all this growing: she no longer needs us to carry her up and down the stairs in our condo. (The door to our condo is at street level, but when you come in, you're immediately faced with a set of stairs that lead to our actual living space. For a small puppy like Boykins, this was a pretty intimidating climb (or descent).

We knew she could do small sets of stairs, since she could do the four that lead from our front porch to the sidewalk. In fact she was doing those pretty early on. But the large set of stairs inside was another story entirely. No amount of encouragement would help. We even tried lining the steps with cookies and she still just looked at us like, "Are you guys crazy?!"

Eventually, she was willing to go DOWN the stairs on her own. With tha huge noggin and all that forward momentum, I guess it was just easier. She hardly had to work, just let gravity pull her down.

Boykins Down the Stairs.

About a month ago, early in the evening, I called to her from the living room, but she didn't come to me. (She almost always does.) I then called to Quan to ask if she was with him in the computer room. "I thought she was with you," came the reply. This prompted both of us to get up off our lazy butts and start looking for her. She was nowhere to be found. How could we lose Boykins in our tiny condo?! After a few seconds of frantic searching, I turned on the lights over the stairs to the front door. There she was, sitting quietly at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to go out.


Can I get a little help?

With the downstairs trip under control, the real challenge came with the upstairs trip. About a month ago, we decided to give it a serious go. With me standing behind her, and Quan setting treats out on the stairs in front of her, she managed to go all the way up. It took a while, since she pondered each move very carefully and was unsure of herself. But she did it, and has continued to get better and better with practice.

Boykins Up the Stairs.

At this point, she's really becoming quite a pro! And since she's still growing, it's nice that we don't have to lug a 20-pound sack of taters down the stairs for each walk.