Muggsy, my old dog was like this. Going up the stairs is an entirely different movement from going down. Plus, look up the stairs from your dog's height, now look down the stairs. Up looks happy and easy, down looks like a giant chasm of terror.
The secret is patience and persistence. Get some really high value treats, like hot dogs or chicken and gently coax her down, one step at a time, praising her all the way. Give her a treat for every stair at first, then every other stair, then every third stair, etc. You may have to carry her down most of the stairs at first, but eventually, she'll catch on. This may take a while, maybe even weeks.
Also, make sure none of the stairs she uses are slippery. Like I said, up is different from down, and a dog is much more likely to slip going down than up. If any stairs are slippery, fix that. I bought asphalt tape and laid down strips on my hardwood stairs. Yeah, it looks like hell, but it helped the dog. There are other solutions, if you don't want to use the tape.
Good luck!
The secret is patience and persistence. Get some really high value treats, like hot dogs or chicken and gently coax her down, one step at a time, praising her all the way. Give her a treat for every stair at first, then every other stair, then every third stair, etc. You may have to carry her down most of the stairs at first, but eventually, she'll catch on. This may take a while, maybe even weeks.
Also, make sure none of the stairs she uses are slippery. Like I said, up is different from down, and a dog is much more likely to slip going down than up. If any stairs are slippery, fix that. I bought asphalt tape and laid down strips on my hardwood stairs. Yeah, it looks like hell, but it helped the dog. There are other solutions, if you don't want to use the tape.
Good luck!
