You could definitely work on this when you're at home with the dog. You'd have to totally keep your eyes on him so that you could STOP him BEFORE he hit the stairs. You could redirect him when you see him going for the stairs. Ask him for a command, call him over to you, ask him for another command, etc. Keep his mind off of going back over to the stairs. Praise him for the commands you asked, give treats, etc.
EVERY time you see him going for the stairs you'd have to do the same thing.

I suppose you could give it a name. For instance, "leave it" is used when you want him to not touch something, I suppose you could give a name to him coming away from the stairs. Something like "away from stairs" might be too long a chain, maybe just "away" or whatever you want, really. The thing is, it has to be different than something generic. Not just "off" or "leave it".

The concern I would have is, what about when you're NOT home? If the dog wants to explore, because he gets bored, there's no one to stop him from going up the stairs. And, if he gets a taste of "freedom" that might become a self-rewarding behavior, meaning he'll do it again whenever you're not home, because the behavior in itself is a reward. (It's fun)
When you're NOT home, I guess that's when you could put up a baby gate.

The more you deny him access to upstairs, the more likely he'll see it as not even an option.

 

I agree with doxie. My GSD mix was just too big for the couch, so I taught him not to go on the couch using the word "couch". You could use "stairs" to mean "don't go up the stairs." If a human was in the room, he stayed off the couch. However, I did find an awful lot of fur on that couch every time we came back from the grocery store.

 

1. You DO want a command that will stop him from going into the "forbidden zones" when you detect that he is trying to go there. You can use whatever you want - just make sure it is used for that and for that only.

2. You SHOULD have an attractive area that he CAN go to whenever he wants. Whenever you give the command to stop him from going where he isn't allowed, you should at the same time encourage him to go to "his place".

3. If you aren't going to be around, you WILL have to reinforce your instructions with a physical barrier at least for a while. How long this has to go on is somewhat tricky and really depends on the individual. Some dogs become very adept at getting into the forbidden territories when they know that no one is around, and quickly leaving them just before you or someone else returns.

 

What I would do is keep him on a long leash downstairs. When he goes near the stairs, say "ah ah" or "No" or whatever word you want in a stern voice and don't allow him to put a single paw on the stairs. As soon as he turns around, be very excited for him and give him treats and lots of praise. When you are unable to have him on leash downstairs or otherwise can't be watching him, use a baby gate.

Or, they have baby gates that swing open so you don't have to step over.
Like this one: http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/eve/eve4481100.html
"The gate features a child proof, one hand release handle - simply squeeze the handle and push down to open. The door swings open in both directions for easy walk-through, and the gate closes with a gentle push. The red/green indicator shows if gate is properly locked."

 

in all the training I have read, treats are the way to go

The trick is, stopping him in his tracks by using a treat before he goes upstairs I think... If he goes up stairs then he doesn't get a treat.

 

Thanks for the tips. Looks like its positive reinforcement for staying away and the use of a baby gate. So after a whle I'll be able to eliminate the baby gate? I hope so, because my stairs are a bit weird and I don't think a standard baby gate would work. The only thing that has fit so far is this rather annoying contraption at the bottom of the stairs.

And like someone mentioned, Ill have no idea what she is doing when no one is home. I wonder if she would just try to sneak up while the house is empty even with all the training?

 

Yes, she COULD try to sneak upstairs when you're not home, EVEN with all the training. It just depends on her personality. Amaryllis gave an example of teaching her dog to stay off the couch, which went fine when people were home, but she came home to find dog hair on the couch often.

One of my dogs has a shoe fetish. We HAVE to keep shoes picked up or they will disappear, and then reappear destroyed.
Another of our dogs could care less about shoes. We could leave all of our shoes out and he would not even touch one.
So, because of our shoe girl, we have to keep them picked up. Which works. But, if we all of a sudden forgot and left some out, she'd go right for it. Our boy, as I said, wouldn't care.
My point is, it depends on your dog's personality and how curious and exploritory she is. Keeping her from going on the stairs may work, and you may be able to remove the baby gate eventually. She may never show an interest in the stairs, if you prevent it for long enough. But, if she's curious, you never know.....

 

Depends on what's more important to you, keeping her off the stairs and that level at all cost and using a gate, or assuming she'll wander up there the odd time.

When I was a kid we had a dog that wasn't allowed upstairs, but would sneak up at night to sleep on the couch. Had to cure that or get rid of the dog (I don't speak to my parents now for many reasons, that's just one of them!). So I used a motion detector 'doorbell' on the top step. If he went up the stairs it would ding and I could go correct him. It took three times in about 20 minutes and then he never went up the stairs again, I'm sure he was quite annoyed that everytime he tried to sneak up there'd be a DING DONG sound and I'd come remind him where his bed was.

 

great idea...i may have to borrow this one.

 

we had a no upstairs policy for the first year we had our first boy. we were very vigilant when he was out...as soon as he put a paw on the steps it was..."ah ah ah"..."come here" and then some good lovin...it worked that now he only comes upstairs when we call him up there...they are not out when we are not home so that is different but i will say that the knobby rubber mats (you know the kind that are used an "runners" on carpet at grandma's house) upside-down on the stairs, we use it on the futon and other furniture we don't want them on, work very well...they really don't like the knobbies on their paws.

 

Our friends did this with their dog, they just didn't let him upstairs and he caught on. He never EVER goes up there either, he knows it's off limits.