[Dailydrool] Homes with Stairs

[Tom Hickcox]

I have lived for more than a decade in two story homes and my bassets 
have exhibited no ill effects.  My late wife had a basset in a three 
level town home who did have serious back problems, but I think they 
were due more to a weight problem than the stairs.  Her subsequent 
basset had no problems and was much thinner.

Maggie Lou lived half her life with stairs and she could scoot up and 
particularly down them with great ease.  When she was really in a 
hurry, she would come down hitting about every third step.  It was 
remarkable.  She died at age thirteen of liver cancer.  My vet said 
when I mentioned something about bassets and stairs don't mix that 
perhaps the stairs strengthened her back and helped her live long.

Myrtle, age eight, has been with stairs her whole life with no 
problems going up or down.  Mabel, a rescue right at two years ago, 
climbs stairs very slowly and deliberately and has to get her courage 
up to come down them.  She is a bit plump.

My son's Daisy, aged eleven or so, has been with stairs her whole 
life with no associated problems.

My take on it and it is just my opinion from 30+ years around the 
luvlies is that stairs may exacerbate an existing problem but don't 
by themselves cause them.

Tommy H in Baton Rouge

At 10:30 8/1/2010, Esther Strom wrote:

>Message: 2
>Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:16:00 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Esther Strom <esthermstrom at yahoo.com>
>To: "An internet mail list designed to entertain and inform basset
>         hounds and      their people." <dailydrool at dailydrool.org>
>Cc: fudgelady at softcom.net
>Subject: Re: [Dailydrool] Homes with stairs...
>Message-ID: <844712.43824.qm at web30207.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>Vikki,
>Way back when I first adopted Waldo, we lived in a 3rd floor walkup 
>apartment.
>He did the stairs four times a day, and for the year and a half we 
>lived there
>he never had a problem. I've never been certain, though, that the 
>strain didn't
>contribute to the back problems he had later in life (which 
>eventually required
>emergency surgery.)
>
>This is obviously my own experience and opinion, but I would never allow a
>basset of mine to do more than a handful of stairs on a regular basis, having
>gone through what I did with Waldo's surgery and post-operative 
>care. That said,
>there are ways you can handle things if you own both levels, as you would in
>this house. You can gate off the stairs so the dogs are not allowed 
>up at all,
>or (if they are small enough and you're strong enough) you can carry 
>them up and
>down.
>
>I'm sure there are people who have had different experiences than I did with
>stairs, so if you really want this house you can make it work.
>
>Good luck!
>
>Esther, Basil, and Waldo ATB
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----
>
>
>My husband and I are considering a nice house on a big lot, but it's 
>two story's
>~ stairs inside, and two decks with steps outside.
>
>My question is - how are basset hounds with stairs? Our current home is one
>story.
>
>The only experience so far our dogs have had with stairs is the dogie steps I
>had made so they could get up and down off the couch and love seat without
>jumping.
>I'm sure someone out there must have bassets in a two story 
>environment, how is
>it working for you?
>
>Thanks for the input ~ Vikki