The Staircase, Acrylic on canvas, 101 x 50.8cm, 2015
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Stairs present a challenge for many dogs. One of the puppy walking rules is that a pup must be twice the height of one stair before he is allowed to navigate them alone in order to protect his hip joints The trouble arose when Stanley, having reached the correct size, developed a fear of going down by himself. Until he conquered this phobia we had to carry him down our narrow staircase, often late at night; he was getting heavier and heavier with each passing day. His reluctance was short lived but this morphed into a fear of open staircases. We worked with our supervisor to overcome this aversion -  Stanley was encouraged with lots of praise and treats to climb up and down fire escapes as well as open staircases in parking lots and at shopping malls. Stanley now maneuvers stairs with ease.

Audio coming soon.