A puppy who was so petrified about climbing down the stairs in his home forced his loving owner to get down on all fours and demonstrate the technique before attempting the feat himself.
In an adorable video posted online, a sweet golden retriever called Hobbes can be seen cowering in fear on the top step of the staircase, while his owner tries to coax him into taking his first brave steps towards the lower level of the house.
After much barking and whining, the pup finally beats his nerves, and makes it down the stairs, celebrating with a series of celebratory leaps – and all thanks to the clambering efforts of his, at times, uncomfortable-looking owner.
Poor puppy: Golden retriever Hobbes features in a sweet new video that sees him try to conquer his fear of stairs, with the help of his loving owner
The video, originally posted in 2015, has found new fame on Twitter and Instagram, where fans cheer the puppy on for his adorable and vocal reactions of fear and anxiety as he tries to climb down the stairs on his own for the first time.
‘Hobbes is our puppy, and he was very nervous about going down the stairs. I figured the best way to teach him was by showing him, the way his mama would have naturally done it – and it worked!’ the owners captioned their YouTube clip.
‘He was so excited, make sure you see him jump with joy at the end!’ they added.
The start of the video sees the owner, who goes by user Cristobal1624, seated on the stairs and using his hand to beckon his golden-haired companion to make the trip down the flight on steps.
As the owner coos, ‘Come on, Hobbes, come on,’ the pup gives a frightened glance down the steps. suddenly stands up and puffs his chest out indignantly with a whine. When his owner continues to pester him he barks, making it loud and clear he has no intention to walk down those steps.
‘Okay you know what? I’ll show you,’ the Hobbes owner says as he clambers to the head of the stairs, much to the puppy’s excitement.
Face your fears! At the start of the video, the pup looks down and then buries his face in his paws in fear
Pup’s best friend: Thankfully Hobbes owner comes to the rescue to demonstrate how to walk down on all fours, in the same way the pup’s real mother would teach him
On second thought: The pup makes it down one step then snuggles into his owner’s arm in an attempt to abort the descent mission and be carried down instead
The owner, balanced on all fours, grabs the top stop with his hands and beats it a couple times and signals for the pup to follow suit, in much the same way a mother would teach her pups. He taps his two hands on the stair to signal the starting point and stretches for the next step, urging his dog to mimic his movements.
The little one, watching his moves, then slowly and timidly attempts it for himself and makes it successfully to the next step.
But then the puppy’s owners realize that he’s practicing his first walk down the stairs on the dangerous side of the staircase, that threatens an open drop.
After a quick position switch, the duo try their walk again. The owner taps his ‘paws’ again and stretches down to the next step, and Hobbes looks as his paws to follow suit, but then gets nervous making little soft wines. After some nervous glances, he instead retreats his pants, and snuggles his ear and head into his owner’s arm with a long whimper that sounds uncannily like a child’s ‘why’ cry.
His owner reassures him saying, ‘it’s okay.’
And his words of encouragement are enough for him to take the plunge and try the next step, which he makes with ease, slightly slipping off the step with his feeble paws.
‘Good boy Hobbes!’ his other owner, behind the camera cheers.
Paw by paw: The owner was not fooled and continued to teach the puppy to stretch his arms and leap, and the little one obediently, albeit reluctantly, follows
Golden moment! The tiny retriever finally gained enough confidence to trot on his own but his hind legs would often skid too far, causing his owner to place a supportive hand on his back
Last stretch! The dog crossed the final three steps all on his own without the help of his owner and he celebrated with leaps of joy when he finally reached the ground
After he makes the step he’s throttled by yet another attack of nerves and tries to crawl into his owners arm, revealing he’d prefer to be carried down then march down the steps himself.
But after some more encouragement he stretches his paws and makes the step, his owner catching his back from letting him fall.
He then makes it down six steps, slowly but surely, with little bursts of anxiety often in between.
At one point even ever tries to get down using his back paws, instead of his front two, before his owner corrects his form.
While the puppy makes great strides down, the video captures the owners hilariously positioned body. In an attempt to keep his head and arms by the dog, he balanced on his stomach, leaving his knees and legs near the top of the staircase, and he awkwardly slides down the stairs to keep up with Hobbes.
By the end the puppy trots down the final three steps all on his own with a new sense of confidence. And when he reaches the bottom, he’s as happy as can be with his triumph.
He walks across the ground floor happily, his tail wagging miles a minute, and gives a tiny leap of joy, proud of his crowning achievement. Finally stair-free the puppy is wailing no more, and runs off to play with his toys.