Cleo's Person

Cleo loves running up the stairs in our house. We live in a two up two down and the stairs is off the kitchen so she loves running up them, especially when we're cooking as she gets all the good smells at the top of the stairs.

Her other favourite reason for running up the stairs is the fact that she can easily break into our bedroom. The catch on that door doesn't work properly and so all she needs to do to break in is to scratch the door a few times with her paw and it opens quite easily. Now she knows fine well she is not permitted up there and if you catch her halfway up and call her back down she comes sheepishly. But the lure of the laundry basket and the opportunity to destroy tissues under the bed is clearly too much for her.

Recently we bagan to lie one of the kitchen chairs on its side in front of the stairs as a sort of barricade. She could have easily jumped over this at any time but for some reason it acted as a psychological barrier... until this morning.

This morning I had to get up at 5.30 to drop Mark to the train station. Cleo came with us in the car for the spin. When we got back home, herself and myself snuggled/slept on the sofa until the usual get up time. While I was in the shower she stayed in her bed in her crate. So when I got out, I gave her a treat for being a good dog. When I went upstairs to get dressed she was downstairs eating her treat. Once she finished she came to the bottom of the stairs and barked like crazy to get upstairs. I ignored her as I really am trying to train her to know that upstairs is not her place. Anyway next thing I know the little minx is popping her head around the bedroom door to see what's going on! She had jumped the chair barrier and run up the stairs!

Ah well, we'll definitely have to invest in a baby gate now! Still it was good while it lasted. Of course once Cleo worked out she could do this she spent some time jumping over and back across the chair - I think to prove she could do it both ways!