Is there a dog adoption data base similar to "Petfinders"?

Craigslist prohibits the sale of pets. You run the risk of someone flagging your ad (and someone always does flag your ad).

There is a website called Rescue Me. You must create an account (free). I can't tell you much more than that because I have never used the site, but it will usually turn up on search engines when someone plugs in a *breed name* and *rescue*. It is divided up by breed and state/country.

http://www.rescueme.org/ Click on Find a Home for an Animal.

Add: Lilly, I did not give you the TD.

Petfinder has classifieds for private owners who need to rehome their animals. Try looking on the site a little harder.

Like CraigsList: Don't ask an obscene amount of money for your dog. Have it spayed/neutered before rehoming. Make sure the dog is up to date on shots. And take good pictures of it.

This could be a couple of different things and so far, I can't tell if it is due to him being afraid or manipulating you into doing what he wants. It is not going to be an easy task to correct this and is giong to take time to resolve.

The first thing you should do is start taking him to lots of other places that have steps that are as narrow as the ones inside but not as long. Say 3-5 narrow steps and see if he will go up and down those. If he won't, then we know it is the width of the stairs that concerns him. If he does, then it is more likely a manipulative behavior on his part.

There are a couple of things I can think of that you can try. The first one is to take a treat that your dog feels is high value. My dogs will do almost everything for a hot dog slice or piece of liver. Other dogs have their own preferences but almost all the dogs I work for, do not get these things so find them very tasty. You can get about 30 slices from one hot dog and ths a dog isn't becoming full on hot dogs. If they are full, they will stop wanting the treat.

Work with your dog first thing in the morning while your dog is hungry but after he has eliminated. With him at the top of the steps, put a treat a couple of steps down on the stairs to the left. Put a second treat a couple of steps further down on the right and continue all the way down the steps in this fashion. Give your dog one treat immediately at the top so he knows the smell and taste. Then go to another room, put the tv or stereo up so you don't have to listen to any cries or use ear plugs if you want to do an activity such as reading. You need to totally ignore the dog and not show him any attention at all.

If he has already eliminated, then you should have several hours to let him make his way gradually down the steps to get the treat. If he doesn't do so, you will need to take him out to eliminate at times, but do not let him eat the treats. He will need to eat his regular food but it would be best if you let him at least wait a couple of hours before doing so to see if he will come down for the treats.

If he didn't succeed, then after his meal and sufficient time outside, take him up again and try again. I would do this at least three times a day inside as well as on narrow steps you can find outside the home.. Some trainers will start the dog off at 5-6 steps up in a situation like this and you could certainly try that first and gradually increase the number of steps he has to come down to reach the bottom. The aim is to at least get him started going down so he can be rewarded and then have him see that nothing bad happened when he did. Once he realizes that nothing bad will happen or realize that he can no manipulate you any longer, he will start going down the steps on his own.

I did forget to ask if the steps were wood or slick. I've had dogs that worried on wood steps due to the potential of falling. They would be fine if a runner was tacked down or if it had no-slip additions to the stairs. So if you think this might be the issue, you can see if adding some carpet to each stair helps the situation.

You could try a similar method but sit on the stairs with the hot dog slice in your hand and coax the dog down a few steps at a time. Some customers have had success like this but usually it doesn't work as the dog's cries make the owner give in and the cries are worse since the dog feels they can manipulate the owner since the owner is right there.

Petfinder is the best website but there is also a website called pet tango.

Not one that's as universally used. Just use craigslist, because it is a widely used site for people looking for dogs.