My dog Shakespeare has never been a big fan of stairs. He does the back porch without hesitation, but lately he has been roaming the basement. Its not fixed up or anything, but it is my spot to "hide" around the house. Lately I have been finding Shakespeare down here. I dont mind him coming down, but it is not pet safe at all. The other part of the problem is that he will make it down allright, but then he is afraid to come back up, so he stands at the bottom step and yelps until someone helps him. Unfortunately Im the only one who can lift him. I have stood at the top of the stairs with the good treats and given his "bratty little sister, Sophia" tons of treats and attention and he still just sits there and yelps. My wife seems to think that there is a mouse down here and he is checking it out. I dont doubt it, but I havent seen any signs of mice here lately. He mainly seems to like the laundry area. After getting called at work because he was stuck down there when the kids were home I finally put the basement door back on, and he hasnt been able to get down since. Today though I stepped out for literally 10 minutes and when I got back, theres Shakespeare down in the basement again.