I'm always learning something new. I live in a two story house. I read that bare stairs are hard on dogs hips because they have to climb them with their paws in an unnatural position. Unnatural meaning back on the pads of their feet as opposed to pushing off with their toes and nails. I immediately carpeted the stairs. That was five years ago. Bad hips are the thing nightmares are made of. My half mastiff puppy has mastered climbing the stairs. He is only eight weeks old. At first I thought "how cute". My second thought was "Oh no, his hips". Any thoughts on this?