One thing that has become clear as Lloyd gets bigger and bigger, and mostly stronger, sharing the stairs with an excited Lloyd is taking your own life into your hands.  We use a large measuring cup full of water to track how much he drinks, since there’s just no off switch for Lloyd when it comes to water.  If you are foolish enough to let him see you carry that measuring cup down the stairs to where his dishes are, you had better hop to it before he catches up with you.  If you aren’t subtle or fast enough, then it’s a Raiders of the Lost Ark terror run down the stairs with a tumbling barking avalanche of fur, teeth and spit enthusiastically trying to tangle your legs and carry you down to your death.  Seriously, Lloyd doesn’t come down the stairs so much as he surfs them, maniacally riding them into the wall at the landing where he lands with a whump and a grunt, only to heave himself up and launch down the next flight, using flailing limbs and tongue to carve a path of destruction for anything in his way.

The kids are especially vulnerable and while we haven’t lost anyone yet, it’s probably only due to sheer luck.  We were warned not to exercise St. Bernard puppies too hard when they are young, since their joints and bones are still growing and developing, forget about our own human puppies whose joints and bones are still growing.  I wonder how falling down the stairs 10 times or more each day fits into that?