Should my Pom climb and go down stairs

by Tom Riccobono
(New York City & Poconos, PA)

My Pom is 7 years old and is in good shape. He is 11 pounds and he's a medium small pom. My friend told me that small dogs should not go up and down stairs. My NYC apt. is on the 3rd floor and we have to climb 2 long flights of stairs. I carry him down but he likes to fly up them like superman. One paw out ahead of him the whole way up. Is this bad for his hips or body? They are normal size stairs and he climbs them with no problem but I just want to make sure we don't regret this later in life. We go out at least 3 times a day so that's a lot of climbing for my boy. Please let me know what you think.