Like most dog owners that have trained their animals well, my dog pretty much has free reign of the house because I know she isn't going to do any damage.. She has never chewed up anything in her life that she wasn't allowed to and only got into the trash once and to be fair that was my fault because i put chicken wings in a very low lying trash can. No dog could resist that temptation.
Anyway, for some reason she thinks she is not allowed to go up the stairs without permission.
My office is upstairs but like most houses the kitchen and living room is downstairs. When I go upstairs, if I don't beckon her to follow she just sits there, patiently.... for a while
After a few minutes she will start to growl and whine a bit... not like in an irritating persistent way but just enough to let me know that she is there. Then i whistle or use baby-voice and she proceeds to the next landing
And there she would remain, presumably until the end of time, unless i beckon her to the top of the stairs. At this point i reward her bravery with a treaty-pie that she is really excited to receive (as you would expect.)
Then she will go out on the front balcony where she can keep the perimeter safe by letting me know if anyone gets near the house or if any cats make a sound anywhere in the neighborhood.
The funny thing about this is that the same "I need permission before I use the stairs" doesn't exist in reverse as she always follow me down without being told. Somehow, she has gotten the impression that upstairs if off limits unless she is told to come up there. She has never left the upstairs before me. Maybe she is just making sure I am safe (cute.) Oh well, it isn't annoying at all, I think it is endearing. I have a very well-behaved doggo and she can do whatever she wants :)