Ramp or steps for my old dog?

[evenstar]

So, my girl is having trouble now hopping into the back seat of the car. She is not arthritic but kidney disease and age have led to a loss of muscle and she also has some balance issues so she goes “wide behind” quite often. At this stage sometimes she hops onto the couch, sometimes she climbs, and sometimes she tries and fails and goes tumbling back on her butt before falling to her side.

I am more and more often having to give her an assist into the car but I’m not very good at it so it probably isn’t .much fun for her! She weighs more than a bag of feed so I can’t pick her up.

I have a ramp given to me by a friend who no longer needs it but ramp training shows that she will pretty easily step right off the side.

She still walks up and down the steps to my front deck (four steps) with no issue.

So I’ve looked into ramps with sides but the ones with tall sides seem to be for indoor use. I think I need solid sides on both sides of the ramp and tall enough that she can’t easily step over them. And collapsible for carrying in the hatch of the car.

Other possibity is steps designed to work with the car’s rear door. If they are wide enough she likely won’t step off by mistake.

Would love some advise and maybe recommendations of a ramp that would suit or if folks who’ve been in this spot think steps might be better.

Thanks for making it all the way through my essay!

[Pepsy]

Hi,
i would suggest using a ramp in combination with a Help 'em Up Harness
The harness has a handle and you could and should guide your dog up and down
Good Luck!

[evenstar]

Thanks for the suggestion! I hadn’t thought of that (had a friend that used one when her dog started to lose function in his hind legs).

[McGurk]

A quick and dirty short term solution is to use one of the molded plastic mounting blocks pushed up to the rear door of the vehicle.

Don’t ask me how I know this.

A wider, more stable ramp is the better, longer term solution, or you can park the intended vehicle beside a berm or on a hillside to make it easier for her.

[NaturallyHappy]

I used both for my big, late German Shepherd. The ramp came from Orvis - it was ok. I put it on the living room floor and practiced teaching him to walk on it. The steps I bought were collapsible and heavy so to take them anywhere was a chore. The thing that worked best was a styrofoam cooler - his nails got a grip in it. I had to put a foot on it to stabilize it. The one I used was from Omaha Steaks- very sturdy as a step.

[Bluey]

My nephew has a big old hound that for a few years gets in the farm pickup with this kind of folding stool, two steps and folds flat. he still helps her along.
Your dog may be past that, but if not, that could be an easy to fold and carry option:

The Lakeside Collection Folding 2-Step Stool

[evenstar]

More good options! Thanks guys. I have both a two step and a three step mounting block at the farm so that will help me see if she can use that option or if she needs a wider step. The folding step stool Bluey mentioned could be a good idea for giving her safer access to the couch so I will check that out too.

The steps made for dogs do sound like they would be awkward to use and transport. Good to know - thanks NaturallyHappy.

[OverandOnward]

This got me through a summer and more, when my 70 lb lab could no longer do well on stairs (we had a long flight to manage for a week or two), then general walks in the backyard, and getting in the car. With some caveats, below.

Large U-Band Harness

There was a definite learning curve to fitting and using it. But it was a godsend for quite a while.

The link below isn’t displaying the picture, but it is for back end only. I strongly recommend getting the front & back version. You have the option to use just one or the other. It may be that you’ll be needing the other end sooner or later, and they are already integrated.

https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-carelift-rear-handicapped/dp/53759?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20027453190&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4v6-BhDuARIsALprm306kem3mwSUNvWWOC88Ij7YkVns9c4TlgifgIGTBoEbHBpwztCH-70aAgMeEALw_wcB

As for the caveats …

It was tough that the lab, whose spirit was as energetic as ever, was in total denial of his changes. He thought he was just as fast and athletic as he ever was (high end fast & athletic). He was very annoyed and puzzled that his back legs weren’t doing what he was telling them to do.

At first, while his front end was seemingly at full mobility, just the back end lift got the job done. Except that as soon as the dog understood that he had help with those pesky back legs, his front end was trying to accelerate to his old max speed. Wait !!! I cannot lift the back end up or down one step after the next at 60 mph! While he was grinning and panting in excitement to get his mobility back – he thought.

One reason I deployed the front end lift before he really needed it was to slow him down. Whoa! I said Whoa!

As for getting into the back seat of the car – I sadly identify with your descriptions, including the backwards tumbles. My lab never conceded that he could no longer rocket launch to the seat from at least 3’ from the open door. That’s how he had always got in, that’s how he was always going to do it. Zero cooperation for other methods. I relate to that struggle as well.

Getting into the car had to be so carefully calibrated and timed so that he could do his big effort as I swept in to kind of scoop up everything back of his shoulders and push it in after his front end. It wasn’t always smoothly done. But he convinced himself that he sprang in on his own and was as happy as ever.

This all worked middling well for about a year and a half. But the saddest thing to share is that this is a time to acknowledge the changes, and plan for a future of increasing difficulties. Especially with a large dog. I couldn’t lift my dog either. Although I could lift just his front end or back end. And like you there was limited cooperation from the dog who didn’t see the big picture of mobility issues.

[OverandOnward]

Not saying this to be a downer. Just a heads-up about a realistic outlook for the future to prepare for now. Thinking ahead to plan for what your precious dog will need over the coming months, hopefully years.

Eventually it comes down to this: It’s not what the dog can do, or not do. It’s what the owner can do. Or not do.

There were stages in the decline when I thought ‘we can do this indefinitely’. But sadly there is no indefinitely. There is one down-step after another in an aging dog’s condition. It is just how fast the down-steps are coming.

My lab’s world became smaller and smaller as we had to give up on neighborhood walks for backyard walks, with the assistive device. And other dog-mobility accommodations – no more wilderness trips. But by that point he didn’t seem to mind, he was all about what was easiest.

It became no longer possible to travel and leave the dog in someone else’s care, including the dog-care facility that was so familiar with him. Professional dog-care facilities frequently won’t take mobility-challenged dogs (having one that will is a blessing!). Friends/family don’t know how to do it and struggle to learn, and hesitate at the responsibility.

A friend who knew him well and loved him dearly was going to care for him at my home for a two-night out-of-town trip. First she came to visit him for several hours while I was there, a couple of days ahead of time. At the end of her visit she gently told me that he was ready to go – she didn’t mean on a trip.

The next day he couldn’t get up on his own. That afternoon he went peacefully over the rainbow bridge. I wish he could have stayed longer. But this is the cycle of all life.

[evenstar]

It is true and in the back of my mind I am sifting through what signs I will see to help me make the decision that she has to go. For her the main thing is that she loves going to the farm every day where she can be off leash and wander around making sure all is well and the squirrels are behaving. In cool weather she still takes off running up the hill though now it’s more a bunny hop in back after a few strides. Renal disease will win out as it always does so I’m mindful of quality of life.

[OverandOnward]

Wow this is familiar! As long as they are happy and content, it is such fun to see an older dog enjoying themselves. So convinced they can catch those squirrels!

[Bonnie2]

Another recommendation for a mounting block. I put no slip paint on the steps. Also discuss with your vet if it’s time for regular medication. Our dogs get Adequan. The old girl went from occasional rimadyl to daily rimadyl to galliprant. We call it “gallivant”! She’s still a happy dog, if a little slower.

[chestnutmarebeware]

@Pepsy

i would suggest using a ramp in combination with a Help 'em Up Harness
The harness has a handle and you could and should guide your dog up and down

That’s exactly what I used for two of my late large-breed dogs. And the harness can by used separately down the road during potty breaks, etc. if needed.

Stairs may be doable now, but the ability to use them can disappear quickly in a dog that is already losing mobility, so you might only get a short period of use from them before you have to purchase a ramp anyway.

[trubandloki]

Like so many have said, I think whatever you choose (ramp or steps), you need to add some type of harness or such to add some stability to her while she moves up into the vehicle.

[OverandOnward]

Even if the dog can’t do stairs (or not well), stairs can be helpful when combined with a lifting harness. You are lifting the front or back half of the dog up each step. So it is just a little lift at a time.

The dog’s front end comes up a step, then the back end comes up to join it. Then the front up the next step – and so on. Of course dog size to fit on one step, and step width, does influence this. But they may figure out how to move to the side a bit and help make it happen.

With mounting steps I could see this working. It may be a biggish step up – but also there is more room on the step. And only the front or back half of the dog goes up on each lift. Likely to need some training to help the dog understand their part.

If the dog has some mobility, on ordinary steps they may start moving up the steps themselves while you use the harness to lift them partially, thus lightening the load for them. Hope that makes sense.

It can take a few tries for the dog to get the idea. But if they are focused on the destination they tend to figure out how to help you make it happen.

[tabula_rashah]

We have the ramp that weather tech makes- we used it for my Cane Corso through both of his TPLO surgeries and we use it now for my pitties who are young but I don’t want the jarring on their joints jumping out of my very tall truck. It’s lightweight, folds in half and has a super stable rubber where they walk up. I have used it in conjunction with a backend sling too

[evenstar]

Hi all! Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. I got the Lift em Up harness recommended here and that with the ramp is doing the job. And the added benefit is that if she gets to a point where my front steps are difficult I’m already set up to assist her.

And she is I’m sure grateful that I no longer grab her by various body parts to help her into the car! I tend to get it wrong far too often.

[OverandOnward]

So glad that you and your dog are adapting to your current reality, and it is making life livable!

It is great that with owner strategy, multiple aids can be combined to make things more workable for owners and dogs.