Dog Ramp - Where To Get One?

[woody2shoes]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone can steer me in the direction of a lightweight, fold up dog ramp suitable for labs. It must be interchangeable between my 4WD ute and my husband's s/wagon. Most of the hits I've found on the internet are for American versions.

Thanks in advance.

w2s

Edited May 12, 2008 by woody2shoes

[CP*]

I have a twin cab ute and got pet loader stairs from the US and it still worked out cheaper than ordering a ramp from Australia (www.petloader.com). Plus the ramps take up a lot of space if you want to reach the back seat - too wide to get my dogs onto the backseat when parked in my driveway. I think they are designed for back of vehicle access or getting dogs onto floor level.

Otherwise prestige pets (the pet product distributors) does ramps and you can check their website for stockists of their ranges in your state. Plus most of the popular online pet stores have pet ramps. The main brands are 'petstep' and 'solvit'

If you do a search here I think there was a discussion last year about making your own ramp.

[woody2shoes]

I have a twin cab ute and got pet loader stairs from the US and it still worked out cheaper than ordering a ramp from Australia (www.petloader.com). Plus the ramps take up a lot of space if you want to reach the back seat - too wide to get my dogs onto the backseat when parked in my driveway. I think they are designed for back of vehicle access or getting dogs onto floor level.

Otherwise prestige pets (the pet product distributors) does ramps and you can check their website for stockists of their ranges in your state. Plus most of the popular online pet stores have pet ramps. The main brands are 'petstep' and 'solvit'

If you do a search here I think there was a discussion last year about making your own ramp.

Thanks for the info Caro. I'll have a look at all the options you suggest.

Cheers.

[Kelly_Louise]

Love My Pet (www.lovemypet.com.au) sell the PetStep ramps (half and full size). I bought one myself and it's great, however Chloe won't go near it but enjoys watching me using it!! I think it's great though and will come in handy if I can ever get her to use it!!

[woody2shoes]

Love My Pet (www.lovemypet.com.au) sell the PetStep ramps (half and full size). I bought one myself and it's great, however Chloe won't go near it but enjoys watching me using it!! I think it's great though and will come in handy if I can ever get her to use it!!

hehehehehe

On that note, could I have some advice please (ideally anectdotal!) as to what type of equipment would best suit a) a dog with bad elbows and b) a blind dog who is otherwise fit and well - ramp or stairs? I am in a real quandary about this one.

Thank sin advance.

w2s

[~JoLu~]

I had a ramp thread a little while ago. I actually borrowed one from Arty, but Jonty never really got the hang of it. He did eventually learn to jump in the back though, just needs a run-up first

Thread is here

[JulesP]

I got mine from Petstock.

[Golden Rules]

I had the Innovations ramp for my old dog Hamish - he refused to use it.

When I got my other boy and he had cruciate ligament and HD problems, I bought the Solvit Pet Ramp from City Farmers -- he has learned to use it but it is about 3kgs to lift which can be quite heavy for one hand. When I feel lazy, I just put his front paws up on the back of the car and then left the arse end of him up and he's good to go!

So I'm now left wth two ramps and don't use one at all, rarely use the other these days! ;)

[Kelly_Louise]

Woody, in my opinion I would go for a ramp for any type of leg issues. I guess for a blind dog they would be better too, as long as they are supervised and can't fall off the side. If you can encourage a dog to use them, I find them fantastic.

[Trishm]

Cheap as Chips have one that is only $40, it seems very sturdy. I bought one for my elderly whippet to use to get onto the bed. It folds into a very compact unit, you would have to check it for strength for labs, but it does seem pretty strong. I glued that non stick stuff that you use for cupboards etc onto it to make it non-slip. A helpful guy at CC undid it for me to check the strength, maybe someone would do the same for you.

Trish

[woody2shoes]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your input. I have a few options it seems...now I have to make a decision.

My lab with the elbows looks to be very sound following surgery (fingers crossed! ;)) I am just keen to reduce the amount of stress on her joints from jumping in and out of the ute over the years (and on my back from lifting her 25+kgs )

I really like the look of the stairs Caro, particularly the 5-step option as this would greatly reduce the angle of ascent/descent, as well as the distance between each step. And, being a horizontal plane, I think the likelihood of her taking to the equipment is greater. Caro, did your dog/s take to the stairs well? It sounds as though quite a few aren't too keen on the ramps or am I reading that wrong?

The lab that's going to be blind is currently fine and will be for a few years yet (hopefully!) so he has plenty of time to get used to whichever option I guess. I do suspect that it will be easier for him to 'feel' his way up and down a ramp in later years though so his owner (he's not my dog) will have to make a decision on that one.

Thanks once again to everyone for your help with this. Your feedback has been invaluable.

Cheers,

w2s

Edited May 13, 2008 by woody2shoes

[TigerJack]

I had an elderly Great Dane until very recently and my vehicle is a vito van with a raised floor for the dogs (gear goes underneath.) I looked around for steps or ramps and eventually did something completely different. I got a fold up table from 'Drifta' who make very hardy camping kitchens and the like. They had made the stuff I have already in the van. The table can support 100kgs but the legs fold down so its a little over one inch thick and the table top is about 2.5 foot by 3 foot. I had my very handy brother make me a non slip top for it which is made of canvas like a fitted sheet with pyramid matting attached to the top.

It is effectively a platform that is height adjustable (legs are adjustable in length) the dog setps up to the platform in one step then into the car on the next level. Easy!

Drifta here

[woody2shoes]

I had an elderly Great Dane until very recently and my vehicle is a vito van with a raised floor for the dogs (gear goes underneath.) I looked around for steps or ramps and eventually did something completely different. I got a fold up table from 'Drifta' who make very hardy camping kitchens and the like. They had made the stuff I have already in the van. The table can support 100kgs but the legs fold down so its a little over one inch thick and the table top is about 2.5 foot by 3 foot. I had my very handy brother make me a non slip top for it which is made of canvas like a fitted sheet with pyramid matting attached to the top.

It is effectively a platform that is height adjustable (legs are adjustable in length) the dog setps up to the platform in one step then into the car on the next level. Easy!

Drifta here

Hi TJ,

Just out of curiousity, how much was the table you bought? I had a look at the link you supplied but couldn't seem to find the table you mentioned (but then I may have been having a boy's look! )

w2s