Dog Steps

[MonicaC]

Hello, hoping you can help! We have a labrador who is 5 years old but we have just bought a high bed that she now struggles to get up on. We want to save her legs from future problems as well so looking to buy some steps that she can use. We preferably want foldable ones so we can put away when guests come over. I bought one from an online store that said it could handle up to 50kgs - our dog is approx 37kg. As soon as she stepped on it, it broke, very lucky she didnt hurt herself :/ I am now struggling to find any other ones that look like it could handle her weight, sturdy enough to not tilt sideways if she steps on the edge and that is not too steep either. Does anyone have any suggestions where I could find one? Thanks :)

Edited August 15, 2016 by MonicaC

[The Spotted Devil]

Not foldable but Funky Cat make awesome steps to order.

What about a collapsible ramp with marine carpet on to stop it slipping?

[MonicaC]

Not foldable but Funky Cat make awesome steps to order.

What about a collapsible ramp with marine carpet on to stop it slipping?

Thanks, I have seen the ramps. How does that work on a bed though? Would it need to sit on top of the mattress?

[The Spotted Devil]

Not foldable but Funky Cat make awesome steps to order.

What about a collapsible ramp with marine carpet on to stop it slipping?

Thanks, I have seen the ramps. How does that work on a bed though? Would it need to sit on top of the mattress?

I hadn't thought that through! I guess so. Hopefully they will be some other ideas.

[Boronia]

I bought a plastic kid's slide at a garage sale, we took the steps part off, glued on carpet and screwed 1" square x width-of-slide pieces of wood as foot-grippers about every 30cm up the slide so the dogs can use them for hand paw-holds.

because it has a flattened top it will sit on the bed, We also put grip-type material like rubber on the bottom where it touches the floor.

It can be popped under the bed during the day

A photo of it leaning against the wall

[denali]

Not foldable but Funky Cat make awesome steps to order.

What about a collapsible ramp with marine carpet on to stop it slipping?

Thanks, I have seen the ramps. How does that work on a bed though? Would it need to sit on top of the mattress?

I've got a ramp up my bed for henry :)

I didnt buy it, in fact its just my agility contact training mini aframe that's being used as a ramp, but i have it tucked in between the bed frame and my mattress. so the mattress goes over it a tiny bit. So it is a step at the top of the ramp, but just mattress height. And i have it at the end of my bed and dont notice a thing.

Though the ramp itself at that point is only ~2cm thick.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I'm going to be rude and state the obvious...

https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/information/labrador-retriever.asp

Isn't the best thing you could do for your lab - is get some weight off her?

At 5yo, she shouldn't be struggling to get on a bed. There's two - around that age doing agility at my club. And another at my dog club that is the same age as my dog (8yo) who can jump 1m fence with no trouble at all.

If she's struggling to get up on a normal height bed - I'd be going to the vet to get everything checked out and a "you might not want to hear this" opinion on what weight would be ideal for her and how to get there. Beware the vet who tells you what you want to hear because they don't want to argue about it.

I'd be asking something along the lines of "if she was your dog - what would you do?".

If she was 15 yo and OP is a typo - then the problems would be understandable and I'd be asking vet for arthritus treatment and pain relief and giving her a bed set at a height she would not need a ramp.

[MonicaC]

I'm going to be rude and state the obvious...

https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/information/labrador-retriever.asp

Isn't the best thing you could do for your lab - is get some weight off her?

At 5yo, she shouldn't be struggling to get on a bed. There's two - around that age doing agility at my club. And another at my dog club that is the same age as my dog (8yo) who can jump 1m fence with no trouble at all.

If she's struggling to get up on a normal height bed - I'd be going to the vet to get everything checked out and a "you might not want to hear this" opinion on what weight would be ideal for her and how to get there. Beware the vet who tells you what you want to hear because they don't want to argue about it.

I'd be asking something along the lines of "if she was your dog - what would you do?".

If she was 15 yo and OP is a typo - then the problems would be understandable and I'd be asking vet for arthritus treatment and pain relief and giving her a bed set at a height she would not need a ramp.

Excuse me, but I find this extremely offensive and rude. She could jump on our old bed with ease - a normal height bed. We now have a bed that is 1m high and is very high for a dog that would jump up multiple times a day and would not be very good for their joints to be doing that over and over again. We are trying to help her and to save her legs in the future as well, knowing she is a labrador and prone to hip/leg problems. We exercise our dog everyday and feed her exactly what the guidelines say and the vet is happy with her weight and she is a very active dog.So if you don't mind you can keep your rude comments to yourself unless you have something helpful to say.

[MonicaC]

Not foldable but Funky Cat make awesome steps to order.

What about a collapsible ramp with marine carpet on to stop it slipping?

Thanks, I have seen the ramps. How does that work on a bed though? Would it need to sit on top of the mattress?

I've got a ramp up my bed for henry :)

I didnt buy it, in fact its just my agility contact training mini aframe that's being used as a ramp, but i have it tucked in between the bed frame and my mattress. so the mattress goes over it a tiny bit. So it is a step at the top of the ramp, but just mattress height. And i have it at the end of my bed and dont notice a thing.

Though the ramp itself at that point is only ~2cm thick.

Thanks, thats a good idea to tuck it in between the bed and the mattress!

[MonicaC]

I bought a plastic kid's slide at a garage sale, we took the steps part off, glued on carpet and screwed 1" square x width-of-slide pieces of wood as foot-grippers about every 30cm up the slide so the dogs can use them for hand paw-holds.

because it has a flattened top it will sit on the bed, We also put grip-type material like rubber on the bottom where it touches the floor.

It can be popped under the bed during the day

A photo of it leaning against the wall

Thanks for your reply. What a clever idea!! I think my husband and I might need to get a bit creative with it. Might even be able to make something from bunnings! Good idea with the pieces of wood as well :)

[poochmad]

We had the same problem. My husband bought a fold up ramp from dimmys, bought a yoga mat from target ($10) and then cut squares to each bit of the ramp, so it could still fold up, super glued them down and then hooked it between the mattress and the bed.

What a clever man!

And how cute it is hearing her go up and down the ramp. :)

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

and feed her exactly what the guidelines say

If it's kibble and your dog is desexed - my vet who breeds labradors - says feed 1/3 less than the recommended amount for a desexed dog.

The kibble people have a vested interest in selling more kibble so they don't tell you that the recommended amount might be too much.

My dog is very active (2 x 1 hour walks a day) and I feed way less than the recommended amount of kibble when I'm feeding kibble or she gets fat.

I agree tho - that 1m might be a bit high for a dog bed.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[Roova]

I'm going to be rude and state the obvious...

https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/information/labrador-retriever.asp

Isn't the best thing you could do for your lab - is get some weight off her?

At 5yo, she shouldn't be struggling to get on a bed. There's two - around that age doing agility at my club. And another at my dog club that is the same age as my dog (8yo) who can jump 1m fence with no trouble at all.

If she's struggling to get up on a normal height bed - I'd be going to the vet to get everything checked out and a "you might not want to hear this" opinion on what weight would be ideal for her and how to get there. Beware the vet who tells you what you want to hear because they don't want to argue about it.

I'd be asking something along the lines of "if she was your dog - what would you do?".

If she was 15 yo and OP is a typo - then the problems would be understandable and I'd be asking vet for arthritus treatment and pain relief and giving her a bed set at a height she would not need a ramp.

Excuse me, but I find this extremely offensive and rude. She could jump on our old bed with ease - a normal height bed. We now have a bed that is 1m high and is very high for a dog that would jump up multiple times a day and would not be very good for their joints to be doing that over and over again. We are trying to help her and to save her legs in the future as well, knowing she is a labrador and prone to hip/leg problems. We exercise our dog everyday and feed her exactly what the guidelines say and the vet is happy with her weight and she is a very active dog.So if you don't mind you can keep your rude comments to yourself unless you have something helpful to say.

I just wanted to say that I too assumed when I read your original comment that your dog couldn't climb in to a new dog bed you had bought. You didn't mention it was a human bed and you wanted to avoid the dog jumping off. Sometimes missed information changes the entire context of a story. :)

[karen15]

37kg does sound heavy if average weight is 30kg. The cocker I rehomed is a porker. I cannot shift the weight. The vet has said not to worry, they've seen worse, but still I like my dogs to have a waist when viewed from above. She's active and walked daily but weight won't budge. She's at the top end of weight for the breed but could lose 3 kg IMO

I agree with MrsRB about recommended feed amounts. I've never fed the amount on the packet, but that is because I also feed mince and bones.

Then again she may just be a big lab. My staffy was a ball of ripped muscle at 21 kg. First time his vet saw him she went OMG he ripples when he walks (she saw him for 8 years or so, but I still remember that comment :)) on the link above it indicates max weight for a staffy is 17kg. When he died he was just over 22kg but still had a waist and wasn't fat - vet was always impressed with his weight.

So that's a super long post to say it depends on the dog as to whether being over breed guidelines for weight means it is a tubster. I've got a fatty within guidelines and had a ball of muscle that was 30% over guidelines.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Muscle does weigh more than fat, but I'm thinking if it was muscle - the dog should have no trouble getting on the bed, but I would not want it leaping off unless it had lots of training in body awareness and how to jump nicely.

Having said that - my dog jumps things with way more clearance than needed.

I think they're just starting to learn with humans - something I've known a long time - that different humans process the same food differently - one person will put more weight on than another for the same quantity of food and exercise. And different food with the same calories in a serve - will process differently in the same human. So you might be able to maintain weight eating 300 calories of brown rice but have major trouble eating 300 calories of wheat based product - or vice versa.

I suspect the same thing in dogs - ie if the weight won't come off - maybe try different food?

And I've seen the same thing in horses and cattle - some are just "good doers" and you have to be more careful about what they get to eat and how much of it.

Doing body awareness exercises for OP will also help preserve their dog's mobility for as long as possible. Stuff like learning to put paws on targets (eg folded towel), different paws, both front paws, both back paws, all paws, and teaching the dog to walk backwards in a straight line, and doggy push ups eg sit-stand-drop-sit-drop-stand... all help with dog understanding of where its own back end is. And that helps prevent injury.