Anyone ever build a dog ramp?

[scott spencer]

I need to build a ramp for a 12 year old yellow lab so he can get up and down the stairs of a deck better...he's a good sized male who's legs are beginning to fail him. I'd guess the deck is 36"-40" off the ground. I'm looking for tips that'll make it easier for the dog....ie: best slope, traction tips, do's & don'ts...just about any insights from those who may have done it or seen it would be appreciated.

TIA!

[Michael Gabbay]

Scott - we have an 11 year old yellow Lab. I've been thinking of the same thing for her. I'd try to keep the slope pretty low and use friction tape so he does not slip. Also a raised edge/rail might be helpful.

My FIL gave us a ramp he used for one of his dogs. It was a little narrow (~18") and our girl does not like it at all.

Mike

[Tom Jones III]

While the friction tape sounds obvious, I would opt for rough wood or slats going across the ramp for traction. My 14 y.o. Dobe has arthritis in the back legs and therefore drags a foot. Extra friction will cause her to bleed profusely.

[Michael Ballent]

Scott - we have an 11 year old yellow Lab. I've been thinking of the same thing for her. I'd try to keep the slope pretty low and use friction tape so he does not slip. Also a raised edge/rail might be helpful.

My FIL gave us a ramp he used for one of his dogs. It was a little narrow (~18") and our girl does not like it at all.

Mike

DIY network on cable has a show called Barkitecture and they built a dog agility course... Not quite what you are looking for but they had to build different types of ramps.

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/lp_dogs/article/0,2041,DIY_14061_4202941,00.html

HTH

[Dan Racette]

I had a 11 year old dalmatian (100 lbs) with back problems and he wouldn't stand on anything that wasn't unbelievably stable. He was extremely sensitive to any movement. I tried a 20 wide 3/4 ply and he did not like the "flex" in it. knowing what I know now I would build a torsion box for the ramp and anchor in in a very sturdy "box". I used small self stick sections of carpet intended for steps. he did like those when I put them on my hardwood floors. For Boomer it was the jittering/movement that scared the heck out of him.

He was wary of anything that went up, and I used to have to coax him with treats the first four times or so.

[scott spencer]

I should point out that we're in Rochester, NY about 70 miles east of Buffalo...we typically get 100-110" of snow a year which won't help traction much! :(

[Ralph Steffey]

The standard handicap ramp can be no steeper than a 1 inch rise to the foot or 1 in 12 so if you have 40 inches to rise your ramp needs to be40 feet long to be comfortable if room is a problem then you have to make it u shaped. Of course this is for humans but I think it would apply to animals also.

[Dave Richards]

I expect you could go a bit steeper than the 1:12 ADA requirement for wheelchair ramps. Put down some of that stair tread friction stuff and a few horizontal cleats to provide traction. If you wanted to make sure of keeping it ice and snow free, put some heat tape on the underside of it. Your pooch might like to have his tootsies warm, too. ;)

[Don Bergren]

I think you will want to keep it in the 1" rise per foot range as well. Slightly more rise can work, but I wouldn't go more than 1 - 1/2" rise per foot. I have wheelchair ramps here at the house and over the 27 years I've been in a wheelchair they have also served an aging yellow lab, an aging black lab, and our third now 10 year old black lab appears to be beginning to find them more comfortable than steps at this point in his life.

I live on the coast of Maine and we have snow and icy weather that would make it really difficult for a dog to deal with a steep ramp in the winter. Plus too much pitch will put added pressure on their hind quarters. I think that a solid ramp, even if it's narrow, could work quite well in a relatively small footprint if constructed in a way that goes south so far, a small platform, and then return and head north, a small platform and then south, etc.

I just thought of an example that may help. I've built some portable ramps that I use at my brother's house. They can be setup when I visit, and easily removed when I leave (he has no spot for a permanent ramp). The total rise to his door entrance is 22". I have one 53" long ramp that goes from the doorway to a portable sawhorse style support that is 12 - 1/2" high. A second ramp 48" long goes from the sawhorse style support down to a 6" high support. From there there is a 53" long ramp that goes from the 6" high support to the garage floor. It is steep but it works for me with my power chair, and the dog doesn't mind it either. But if it were that steep and outside I think Turbo could very easily slip and hurt himself if it were slippery from snow or ice.

My suggestion would be to layout your slope with a string and see if you can find an angle that will work, and possibly find a slope that is good but still not exactly within the ADA guidelines.

[scott spencer]

Thanks for all the responses gang.....plenty of room for more though, so keep them coming! :)

[Travis Porter]

Had to build one for our lab several years back before we had to put her to sleep. My height was not as high as yours, but I did it around 4 inches to the foot for rise. I put 1/4 inch thick slats 3/4 inch wide about every 6 inches. We covered that with a floor mat and it helped a lot.

As for the lab, we did several different types of medications to try to help with the hips and had done chemo several years before for cancer but she ended up succumbing to kidney failure due to all the medicines that had been pumped into her over the years to correct other issues. I have heard Glucosamine (spelling?) is supposed to help, but we did not have the opportunity to try it out.

Good luck with the lab, ours was a good friend and we miss her dearly.

[Brad Knabel]

I built one a few years back out of IPE. I had about a 4" rise per foot and used both cross slats as well as non-slip strips. We have a smallish black lab mix with a hip replacement. She had no problems with the elevation, but I would have made it shallower given more space.

Good luck!

[scott spencer]

Had to build one for our lab several years back before we had to put her to sleep. My height was not as high as yours, but I did it around 4 inches to the foot for rise. I put 1/4 inch thick slats 3/4 inch wide about every 6 inches. We covered that with a floor mat and it helped a lot.

As for the lab, we did several different types of medications to try to help with the hips and had done chemo several years before for cancer but she ended up succumbing to kidney failure due to all the medicines that had been pumped into her over the years to correct other issues. I have heard Glucosamine (spelling?) is supposed to help, but we did not have the opportunity to try it out.

Good luck with the lab, ours was a good friend and we miss her dearly. This lab is all this guy's got. He's 59, never married, can no longer work, has had two brain seizures, has epilepsy and suffers from severe depression brought on from the seisures, and can't drive. When the dog passes, I can't imagine how tough it's going to be on him. Thanks for reminding me about the "other side" of this project....

[Bob Johnson2]

I used carpet with wood slats, about 4" to the 1' sounds right. The wider the better. Did kind of a "Z" thing due to space limitations.

[Frank Chaffee]

Scott,
I don’t know the compass orientation of your deck, but considering your snow accumulations, you may benefit from using solar radiation and a relatively dark surface to keep the ramp dry and clear in the winter. 36” to 40” is quite a rise for a 1/12 slope as it would require a very long ramp which could obstruct your yard for other uses if constructed perpendicular to the deck. If a ramp could be constructed parallel to or at a low angle to a deck it would take up less yard space. Switch backs on a ramp save space as Don Bergren suggests.

The fact that you will be shoveling snow downhill (if you are as lazy as me), makes 2x decking laid perpendicular to slope problematic; while great for drainage and traction, it is difficult to shovel.

I look forward to what other Creekers have to recommend.

If a solid material such as plywood were used, it could be crowned as well as sloped for drainage.

Frank

…And yes Scott, I too have deeply mourned the passing of my dogs. Godspeed.

[Jim O'Dell]

Again, I don't know how your yard and deck are situated, but for an idea, could you build the ramp to follow 2 sides of the deck without interfering with existing steps to gain some length without taking over the yard? 4" per foot sounds awfully steep. I would think 1.5 to 2 would be the best for a dog. I have a portable ramp I purchased (dogramp.com) that I use for the van. It is a good 7/12 pitch on my 3/4 ton van with a raised platform for the dog crates,(about 3 1/2' vertical) and I have to help the young dogs up and down. If you need a ramp for your vehicle for the dog, I will vouch for the dog ramp. It is 2 pieces that slide together for stowing and has a pin to lock it together, and a carrying handle. What sold us on it was a gal using it for her Bull Mastiff to get up in her station wagon at a dog show we were at. Good luck! Jim.

[Gary Herrmann]

Scott, I built one 5 or 6 years ago for my then 11 yr old boy, Hobbes. Sadly, he's gone now. He was our first - and illegitimate. We got him before we were married.

We built one so he could get up on the bed we had set up in the dog's room for him the other pups. Yes, they were THAT spoiled.

If memory serves, it was 20" tall, 20" wide and about 44-48" long. 3 lengths of 2x3 for bracing on top and bottom screwed into the 1/2" ply sides. I then took some indoor/outdoor carpet, cut it to size and stapled it to the top with the nice deep treads running perpendicular to the slope.

He used it until we lost him at 15 years. Then his sister used it before we lost her. Now that we have our son, we changed things around and they sleep in dog beds on the floor which is probably better for their hips.

[Gary Curtis]

It was good to read all this. In 6 days, I move into a new house. The dog door had to be cut through the wood wall portion, some 18" off the garage slab. I have two Jack Russell Terriers and need to build and interior and exterior ramp for them. They are fairly light and quite athletic, so I'm not too worried about incline or width of the boards.

I'll also need to build a ramp to get them into the used pickup truck I just bought. I think I'll go with the stapled carpet strips for traction, since they can be changed periodically. I'll post some photos when the sawdust settles.

Thanks for all the ideas.

Gary Curtis - -:o

[David Klug]

Scott when our old German Shephard started to get weak in her back we started giving her shark cartilage. We would soak a couple of pills over night and put it on her dog food when we fed her in the morning and it got so she wouldn't eat her food unless it was in her dish.

DK

[scott spencer]

I just wanted to say thanks again for all the great ideas and many responses....I honestly wasn't sure if anyone had ever done this....boy was I wrong!

I'll try to post a followup in a few weeks or whenever I finish...

[Doug Shepard]

It was good to read all this. In 6 days, I move into a new house. The dog door had to be cut through the wood wall portion, some 18" off the garage slab. I have two Jack Russell Terriers and need to build and interior and exterior ramp for them. They are fairly light and quite athletic, so I'm not too worried about incline or width of the boards.

I'll also need to build a ramp to get them into the used pickup truck I just bought. I think I'll go with the stapled carpet strips for traction, since they can be changed periodically. I'll post some photos when the sawdust settles.

Thanks for all the ideas.

Gary Curtis - -:o

Gary - with Jack Russells you don't need ramps, you need landing strips.:D There's one in my neighborhood that vaults fences like an olympic hurdler. One leap to the top rail, another push and he's over. I often find in my back yard playing with my Aussie/Chow.

[Roger Bell]

My 14 y/o lab/shepherd was given 6 months to live two years ago. But due to the marvels of pharmacology and her robust constitution, she still lives. Hindquarters are very weak. She can walk a bit but can't climb stairs. I tried a couple of versions of ramps in the past and she refused to use them, preferring to climb a stair or two and then crash back down to the concrete. It was a matter of devising a better solution or putting the dog down. Old dogs just don't cotton to change.

Rather than a ramp, I tried something different and it works great. I have a 40" rise of 5 stairs (plus a bit more from the grass to the concrete pad). I "split the rise" of (the typical) 8" by constructing several floating "platforms", each with a 4" rise. The effective run of 11" stays the same. The photos explain it better. Now, she has to make a small step of 4" to climb from platform to platform. For snow and ice, I sacrificed a couple of non-slip router pads....stapling them good.

None of the platforms is nailed to the original steps, and the whole thing can be removed in about five minutes starting with the top platform. No platform is attached to any other, but are merely stacked atop each other. The platforms are also oriented to a "diagonal" approach to the top when climbing from the bottom...the way the dog learned to climb the stairs originally.

3/4" cdx ply plus 2x4's and screws. I left a bit of the real stairs to the left for people to walk on, but the platforms are plenty strong for people use as well.

[Ellen Benkin]

I don't know anything about building a ramp, but I can tell you about an over the counter med that works for my lab. It's Doctors Foster and Smith (a catalog and internet company) FlexCare with Creatine. Professional human atheletes probably can't take it, but it is doing wonders for the dog. It takes about six months for it to work, but my older lab is much more able to run and romp and play in the neighbor's pool now than he was before we started on it.