Help - need ideas to help aging dog down stairs

[wishuponastarforever]

Our dog has good and bad days. She is old and having difficulty with the stairs to get outside. Every exit from our house has stairs. I looked at pet supplies and every ramp seems to be used for getting in/out of cars only.
I'm also not sure if a ramp would make the incline harder for her???

Has anyone ever encountered this and found a solution?

I appreciate any suggestions and thank you all in advance.

 

[tiggger1]

How big is she? My Inlaws ended up carrying their rotti mix up the stairs. She could get down them but not up them.

Maybe get a piece of plywood with a piece of carpet stapled on so she can walk up it?

 

[KimAshton]

I had a lab and when he got older he had such issues getting up. Luckly he was able to get out the backdoor which only had one step. He had so many problems we finally had to put him down.

 

[wishuponastarforever]

How big is she? My Inlaws ended up carrying their rotti mix up the stairs. She could get down them but not up them.

Maybe get a piece of plywood with a piece of carpet stapled on so she can walk up it?

Thank you - Yes, I should have given that information. She is a brittany spaniel - Weight 50 pounds, age 13 1/2. Carrying her stresses her out and she wiggles around. I seem to think a ramp of some sort would work, but DH thinks it would be harder for her. I'm so afraid she will fall down the stairs one day so I'm trying to have a plan to avoid that.

 

[janette]

We built some stairs for our elderly dog, they were pretty wide / long so she was able to do them. I think a ramp would be okay but it probably needs to be not as steep as regular stairs. You'd might also want to put some kind of side rail, our girl was blind and needed something to guide her and she'd go off the wrong side if it wasn't marked.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

Have you thought of a box with a pulley system?

It would be inexpensive and easy to work. You can purchase a pulley at a hardware store along with clothesline and a short box to carry her up and down.

My dad did this for our dog Shebob,who was a Samoyed.

She had arthritis really bad also and had trouble getting up and down and my dad was also in no condition to be carrying her so he set this up.

We put her down not long after because it wasn't fair for her to be in pain just so she could be with us also because she would urinate where she was laying and we believed it was because she couldn't get up to go.

 

[Pembo]

Our 13yo golden has a hard time too. The problem is a combination of arthritis and not being able to see. I put treads on the back steps (bought a roll of tread at Home Depot), and we guide him down the steps. We just hold on to his collar and he goes down alot easier.

 

[MM27]

My dog got to a point where we thought he was afraid to go down the stairs because he would stand at the top, look down and then turn around. The vet said it was probably due to arthritis. He was way too big to carry, so we tried leashing him. I think the security of having the leash on, helped him a little and he would walk down a bit better. He still had trouble and was slow, but the leash did help.

 

[LakeAriel]

I took a few rungs off my deck and placed the ramp in that spot. We also used the following harness from DRs. Foster and Smith which was a Godsend!

Jenny was 100 pounds and what we thought was arthritis was a neurological problem similiar to MS in humans. She was on experimental meds for a year, and passed away at 14 in June. She was not in pain, nor ill, but disabled, and we did whatever was necessary to help her in her old age...She had that "Golden" smile till the very end..Get the harness, it works great!

 

[JR6ooo4]

If you need to carry her as the best option try a sling, or two. When a dog has hip surgery they give them. It is like a diaper with a handle on top. You let the dog walk so she is stil in control but you support most of the weight. You could do a double to go under the front chest area as well.

If the handle is about a foot tall you do not have to bed over at all. Since the top is open youjust wrap the cloth underneath and grab the end to lift. Very quick and simple.

Mikeeee

I type too slow and got beat again... heheheheee

 

[Jen_in_NH]

My parents ended up buying an 8ft sheet of 1/2" plywood, and some outdoor carpet (to go down 3 stairs) for their dog. It worked OK, but not great (freezes in the winter....)

Good luck

Jen

 

[LakeAriel]

I took a few rungs off my deck and placed the ramp in that spot. We also used the following harness from DRs. Foster and Smith which was a Godsend!

Jenny was 100 pounds and what we thought was arthritis was a neurological problem similiar to MS in humans. She was on experimental meds for a year, and passed away at 14 in June. She was not in pain, nor ill, but disabled, and we did whatever was necessary to help her in her old age...She had that "Golden" smile till the very end..Get the harness, it works great!

Here's a link:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+58+8082&pcatid=8082

 

[wishuponastarforever]

My dog got to a point where we thought he was afraid to go down the stairs because he would stand at the top, look down and then turn around. The vet said it was probably due to arthritis. He was way too big to carry, so we tried leashing him. I think the security of having the leash on, helped him a little and he would walk down a bit better. He still had trouble and was slow, but the leash did help.

This is exactly where we are now.

Lake Ariel - thank you so much - I just ordered the harness - this may just do the job and hopefully I can convince DH to remove some deck stairs and do the ramp - all other stairs are brick.

I love all my disfriends. You are so helpful and caring. Thank you all for your ideas. I feel so much better.

 

[LakeAriel]

This is exactly where we are now.

Lake Ariel - thank you so much - I just ordered the harness - this may just do the job and hopefully I can convince DH to remove some deck stairs and do the ramp - all other stairs are brick.

I love all my disfriends. You are so helpful and caring. Thank you all for your ideas. I feel so much better.

I wish I had taken a photograph..All I did was remove 4 rungs from the side of the deck where it was lowest and put the 6 foot telescoping ramp in the space. Since it was still a wee bit steep the harness allowed us to help navigate her up. She slid down. I was inspired by a ramp company I had come give me an estimate. He was going to charge me $1500 for a portable ramp. At that time I didn't think Jen had but months left. She fooled us all but I used his idea and it was a fraction of the cost..The rungs came out easily with an electric screwdriver and I replaced them later. good luck!

PS the harness has lambswool inside so it is comfortable for the dog and machine washable!