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_dog...202941,00.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.