Hi all. As there are many dog owners in here, I've thought of asking for some advice. I'm looking to get some steps to help my 11 year old German Shepherd to get in an out of the car, but most of them seem to be aimed at smaller, lighter dogs. My dog weighs about 40kgs. I've got a ramp already, but that doesn't seem to be ideal for a variety of reasons. I've seen the Pet Gear 3 Steps Stairs online, does anybody have any experience with these steps and their large dogs or can recommend an alternative?
Thank you very much in advance!
We have a ramp for the PoppyDog, she is a 12 year old German Shepherd. http://www.barjo.co.uk/products/tri-fold-dog-ramp
She has very little trouble getting into the back of our Land Rover with this. A run up is sometimes needed! Can I ask why you feel it would not be suitable?
------------- Yes, the car is bigger than the 'van.
Thanks for your replies! I think I will get the one you advise Julie+Steven!
My dog had a big operation to his front leg last year PoppyDog, his "wrist" was collapsing (genetic apparently) and the vet had to insert and screw to his bones 2 metal bars in order to straighten and support his leg and the recovery time goes from 8 to 10 months. This means that, while he's recovering and can walk again more or less normally, he can no longer bend it from the knee down.
I have a Land Rover too, and I bought a ramp for him, but he's always struggled to climb up it and ended up putting too much strain on his bad leg, which is not good, he even stumbled and fell off on a couple of occasions.
He seems to be fine going up steps however, so I started considering that as an alternative to a ramp.
At the moment I encourage him to put his front paws on the boot and then I pick him up from the back and help him in, but as unfortunately my circumstances in life have recently changed, I will need to take him with me to work on a regular basis and it's not an ideal system (don't want to do my back in at some stage or hurt him). Besides, the ramp needs a lot of room when deployed (length of ramp plus extra space for the dog to run up), and I'm not always able to park somewhere suitable.
We have an 11 yr old GSD and she wasn't keen at first but as she has got older and slower she now trots up hers no problem. It is a folding one with rubber treads but I cannot remember the make.
I see this is an old post but if it helps there are steps from Linton Steps in the UK, they are good for a 60Kg dog. I use them for my Bernese Mountain Dog.
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Topic: Dog steps
