Our old golden retriever,wont climb the steps on rv

my daughter has four labs ,and has a walk plank. you can buy or build. two of the dogs jump in,missing the steps, the others use the sturdy plank , the steps wiggle and scares them. as long as the plank is down they walk right in .no plank they lay down won,t move.

Tough call. If the first thing a dog learns about RVing is that it hurts, she may not want any thing more to do with it. Other members will give you advice about ramps and supplements. When it hurts, it hurts-good luck, and hope you can work it out.

I'd ask your vet about getting her on a daily pain relief medication. My 13-yo Brittany only has what I would term mild to moderate arthritis, but keeping him on a daily dose of Rimadyl has made a significant difference in his quality of life.

Make a ramp you can easily take down once she is in.

We use a ramp. We also use rimadyl. If your vet prescribes Rimadyl, go to rimadyl.com to get in on their rewards program. We save a few $ that way.

We have a lab who can't do the multiple steps for our fiver. I have made ramps, and also we've used a Pet Step folding ramp, shown at this link:
http://www.amazon.com/pet-supplies/dp/B00006OALW

That ramp is very sturdy and the dog has good confidence with it. But it is heavy and bulky. The ones I've made worked okay as long as they were wide enough, say at least 16", and covered with a carpet with thick enough pile to prevent slippage by the dog's feet. The angle is fairly steep on a ramp, so the footing really has to be secure. The actual ramp can be 1/2" plywood, and should be at least 54" long, which will probably be sitting on the second or third step off the ground. Our dog goes up the final step or two, above the ramp.

The plywood ramps are lighter and simpler than the folding Pet Step ramp, but make sure to router the edges or you will get slivers.

Well we made a ramp and put carpet on it, she put her front paws on it,,, then did a big u-turn and dragged us back to the house! We even tried her fav treat, some stinky canned cat food and she turned her nose up! Our vet said give the cosequin a good try but its been a month and no change. We would like to try the rimadyl, we have less than 2 weeks before our reserved camping spot on the St. Lawrence river! Thanks for your replies,, I would never have predicted our old girl would react this way. :(

Having bum knee joints I've been taking 2 900 ml glucosamine with Chrondroitin per day.

So, when my vet said, your dog has arthritis, give her at least 1 glucosamine per day.

Wow what a difference that made.

Check with your vet.

:C

moon.lake wrote:
We would like to try the rimadyl, we have less than 2 weeks before our reserved camping spot on the St. Lawrence river!

With Rimadyl or similar pain reliever you should see results within a day or two.

Our retriever/mastiff mix partially tore his ACL two weeks before our trip to Maine in June. We wanted him to go with us but, he refused to use a ramp. We ended up with a Pet Loader from www.petloader.com These are wider stairs with a more gradual rise. It took a few times and really good treats but now he climbs in the truck every time. They are a bit pricey but it saved our vacation! Enjoy the St.Lawrence. We went from Massena to Cape Vincent last summer and loved it. In fact, we are going back to Massena in August.