Our old golden retriever,wont climb the steps on rv

[moon_lake]

Big problem with our old gal, she is arthritic and now getting cataracts! She has made up her mind that the motorhome is too scarey, and will not go up the 4 steps to get in. She weighs 99 lbs. much too heavy for us to carry! We are about to take our first camping trip and want her to go with us! We are giving her Cosequin and see no improvement. Anyone have any ideas? And no we dont want to board her anywhere. Ugh. 😞

[moon_lake]

The big day is tomorrow, she is still being stubborn. But I worked with her this morning by getting her favorite sqeaky toy and putting it on the upper step of the mh, she actually climed 2 steps to reach it! But of course took off running with it! Going to try it again in a while to see if we can get her up to the top! Fingers crossed! 🙂

[campn4walleye]

We bought a pet ramp from a store called Tuesday Morning. ($50). It works fabulously to get our aged weim in and out of the big truck.

It folds in half and stows easily under the slide while in the "IN" position. It's so much easier and stress free for all of us.

[rbtglove]

For What its Worth - Our 13 yr old Beagle has had a bad back (ruptured disk) and arithis for several years. In great pain and even would fall off her feet. She couldn't go up a ramp to our TT most of the time but she is light enough for me to lift her in. There was always a lot of pain. We used Tramadal and Rimidly, Dasuquin, Roboxin and large amounts of cash to the Vets for years with mixed results. She acted like she was drugged all the time(wonder why). A couple months ago she was started on Cholodin which is supposed to improve cognitive behavior. It may be just chance but she is now completely her old self and not taking anything but the Dasuquin for arithis. Does not need the ramp for the TT and chases every critter she sees.

[Dixie_Flyer]

For years we have used Pet Loader. We have a shepherd mix that has bad hips and just went through Stem- Cell Therapy and is now climbing the steps once again. Tramadol will help and so will Metacam. Another thing to use is Joint Strong. This has been a life saver for our dogs and really works.

Hope you find something that helps.

[Shortie3]

Our Aussie, Shortie, refused to go up the Pet Ramp regardless what I did to bribe her! At about the same time, we took in a Rat Terrier/Corgi X named Poobie who was 10 months old. Poobie looked at that ramp with her ears cocked and when I told her to show Shortie how to do it, she ran up the ramp and down again as if her tail were on fire! She did it several times before I asked her to stop which she did and lo and behold! Shortie followed her lead and never refused to use it in the remaining 2 years of her life. It's incredible how animals are able to teach each other.

[moon_lake]

portscanner wrote:
How our brittany with hip displasia gets in and out



Didnt cost us anything. Got it out of the trash and glued some old astroturf to it so the dogs would have better traction.

Love that idea! Will be looking for an old slide! Our trip will be this saturday and she still refuses to try. For now I am thinking to try the towel trick someone mentioned on here, I just hope we are strong enough to lift her!

[computerbug]

Tramadol

[computerbug]

We used tram adobo for the pain, made all the difference. If your pooch won't go up for a treat he's in pain

[portscanner]

How our brittany with hip displasia gets in and out



Didnt cost us anything. Got it out of the trash and glued some old astroturf to it so the dogs would have better traction.

[troy_johnsen]

joshuajim wrote:
Our Golden is now 10.5 years old and the step on our trailer were becoming difficult. We bought this and it solved the problem. It's 20" wide and extends to 87".

Extendable ramp

This works. I lift my GSD out of our trailer but he is still able to walk up the steps. Problem is he won't use the steps on his way down and he just wants to lunge straight out onto the ground. This is horrible over time for his shoulders and front quarters. The jump up is not hard on them, in most cases. Please don't let your dog jump out of the back of a pickup or other tall objects the sharp load on them is worse than most people realize. When he worked for a living I used the ramp everyday for in and out of a pickup truck bed.

Of course everyone knows to manage your dogs weight for their health first and foremost. Very few breeds should be 100lbs!

[Snowman9000]

moon.lake wrote:
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. 😞

How steeply did you set the ramp? If you set it all the way to the top step, there is no way she will be able to do it. Unless the ramp is ten feet long. If she can handle one or two steps, a ramp can work for you. But if she can't, no ramp that you can carry is going to get her all the way to the top. IMO.

I agree on all the Rimadyl comments. It has helped our dog a lot. That would be step one in my book. Also, we use a special dog food that has glucosamine and condroitin. That helped too.

[lucy6194]

we have a 14 year old bk lab we purchased a runner carpet we attach to stairs with bungies so she can't slip thru the steps also the runner is removable Also found if guide her by holding collar helps. She is nearly blind and hearing is failing plus wobbly hind end. we know her camping days are limited but she's traveled everywhere with us.

[taigarazz]

We have an elderly Golden. Her difficulty with the steps seems to be her declining vision. She will go up the spes if there is a light on the steps, and high contrast so see can discern the situation.
If it is dark or in shadow, forget it. Same with the steps to the dog door at home. Uses them ok during day but barks at the door at night to be let in.

[Code2High]

One thing you might consider would be to look around for a trainer in your area, possibly someone with a background in agility, even, and see if that person could do a session or two.