Ramp it up!
Just before New Year, Jabu, my 6-year-old Rhodesian ridgeback, suffered a back injury, and I had trouble getting him in and out of our SUV, so I picked up a pet ramp to make it easier for him. He would take the ramp down, but not up, which is where he needed it most. He preferred to suffer through the pain of jumping up rather than take the ramp. Needless to say, I felt terrible.
A couple weeks of bed rest later, Jabu is feeling back to his old self and I don’t need the ramp anymore, right? Wrong! Touch wood that we won’t ever need it but hey, he’s not getting any younger and one day, I’ll want to use it again, so now that he’s feeling better, we started from scratch—with both him AND his adopted sister.
Skye had fun running on the ramp
I started off nice and low—just a couple inches off the ground—but you can start flat on the ground, too, especially if you have a nervous pup, or one that doesn’t have much experience with new equipment. Above, one end is on the ground and the other is elevated to the height of a cinder block. Make sure the ramp is stable and not wobbly before you invite your dog to get on.
Jabu is fine with this minor increase in height
I used a treat to lure my dogs onto the ramp. At the lower heights, they didn’t really need it, but it’s always nice to be rewarded for your efforts, even if the effort isn’t huge, isn’t it?
Because my dogs are tall and quite long, I make sure I line them up straight with the ramp before I lure them on. If your pup isn’t lined up, they can make a misstep and one foot can slip off or cause the ramp to wobble. That can give them a fright and cause them to refuse the ramp, so good luring skills are key.
It’s also important to take your time when introducing new pieces of equipment to your dog. You don’t want to overwhelm them. If you see hesitation or wariness, drop back to a lower/easier height for a last trial and then call it a day.
Skye pays more attention now that the ramp is a bit higher than before
Jabu is lined up nicely and walking confidently up the ramp
When your dog is confidently walking up and down the ramp, you can increase the difficulty until you’re finally ready to put the ramp on the car.
No problem for the young Skye
When the ramp is placed on the car, it’s actually quite steep and this can be too big of a change for many dogs, especially the larger ones, who also happen to be the dogs who need the ramp the most. So work on steeper practice runs if you need to.
Jabu hesitates now that the ramp is on the car
In Jabu’s body language, you can see he is worried about climbing the ramp now. His tail is low, he’s kind of slouching his shoulders and his body is curved. He’s giving me direct eye contact that seems to ask if he can go now, lol. He may be associating taking the ramp into the car with a painful day or a trip to the vet hospital.
“Oh wait, there’s food involved?”
After Jabu’s first time up the ramp, he actually started quivering a little because he thought I would shut the door and take him to the vet. But after several times up and down the ramp for treats, he realized there was no impending trip, just treats and walking on the ramp, so he had no more concerns.
“Treat please!”
Now that Jabu is comfortable walking up the ramp into the car, we will continue to practice it from time to time to keep it fresh. And one day, when jumping into the car is no longer easy or fun, he will know exactly what to do, with no fear of taking the ramp.