Age, arthritis, and injuries can interfere with your dog’s enjoyment of beds, sofas, and rides in the car. Dog ramps can help inactive dogs enjoy their favorite places again.
Your dog can’t move around the way he used to. He might have trouble with stairs or his favorite window seat, and you feel his disappointment. Fortunately, a whole industry supports canine mobility with ramps and stairs that can help him feel younger again.
What are dog ramps and why use them?
Ramps are flat sloping boards that replace stairs with a gradual incline that’s easy to walk up or down. Most dog ramps are made of wood, plastic, or metal, and their surfaces include carpet, fabric, artificial grass, and nonskid materials.
When positioned between the floor and furniture or between the ground and your car’s door, a dog ramp can:
Reduce joint strain and arthritis pain.
Assist older dogs who can no longer jump into a car or onto a sofa or grooming table.
Prevent injury to you or whomever helps the dog climb up or down.
Reduce stress or anxiety associated with mobility tasks.
Help developing puppies stay safe by preventing hard landings.
Help dogs of all ages recover from illness, accidents, injuries, or surgery.
Dog ramps come in all kinds of materials, sizes, and price ranges. Here are some considerations.
If you plan to use the ramp indoors and out, look for durable materials that survive weather changes.
An adjustable ramp can be used in different situations or with different vehicles.
A folding or collapsible ramp will be easy to transport.
Be sure the ramp will fit in your vehicle if you plan to travel with it.
Nonskid surfaces, safety rails, and sturdy construction help prevent accidents.
The ramp should be an appropriate size for your dog and it should support her weight.
Be sure the ramp’s slope is comfortable for your dog. Small dogs and dogs with mobility problems often need a gentle or easy slope.
Check to be sure you can lift, extend, adjust, or move the ramp easily.
Look for a ramp that is easy to clean so it will stay fresh and look attractive.
What is the best dog ramp for my car?
Think about where you’re likely to go with your dog in the vehicle you’re most likely to use. Bi-fold and tri-fold collapsible ramps with skid- or slip-resistant surfaces are popular options, but check the size and weight of the ramp along with assembly instructions and slope to be sure it’s a good match for you and your car as well as your dog.
What is the best ramp for my bed?
Pet stairs and ramps make it easy for dogs to climb onto your bed or other furniture. Check the weight capacity for stairs, as different models support 20 pounds to more than 150. For convenience, look for a ramp or stairs that can be left in place, and for aesthetic appreciation, choose one that goes well with your furniture.
Ramps are unfamiliar to most dogs, so introduce your ramp in a quiet area free of distractions and practice with rewards and praise.
There are innumerable exotic diseases and bizarre injuries that can potentially afflict any individual dog, but, sadly, the vast majority of dogs in this country today will suffer from one of a few very prosaic disorders. And many dogs suffer from every single one of the maladies discussed below! Even sadder: All of these life-impairing conditions are 100 percent preventable – easily preventable!
1. Obesity
There are so many overweight pets in this country that there is at least one organization whose sole purpose is to quantify them and help their owners reduce the problem. The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) estimates that more than 50 percent of the dogs in this country (and almost 60 percent of cats!) are overweight or obese.
Obese dogs are prone to a number of health problems that are directly related to their weight, including strongly increased incidence of osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, heart and respiratory disease, cranial cruciate ligament injuries, kidney disease, many forms of cancer, and a decreased life expectancy. Though many people assume otherwise, there is actually no clear evidence that obesity causes diabetes in dogs. However, obesity can contribute to insulin resistance, making it more difficult to regulate overweight dogs with diabetes. Obesity is also a risk factor for pancreatitis, which can lead to diabetes.
Fat dogs get caught in the same vicious cycle that fat humans do: the extra weight they carry makes it harder for them to exercise by putting extra strain on their joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and discouraging them from exercising as much or as long. A fat dog has to work harder than his slim counterpart on the same hike, just as you would have to work harder if you were carrying a backpack with an extra 20 percent or more of your body weight in it. Given the extra workload, a fat dog may ache more than the slim dog the day after a long walk, and be less enthusiastic about going on the next walk. And the less exercise he gets, the fatter he may become.
The first step is recognizing the problem.
Keeping your dog thin will do more than anything else you can do to support his vibrant good health over his lifetime – and may even extend his life!
There are many reasons that dogs get fat – and the first is owner non-recognition of their dogs’ obesity! I’ve hurt the feelings of several friends and family members when I’ve tried to educate them about their dogs’ condition. I try to be kind and tactful – and I suspect their veterinarians do, too, because almost invariably, people will tell me, “My vet has never said anything about it!”
It shouldn’t take a friend or a veterinarian to “diagnose” a fat dog. Your dog is likely overweight if, when viewed from above, she has no appreciable waist; or if you can’t very easily feel your dog’s ribs. Running your hand across her ribcage should feel rather like palpating the back of your hand, with bones covered with only a thin layer of skin and muscle. If it feels more like it does when you palpate the palm of your hand just below your fingers, she’s likely overweight; if it feels more like the meaty part of your palm at the base of your thumb, she’s probably obese!
But perhaps you know your dog is a little heavier than she ought to be – you just hate to take away anything that makes her happy. Please remember that she will decidedly not be happy when she’s suffering from osteoarthritis at age 5, or exercise-intolerant at age 7. Our dogs’ lives are short enough! Condemning them to even shorter lives, full of pain and (at the very least) discomfort for the latter half of their lives is not very kind at all.
Ideally, you help your dog stay fit and trim with an appropriate diet and the right amount of daily exercise. If your dog is already fat, make it a priority to help her lose weight and gain fitness. If you (slowly) increase the lengths of the walks you take her on, you just may find that you lose some weight as well! For most of us, that would be a very good thing, indeed!
For more on helping your dog lose weight, please see:
I’m certain I’ve never met a single dog owner that liked maintaining her dog’s dental hygiene – unless her dog had perfectly clean teeth without any efforts from the owner whatsoever. Whether you brush your dog’s teeth and/or pay for your dog to have her teeth cleaned at the veterinarian’s office, it’s an unhappy chore.
It’s worth the time, effort, and money needed to maintain the holy trinity of canine dental health: clean teeth; tight, pink gums; and breath that doesn’t knock you over!
Some dogs do go through life, from puppyhood to old age, without forming a bit of dental calculus (also known as tartar). But most dogs have significant dental issues by the time they are middle-aged; one study identified periodontitis (inflammation of the tissue around the teeth, often causing shrinkage of the gums and loosening of the teeth) in a whopping 82 percent of dogs aged 6 to 8 years!
What’s the problem with that? Periodontal disease can lead to histopathologic changes in the kidneys, liver, and myocardium, and has been linked to cardiac diseases in dogs.
Also, unless a dog is anesthetized fully for a dental cleaning, things like cracked or broken teeth may go undiagnosed for a long time, leaving your dog in daily pain, especially when eating or trying to play with toys. And a dog who is forced to endure chronic dental pain may be (understandably) cranky with his human and canine family members. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about dogs who had developed aggressive behavior that went away almost immediately after a cracked tooth was finally detected and removed.)
It only makes sense to keep an eye on your dog’s teeth – including those hard-to-see molars in the back – and take appropriate action to keep them clean and healthy. When you schedule your dog’s annual wellness exam (you do take your dog in for an annual exam, don’t you?), make sure your veterinarian takes more than a one- or two-second peek at your dog’s teeth. (You can facilitate this by training your dog to allow you to lift his lips for increasingly longer moments, until his teeth can be visually inspected pretty thoroughly.) And plan on taking whatever steps are necessary to maintain his dental health, from daily brushing and the regular use of dental rinses or gels that help control dental tartar, to a professional dental cleaning under anesthesia at your veterinarian’s clinic.
For more on maintaining your dog’s teeth, please see:
Nice nails! This dog’s nails are trimmed close to but not touching the “quick” – and the quick itself hasn’t had an opportunity to grow far from the toe.
This problem may not seem as dramatic as the first two, but while it’s true that long toenails only rarely cripple a dog and don’t cause systemic disease, they can significantly decrease a dog’s quality of life by making his every step uncomfortable. (Plus, this can contribute to or aggravate a weight problem, as a dog whose feet hurt more and more from over-long nails becomes reluctant to exercise.)
Super-long nails are usually easy to spot, but dogs who have long hair on their legs and feet may be hiding painfully long nails – and perhaps even lesions on their toes from where long, curving nails have created pressure sores on adjacent toes.
But if they are not yet at an obvious, curving, “Call the SPCA” length, how do you know if your dog’s nails are too long? The best test is to listen closely as he walks across a tile or hardwood floor: If you can hear his nails go “Tick, tick, tick, tick,” as he walks, they are too long! (I’m guessing 90 percent of you just went, “Ugh!”)
If your dog’s nails are thick and long, don’t despair – but don’t avoid this important, basic responsibility, either. If you are easily able to cut your dog’s nails, trim a tiny bit off each nail weekly. If it’s a struggle for you (for any reason, whether your dog’s behavior or your own squeamishness), look for a groomer who will help you schedule trimming visits frequently enough to restore your dog’s feet to health over the next few months.
For more on trimming your dog’s nails, please see:
Vegetables can be a great addition to your dog’s diet if you stick to those that are safe and hand out an appropriate amount.
By Wendy Newell
As omnivores, dogs can digest plants as well as meat. Many nutritionists believe a mixture of both is important for a healthy dog.
My darling baby boy is a 12-year-old German Shorthair Pointer mix. When he was around 6 years old he started to put on some weight. Based on a suggestion from a friend I cut back on his food and added a handful of frozen green beans to his dinner. The vegetable slowed down the gobbling up of his food, added volume without many calories to help him feel full, and easily fit into my budget. The trick worked! My pup slimmed down.
Which Vegetables Are Good for Dogs, And Which Aren’t?
Leafy Greens
A good rule for finding leafy greens that your dog can eat is to stick to those that you would consume. Lettuce, spinach, chard, cabbage and kale are all okay for dogs. Besides being rich in vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, iron and potassium, leafy greens are also a good source of fiber. Much like humans, dogs get the most nutrients when the veggies are uncooked. Of course, if you want you can steam your dog’s vegetables for something a little different, or bake them for a crunchier treat. The high fiber in leafy greens can cause some dogs to have an upset stomach after initially added to their diet. Introduce any new food slowly to keep your dog’s tummy safe.
Root Vegetables
In general root vegetables like carrots, beets, sweet potatoes and parsnips are safe to feed your dog. These vegetables are starchy and high in sugar, which means you do want to limit the amount you give to your dog (especially if his commercial or raw diet already contains root vegetables – many do).
Dreamstime
Stalks
This includes vegetables like celery and asparagus. It may be a little harder to get your dog to enjoy these types of vegetables, but they are safe for dogs to eat. Some don’t like the taste, and some find them hard to grind up in their teeth. To help, cut stalky vegetables into small pieces and/or steam them.
Squash
Squash of all varieties are safe for dogs to eat. Pumpkin and butternut squash can help dogs with bouts of diarrhea, and most dogs don’t mind the taste of squash. Use up all your excess summer squash from the garden by steaming it up for your dog, or cut up and bake this year’s jack-o-lantern after Halloween for your dog to eat. It’s best to limit your pup’s consumption to the meat of the squash, keeping the seeds and skin away.
Legumes
This vegetable group includes bean and alfalfa sprouts, mature beans such as kidney, pinto, and lentil, and peas. The topic of legumes in dog food has been in the news lately. The reason is due to a recent FDA update which states there are reports of canine dilated cardiopulmonary (DCM) in dogs eating pet foods containing legumes or potatoes high up on the ingredients list. If the protein of your dog’s diet relies heavily on legumes or potatoes, you should not only avoid giving more of this plant group to your dog, but also consider reducing the levels of legumes in his main dog food, i.e. changing dog foods.
A note on green beans: Green beans may be the most widely-fed vegetable to dogs because of their taste and easy digestion. Please be aware that, despite their name, green beans are not actually classified as beans, and therefore don’t warrant the limitations recommended for true legumes.
Alliums
Alliums are bulb vegetables like onions, garlic, leeks, chives, and shallots. Do not give your dog access to these plants, as they are toxic to dogs. Negative side effects of eating onions or garlic for dogs range from a stomach ache to developing anemia which, at it’s worse, can cause organs to shut down.
Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cauliflower, Corn and Cucumber
All of these veggies are safe for your dog to munch on but, like other vegetables, keep it to small quantities – especially if your dog isn’t used to eating these types of foods. Remember to take the corn off the cob before handing it over to your dog. Although the cob itself isn’t bad for a dog to consume, it is easy to swallow in chunks or whole, which can cause choking or intestinal obstruction.
Whenever changing your dog’s diet make sure to check with your vet, go slow, and pay attention to your dog. If you follow these guidelines, adding vegetables to your pup’s diet can help him receive a more varied, complete nutritional profile in his diet.
Tips for Feeding Your Dog Vegetables:
* Frozen bags of vegetables are often on sale. Stock up. Have a blend ready to grab in a Tupperware bowl in the freezer.
* If your pup is sensitive to the cold of a frozen vegetable put a small bowl in the refrigerator for easy treat access.
* For a summer treat add vegetables to a 1:1 mixture of chicken broth and water in an ice tray. Once frozen pop out one or true for a delicious hot day treat.
* When cooking set aside the unused vegetable trimmings that are safe for your dog to consume. A great no waste alternative to throwing it in the garbage.
* If your dog doesn’t want anything to do with vegetables and you want to supplement what he is getting in his regular diet you can chop fine or puree and mix into his meals. For treats adding some dog safe peanut butter can get your dog started. Eventually you should be able to back off on the addition and feed the vegetable plain.
* Vegetables are a great reward in treat puzzle games. As always make sure you watch your dog when those are in use and that all edible treats are cleaned from the puzzle before storing away.
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Dogs who have back problems – or who are at risk of joint or tendon injuries – will benefit from being taught and encouraged to use a ramp for getting on and off sofas, beds, and any other raised surface. © Irina Meshcheryakova | Dreamstime.com
