This is Coco... (4 month old Malteses/Sih Tzu) you can see the steps in the background. She refuses to use them. I decided to try and build a ramp out of scraps and parts I had in the garage.
Homemade Dog Ramp
4 Materials
$50
2 Days
Advanced
Our little dog is scared of the steps I bought...
so I decided to build a simple ramp for her to get up onto the couch.
I also built an outdoor ramp.
See this project: https://www.hometalk.com/44371738/outdoor-dog-ramp
This all started with a few boards. I took 2x pine boards cut roughly at 40 inches.I put a slight angle on what will be the top to give a little landing pad before the ramp began.
This is a picture of the underside. I decided the strongest way to build it while still being light weight was to add a groove for the thin plywood to fit into. Since I had the flat part on the top, I made it in two pieces. You can see the groove I made just big enough to insert the thin plywood with some glue. I did it free hand with a guide, so a few errors happened along the way... nothing some home made wood filler cant fill
*Home Made wood filler is simply glue with some saw dust added to it. Works great and is why I have a small bucket of sawdust in another picture.
Here is the underside glued together. I added a few supports under as well. You can see the rough homemade wood filler in a few places... bucket of sawdust in the back.
Here is the front side. This is just some scrap plywood I had. It will be covered by some carpet so I am not too worried about the look of it. The plywood is inside the side edges.. with a small space for the carpet... so it would hide the edges of the carpet.
Here is the brains of the operation. I wanted it adjustable... but more importantly, so I could fold it flat and store it. It is all trial and error on lengths. I started with the height of the main longer legs and what angle I needed so it would be 17 inches tall... to the height of my couch cushions.
Here it is folded down. On the left side you can see I cit some notches in a board to make it adjustable. The hardware is just some bolts with washers and locking nuts. I added a few cross supports to give it some support.
The grooves hold the small dowel I used... I found a vinyl end caps for the dowel.. so it would be a nice friction fit. I hot glued those onto the end of the dowel so they would not move. I also pin nailed the dowel into the support under it so it would not move.
Some cheap black paint to coat things front and back.
I has some carpet from a mat that had grooves in it... so I sprayed some adhesive under it so it would stay on. Added a few staples top and bottom to make it a tight fit. You can see the sides of the carpet are hidden by the space I left for it... nice clean edges.
Here is the final in place result. Wife said it looks like something from WayFair... so that that is a nice compliment I think.
Some trining with the dog and hopefully she uses it... It can even be adjusted to fit the bed... but then the angle is a bit too steep. I might need to build something else for the bed.
For now... I just hope she uses it. Worst case... it folds up and can be put away.
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![Maria]()
Mariaon Jan 17, 2021Our pup is 14 with hind leg arthritis. She won’t use the dog ramp. Insists on jumping down.
![David McIntosh]()
David McIntoshon Jan 17, 2021It took some training... Mine will use it to come up and occasionally down, but when in a hurry, she will jump directly down to the ground.
She is getting better every day with it though.
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![Judy]()
Judyon Jan 24, 2021My 15-year-old Lhasa has bad front legs so down is harder than up. She uses the stairs to go up, but waits for me to get her down. This ramp design would be perfect. I'd make it as long as the bed, and slide it up to the side--that way, it's not so steep.
![David McIntosh]()
David McIntoshon Jan 24, 2021I built a separate ramp for the bed that is longer... I will have to post that project soon as well.
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Have a question about this project?
What breed of dog is this?
Danny, read the 1st paragraph.
I LOVE your ramp. We have an older Maltese and it's getting harder for her to get up on the couch & bed. Any chance you would make & sell these jewels??
They sell similar ramps.... way easier than building it... I just like a challenge and wanted to clear out some wood in the garage.
I bought a heavy used ramp.she used it from our SUV, a few times, but jumps off the last several feet.
I wonder if it could also be the scent of a past dog?
Mine would do that as well, take a "short cut"... Anything is better than a direct jump from up high.
I have three ramps now built... one for the couch (This project above), another for the Bed (no yet posted), and one for the back porch stairs.
She will still jump off the couch directly, but most of the time use the ramp up and down. The Bed ramp is new so she is getting use to it... and it is much higher. Plus it is a right angle to the bed toward a wall.. so she doesn't try and shortcut as much on that one.
Rails might help keep them on it till the end. Something to consider.