# Handicap Ramp for injured dog (need advice)



## harleysilo (Nov 13, 2007)

Our dog Harley has apparently injured her leg.


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## travelover (Nov 13, 2007)

Wow, what a devoted pet owner. I can't speak to your pet's needs, but I just put in a ramp for my father in law and went 1:12. That is about as steep a grade as my mother in law can push his wheelchair up. To make the ramp less steep you can add a level platform midway and turn it in another direction.


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## harleysilo (Nov 13, 2007)

Maybe this is better...


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## Kerrylib (Nov 13, 2007)

From the looks of the picture, if you could wrap the ramp around the front of the deck, your land slopes upward that direction.  That would require a much shorter vertical drop on the ramp.  Of course that would mean doing away w/ existing stairs, or putting a landing where they are currently and splitting off the ramp one way and the stairs straight out.

Your second drawing looks like a better idea, unless there is a good reason to have the ramp end out in the middle of the yard.


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## harleysilo (Nov 13, 2007)

Kerrylib said:


> From the looks of the picture, if you could wrap the ramp around the front of the deck, your land slopes upward that direction.  That would require a much shorter vertical drop on the ramp.  Of course that would mean doing away w/ existing stairs, or putting a landing where they are currently and splitting off the ramp one way and the stairs straight out.


That is certainly a possibility, except we want to demo the existing deck eventually and I don't want to re-do the ramp.  We don't plan to build the replacement deck as deep as the current one, it will however be at least twice as long.


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## glennjanie (Nov 13, 2007)

My preference is for the second drawing. Steep ramps are not only difficult to manage, they are also frightful if you're the rider.
Doesn't the Americans with Disabilities Act call for ramps to be no more than 1/2" rise per foot?
Glenn


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## inspectorD (Nov 13, 2007)

What ever happened to all those code guru's who used to post around here?

Oh well guess i will have to go usin that 4 letter ....
The ADA say's 1 inch per foot. With basically a 30 foot max till you hit a landing zone. 

Another cheaper option may be to install a small "doggie door" somewhere else around the house if that is an option.

Good luck with your pet.


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## harleysilo (Nov 14, 2007)

O.K. so a new plan.  Built for dog only.  with railings and 1:12 slope...


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## travelover (Nov 14, 2007)

Your dogs are really gonna love you for this!


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## ElevatedDeck (Mar 15, 2008)

Hello, I have the same problem. My dog's leg was almost impossible for him to walk on. He is better now but not the same. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, we took him to the vet and they said he was just getting old.

Months later my brother started working at a different animal hospital. He said that a common problem he was seeing in dogs in our area is a disease called anaplasma, that comes primarily from ticks. However we use tick medication, so we had ruled that out. Well, of course it can also be transmitted from nips by other dogs and dog poo, etc etc.., so he tested our dog using a test called Snap 4DX test, which tests for anaplasma and some other things.

Several months of antibacterial medication later our dog is better, but not the same. He had the disease for a while before being diagnosed and his leg is still kind of limpy.

If your vet hasn't done a snap 4dx test you should probably have it done. I see from your pics you live in a woodsy area like we do. Also once a day we give our dog two glucosamine w/msm pills from costco. The animal hospital where my brother works, the vets say that the Costco brand results in the most bio-available stuff in the dog, because it's not just about the mg of Glucosamine, but how much the dog actually absorbs.


On to my home improvement comments:


We have an elevated deck 7 feet off the ground. Our dog cannot make it up and down the stairs, either.  The code here says that any ramps must conform to ADA requirements, which is insane for just a dog ramp; it means I have to have 90 feet of ramp (1:12). WTF nobody can do that unless you're rich and you have a contracting dream team or something.

Anyway I enjoyed this thread because I have searched a lot on google and I could never find anyone with a similar elevated deck type problem.

I am also planning to build a ramp, strictly for use by the dog. I am going to go 1:3 or less. Yes, you read that right, 1:3. We have a 1:3 ramp up to our couch and the dog loves it (he can't jump onto the couch anymore). The couch ramp has carpet for traction; obviously I'll need some serious traction for outdoors, that works when wet. I plan a 20' ramp.

I'd like to know how your deck came out. Some of the pictures you posted last year are no longer available via photobucket. That is a shame because I would really like to see what you had posted. Also do you have any pictures of the finished product?


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