Help please for ten year old Labrador who can no longer jump into car boot and is terrified of ramp.

Help please for ten year old Labrador who can no longer jump into car boot and is terrified of ramp (although used one as a puppy). Very active otherwise.

 

Hi. Have you tried having the ramp in your house led on the floor so he can get used to it? I would leave it on the floor and reward when he goes near it or on it. After a while you could prop on end up and reward him again if he goes near or gets on. It's not a quick process, but usually works.

 

Can you boost him if he is able to put his front feet up? What about getting out again? Oban weighs nearly 68 pounds right now but I can lift him out when I'm starting at the highest lift point. Actually, I can pick him up from the ground too.

 

I could lift a 34 kg lab but it was had on my back and I think uncomfortable for my dog. It was the only option in the end

 

My dog was 32 kg and I also have a back which can be tricky. I got him a ramp when he had his TPLOs (cruciate surgery) and he would not use it. I could train that dog to do ANYTHING but use that stupid $150 ramp. Sigh. But luckily part of his service dog training was "paws up" which was to put both front paws on whatever surface I told him to on command. It's used for service dogs mainly as a good way to get on your dog's collar and leash if you have problems bending over (they put their paws in your lap). I used it to get Brogan to put his paws onto the back lip of the car or the backseat, then I would carefully bend my knees, grab his middle, push up with my knees and boost him into the car. I wasn't bearing the full 32 kg as Brogan would also give a little help with his front legs, and it worked quite well for us. To get down from the car, I'd make him wait, then grab onto his harness (it had a handle) and then just help him by supporting his weight on the way down.

Here are two harnesses I also tried out (I ended up choosing the Ruff Wear) and there's a good example of using a harness to help the dog in and out of the car in the video below. I think for the "in' part that the paws command and butt lift is easier if you are short like me, but if you are big tough guy, you could do like the guy in the video!

 

I tried a ramp when Millie could no longer jump in my car. She struggled with it and so I gave up and lifted her in and out.

I really like Naya's suggestion of training starting with the ramp on the floor. (Wish I'd thought of it with Millie!) It sounds like a great way to build confidence.

Is the surface of your ramp slippy? Mine was and I was going to line it with something like neoprene but just stopped using it. Just a thought.

 

Tilly is getting to that point. Most of the time she puts her front feet up and we lift her butt into the car. Occasionally we have to lift her front legs up first.

We made a point of training her to allow us to lift her butt into the car, because we had a friend with a Sammy that would not allow it. I built a ramp to get the Sammy into her Jeep, but it is a lot less trouble to just lift up one end of the dog a a time.

We have had to lift dogs out of the water and into canoes and sailboats for years, so we are kind of plugged into assisting our pups into all kinds of vehicles.

 

@Jen Sullivan-Pond
Maddie is 11 and has used a ramp for years, our 10 month old lab Winnie uses the ramp also as she doesn't know any different. In fact if the ramps not up on the car she just looks at you as if to say, I'm not jumping!
We started with the ramp flat on the floor and then gradually raised it. Treats played a big part! I have to say the ramps invaluable, we even put it on the end of our bed as Maddie can't jump up any more!
The ramp we have doesn't flex and has a non slip surface which helps.

 

My previous dog Sammy was also terrified of the ramp and i couldn't get him to use it even in the house. It was only after he saw my neighbor's dog use it that he actually tried it, yet it had taken me all tricks in the book to get him on it. Training actually helps and if you'd also have another dog around use it maybe it would work.

 

OUr old dog could get her front legs in for some time (and you'd lift as she went to jump with the back - in her mind she could leap in reality was she'd miss so you had to push her in). Later it was lift the front then back and eventually I had to use the harness to lift her in but she was down near 20kg by then.