As our beloved dogs age, pet parents seek out ways to make the house more “senior friendly.” Making your house safe for your senior dog encompasses many aspects of your dog’s mobility, enjoyment and quality of life.
There are many steps a pet parent can take, even while their dog is a puppy or a young dog, to help assure he stays safe as he ages. Just as having a “step in shower” for a human takes away potential mobility issues later in life, so too does having a dog ramp for your pup to learn to use from when he is young.
How to make your house safe for a senior dog
Here are our favorite senior dog safety items to help your dog live a healthy, happy life.
1. Invest in a doggie ramp the day you bring your puppy or dog home. Why? A puppy can get injured jumping onto and off of a bed or high furniture. When your puppy learns to use a Doggie Ramp when she is young, it is second nature for her to use throughout her life. If you’re adopting an older dog, introduce him to the Doggie Ramp and coax him up and down it, praising and rewarding each time he successfully walks it from the top to the bottom without jumping off. Soon, using the ramp will become second nature to your dog. A dog ramp protects senior dogs and also helps prevent injuries in dogs of all ages.
2. Consider using raised dog bowls for your pup. Smaller dogs may not require a raised dog bowl, but if you’re sharing your life with a large breed dog like a Newfoundland, Great Dane or even a Retriever, using raised bowls for their food and water helps prevent neck strain as they are trying to enjoy their meals.
3. Dogs lose their balance and their confidence in walking on slippery floors as they age. You can invest in toe guards like those sold by Dr. Buzby’s Toe Grips which are ideal for senior dogs and give them confidence and sure footing as they walk
on slippery floors. Consider using throw rugs (as long as they don’t slip and slide when your dog walks on them) or placing your dog’s food, water and bed in an area that is carpeted and that doesn’t force him to navigate a slippery floor.
4. Look at the steps in your house and consider how that will impact your dog as she ages. If you have steps to take her outdoors, how will she navigate those later in life? Maybe you should install a ramp and teach her to use it. If you sleep upstairs and your dog has been accustomed to sleeping up there with you, how will she get up there when she can no longer navigate the steps? Will you carry her? Do you need to plan now, while she is still young, to sleep downstairs so she doesn’t have to worry about stairs or about missing sleeping with you when she can no longer walk up the stairs.
5. A soft place to sleep. Depending on the size of your dog, you may want to invest in a raised dog bed so he doesn’t have to struggle with his aching joints to get onto and off of the floor. Regardless of whether you need a raised bed, make sure your senior dog has a warm, soft place to sleep. This is especially true for those dogs who don’t have much fat (Greyhounds, for example) to help cushion them when they lie down.
Doggie Ramps are the ideal senior-friendly piece of home décor that will benefit your dog from puppyhood to senior. A ramp is much easier for dogs of any age with muscle and joint issues to use than stairs.
Because we love our pets and treat them like family, we want to make every day of their lives as happy and stress- and pain-free as possible and using a dog ramp offers peace of mind to you and your dog!
CHECK IT OUT:
Contact us at info@doggieramps.com to talk about our made in the USA Doggie Ramps, get information on how to train your dog to use one and any other questions you have about how a Doggie Ramp will enhance the quality of your dog’s life.