It makes me a little sad that this is the most recommended pet ramp on so many websites. Elder dogs and their humans could really use better (affordable) options. I bought this ramp in December 2020, according to Amazon. While hunting for an alternative to it on Amazon, I realized I owed it to other pet caregivers to share a review. If you have a senior pet with arthritis, this ramp is very unlikely to meet your needs and could be unsafe for them. Here’s my experience as someone who rescues senior Chihuahuas/Chihuahua mixes and who’s used this ramp with 4 different seniors since purchasing it: The dog I originally purchased it for was 15 at the time and had arthritis and canine cognitive dysfunction (aka "doggy dementia"). When it arrived, I was excited to set it up for her and grateful the ramp was relatively easy to assemble. I knew it was going clash with my furniture and take up space in an already space-poor bedroom, and I was ok with that. What disappointed me is that it’s significantly wider than it needs to be - especially for a pet on the smaller end of the size continuum. When your house/apt is already full of dog beds, soft mats, food and water bowls. etc., every inch counts. I thought maybe I could hack it in some way to make it even just a little narrower, but nope. I asked various people with handy person skills for their ideas, and all concurred that it's constructed in a way that prevents you from adjusting anything about it - including it's width, length, or slope. I would have been fine with the giant structure if we could have actually used the ramp for its intended purpose - restoring just a little independence to a dog who really needed it. We couldn't, though, and it kind of broke both our hearts. The slope wise way too steep for an arthritic, unsteady dog to manage, and the lack of a side rail made it terrifying - initially for both of us, later just for me. I work from home and am a walking "crazy dog lady" stereotype. I had the time and motivation to help my dog learn how to use the ramp and supervise her efforts on it. Almost. Once she got comfortable getting up and down it, I quickly learned that, if I made it accessible to her, I would have to be ready not to take my eyes off her, not even for a moment. The only way she could manage the steep slope was to take it at a run and, because she was a senior with mobility challenges, she couldn’t control her direction well and would routinely fall off the exposed side of the ramp. While I learned to catch her before landing, the first time she fell, she fell very hard on our hardwood floor from the top of the ramp, hitting her head. (It was so scary). I’m not a DIYer and actually have a lot to do, but I tried to come up with solutions. One was purchasing two toddler mattresses to put down to prevent potential injury, but the way the ramp is built, there's no way to get something underneath it in the right places to cover the floor and keep the structure stable. I wound up just moving my mattress to the floor through the end of her life. After Ruth passed away, I adopted a 10-year-old Chihuahua. He does not have arthritis or other issues that affect his mobility. He likes and uses the ramp - just as much as he likes and uses the pet stairs I have in other spots. In other words, he doesn't need a ramp at all. Something less expensive and less bulky would work just as well for him. When I recently rescued a bonded pair of senior Chihuahua mixes - one age 13ish with severe arthritis, the other 10ish without mobility challenges - I was curious to learn how helpful the ramp would be with them. As expected, the 13-year-old can’t use it safely, and the 10-year-old can. (He can also hop onto chairs and other furniture without ramps or stairs, so again, he doesn’t need this ramp). I'm still glad to have it, I guess, bc I know ramps relieve joint stress. I deal with the inconvenience of it by reminding myself that it’s a preventative tool for my currently non-arthritic seniors. If you have a small dog without arthritis or other issues that affect their mobility - or, possibly, a medium or large sized dog with mobility issues who can handle a steeper ramp - *and* you have the space for it, this might work for you, Even so, please exercise caution, especially as your dog is getting used to using it. Without guard rails, accidents are inevitable and can cause significant injury. If you have a dog who *needs* ramp support, from what I've been able to gather, you're going to need to spend $300+ on something with a side rail and gentler slope or else build a suitable ramp yourself if you’ve got carpentry skills. It's such a shame :(
