Dog Ramps: Do You Build and Ship Them?

Question:

Hi there ! What a great site this is. Well done. I have a 13 year old boxer and when I let him go out to the yard he no longer can do the stairs from the deck as well. He is struggling. I am afraid he will fall.

I am not handy at all..... I was praying that if you sold any ramps and ship them?

I am desperate!!! Please reply and thanks.


Answer:

We are sorry to hear that your Boxer is having trouble with stairs to the deck.

Unfortunately, we do not build and sell dog ramps.

However, even if you are not handy, there ARE things you CAN do and they do not have to involve much money. You may even not have to pay a thing!

You could try bartering services with a neighbor or friend - maybe you can babysit, take care of their pets, cook for them, or help them with something else that they need. In return, they can build your dog a simple ramp using instructions from this site.

There are several reasons why we do not build the ramps ourselves. We live in a residential area not zoned for having a workshop and cannot afford to rent a separate space. The other is that after you factor in the cost of buying the materials, the cost of labor to build the ramp, and the cost of shipping, it would be close to the same as that of a commercial manufacturer.

In addition, we feel it is important for people to develop or maintain skills to make their own products; experience is the best teacher! We believe there will come a day when it will be too expensive to transport goods long distances, and many more things will need to be made locally.

Note that you may be able to get the materials for next to nothing or even free:

Home Depot and other hardware stores often have scrap or discounted lumber.

People may be throwing out usable stuff - for example: plywood, an old wooden table, old chairs or a dresser can supply all the wood needed and often the screws or nails as well.

Discarded carpet can be cut and cleaned by hand and used for a non-slip surface, especially if you use the back side. Rubber matting from a car junkyard can also work.

Hope this is helpful to you - and thank you for admiring our website!

Jo