Solvit’s Telescoping Pet Ramp

May 27, 2014 By Jodi

One of the hardest issues we’ve had with Sampson’s ACL injury and subsequent surgery has been getting him in and out of the car. Before he fully tore his ACL we did purchase a set of steps to assist him in getting on the bed, but since he can’t be on the bed, I’ve tried using the stairs for the car.

For some reason Sampson does not care for the steps at all. He uses them but he usually tries to skip one of the two steps, which has resulted with him falling a couple of times, and that really freaks me out. I certainly don’t want him damaging the mechanism in his leg.

So I was super excited when I was contacted by the wonderful folks at Solvit. My contact thought after reading my blog, that I might like to try a ramp for Sampson. I talked it over with Hubby, and went back and forth with the rep and we finally decided on the Deluxe Telescoping Pet Ramp. She was even kind enough to send me a video on how to train Sampson to use the ramp.

At first when I looked at the ramp I got a little nervous, while the ramp extends from 39″ up to 72″, I couldn’t see how to lock the ramp in place, but that’s the beauty of the telescoping feature. When you set the ramp up and extend it to your preferred length, the telescoping feature along with gravity, keeps the ramp from retracting. There are two little feet on one end that sit on the ground/floor. The ramp portion the pet walks on feels similar to sandpaper, so it provides traction and prevents slipping. When not in use, there is a snap to keep the ramp from opening up, and it has a handle on one side to make for easy carrying.

We set the ramp on the floor and left it there for a couple of days. Occasionally asking the dogs to walk across it.

Then the grandkids came over and I had to pick it up, because they kept trying to walk on it and it is not for people or children, only pets!

Sampson walked across it just fine when it was flat on the floor, but the first time I tried to use it, I had the ramp pitched too steeply and he wouldn’t even attempt it. I discovered that you can adjust the pitch of the ramp by extending it a little bit longer.

My dogs have both taken agility classes and I was pretty sure we wouldn’t have much of a problem, but we wanted to make sure we did it correctly so we started out small.

We set the ramp up in the room Sampson and I are sleeping in. Our mattress is no more than 6 inches off the floor. The first couple of times Sampson walked OVER the ramp or off to the side, but with a few treats, he quickly learned to go up and down the ramp.

So we moved it into the living room to try it on the couch, which is considerably higher than the mattress. He tried once again going over the ramp, but a little patience, coaxing and cookies and he was off.

I think he was super happy just to be up on his couch again.

After going on and off the couch a couple of times, we moved the ramp out to the car.

And then brought Sampson out.

Let’s see how he did with the ramp. (The volume may be a tiny bit loud, fair warning.)

If the video does not play, click here.

As you can see, after an initial hesitation Sampson walked the ramp like it was his job. It was so easy to train Sampson on the Solvit Telescoping Pet Ramp. All told it took us no more than 20 minutes from the time we started using the slight incline of the mattress until he was walking in and out of the car.

I think a good part of that is the quality and sturdiness of the ramp as well as the non-slip surface.

When it’s just Sampson and I in the car, I slide the ramp on the floor of the front passenger seat, I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m fairly certain if I’m driving the ramp will fit between the front and back seats. If Hubby’s driving, he likes to put the seat all the way back to give himself plenty of leg room, so the ramp won’t fit back there. I think we will more than likely have to strap it onto the roof rack, but I think that would be the case with any ramp we used.

All told, I’m so very pleased with the Solvit Telescoping Pet Ramp, I no longer have to worry about Sampson slipping or trying to jump when getting in and out of the car.

Disclaimer: I was given a Solvit Telescoping Pet Ramp in exchange for an honest review of a product. I have received no other compensation for this review. Heart Like a Dog only shares products and information we feel are relevant to our readers and would never share or endorse a product we wouldn’t use ourselves.

Let It Go

May 22, 2014 By Jodi

Delilah’s on board

For the longest time I was leaving Delilah with Hubby while I took Sampson for his morning walk, but last week Hubby had to leave early for some blood work. I felt bad leaving her sweet little face and I was feeling my oats or something and figured what the heck? I hooked her up and took her with us.

I have to say, she’s on board with the morning walk. She is SO good (most days) just walking slowly along. It’s like she understands that Sampson cannot move quickly, most morning she just walks sedately along beside him.

Look at them, you’d think they were perfect dogs.

Sampson’s a Dillwad

So I mentioned before that Sampson is on a harness to help with his pulling. It works fine, until he sees someone or something he loves and then nothing will hold him back.

One of our neighbors across the street is an older woman with MS. She absolutely adores the dogs and when she sees me out with them and she’s out, she calls us over.

Sunday night I was taking Sampson for his walk and I heard her call me and then she said, “Hi Sampson!” Well that was it, he was a dog on a mission and dragged me over, jumping and lunging in his quest to get to her.

Since then he’s been a little gimpy on his leg. ERRR!!!

Healing a leg is like fine wine Mama, it takes time.

Let it Go

Sampson was scheduled for his last therapy appointment last night. I called yesterday morning and confirmed the appointment. In order to arrive on time I needed to leave work at 3:45. I cleared it with my boss.

At 4:30 I looked at the clock and about lost my mind. I flew out the door calling the vet on my way home. My appointment was for 5:00 and they were closing at 6:00. I had my choice of arriving late and only getting a partial therapy appointment or canceling my existing appointment and rescheduling. Once I found out there was no penalty for canceling I determined it wasn’t worth risking my life or Sampson’s to try and get there during rush hour.

I was beating myself up pretty badly when I got home, telling Sampson what a horrible dog Mama I was. I had received a delivery essential oils so I took out some Abundance, rubbed it on my wrists and took a couple really good sniffs. I stopped crying and decided my missing the appointment was either the Universe’s or my brain’s way of telling me either Sampson or I or both of us, needed the break. I took Delilah for a walk.

The Sweetest Thing

I saw this posted yesterday of the Lab Rescue page I belong to. It was written by a little girl who was picking up her dog.

Is that not the sweetest thing ever?

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Who’s Been Pooping in my Bed?

April 17, 2014 By Jodi

Delilah and the Baby Gate:

Sampson and I have been sleeping in the Recovery Room that Hubby and I made for him. Anytime we aren’t home, Sampson is locked in this room via a walk through baby gate. Last week we were told we could give him a bit more freedom, so I tried using a plastic baby gate in the hallway. I shut the bathroom door so he couldn’t go in and slip and I wedged the gate between the walls. This would give him access to his room and the den. Typically the den is Delilah’s. She has a little bed in there and she lays there watching for us to come home. But I figured, hey she has access to the entire house including the bedroom, so she can suck it up for a few weeks.

The first morning I heard my mom getting ready to leave so I called Sampson in to the den so we could go out on the small deck and say good morning. I slid open the door and there was this humongous crash and Delilah came tearing into the den.

Scratch the plastic baby gate in the hall.

Who’s been pooping in my bed?

You all know by now that I’m a worrier. It’s what I do best. If I could get paid to worry, I’d be richer than Bill Gates.

Monday I came home from work and went to let Sampson out and I noticed something in the bed. It looked like a small rock so I went in and picked it up. Upon closer examination I realized I was holding dog poop. I was puzzled. How on earth did dog poop get in the bed?

And then the following thoughts raced through my mind:

Could Sampson have pooped in the house and then cleaned it up himself, even though he’s never pooped in the house before? (You missed one dude.)
Why would Sampson poop in the house? Oh god, what if he really does have Degenerative Myleopathy and he’s losing feeling in his back end and doesn’t even know he’s pooped?
What about Delilah? You know she’s a shit eater. She was snuggling in here this morning. What if she brought something in from outside to enjoy in bed, like most people enjoy crackers?
Sampson did poop this morning. Maybe he didn’t get it all out, what if he had a little one left in the chamber and when he went to sleep it shot out?

Then I decided it wasn’t worth worrying about, I left the room to dispose of the poop and I met Delilah in the hall. What the hell, I thought. She eats shit anyway. I held out my hand. She gave me the nastiest stink-eye and turned her head.

My DOG woman, you never cease to amaze me. Poop eating is discretionary. At MY discretion not yours!

What? (For those of you not in the know, the poop of raw fed dogs is very different from non-raw fed dogs. It is very hard and compact. This poop looked like a small rock or a very large piece of kibble. I think the fact it looked like kibble is that gave me the above idea.) 😉

Where does the Mama sleep?

Please take note of this photo. Can you see where the pillow is? That’s typically where I should be resting my head. Do you also see where Sampson is?

Yes, I take my job of keeping the Mama warm very siriusly.

Yes, most nights I wiggle my way between the dog and the wall. The things I do for my dogs.

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Solvit’s Telescoping Pet Ramp