| By :
Steve Weber
Almost all dogs will develop arthritis to some extent in their later years of life. Arthritis is a disease of the joints when the lubricating cartilage tissue becomes thinner and allows the joint bones to rub together and cause pain. There is no cure for dog arthritis. All owners can do with arthritic canines is to make them as comfortable as possible, supply them with a liquid glucosamine supplement and make their environment as easy to maneuver as possible. Many times a ramp is required for aging canines to access the steps leading to a porch or home doorway. Stairs can be extremely difficult to go both up and down for dogs with osteoarthritis in their later years of life. One thing that pet owners can do is build a simple ramp for making their dog's porch or house access as easy as possible as their arthritis progresses later in their life. There is no need for anything elaborate at all for creating a very functional dog ramp. All that is really required is a sturdy piece of plywood about 24 inches wide. The length of the plywood depends how tall the steps are. The length needed is simply the distance from the edge of the top step to the bottom measured in a straight line. Once that measurement is taken, add about 3/8 of an inch to it. This ramp can then be fastened over the top of the steps. Hopefully there will be enough room to continue to use the regular steps with the ramp at the side. The best way to fasten the dog ramp is to screw it to the existing steps with wood screws. Once the ramp is fastened securely, cut a piece of old carpet or rug and staple it (or glue it) to the surface to make a non-slip surface for your pet. It may take some training to get your dog to use the ramp in the beginning. Simply use some food to bribe the canine up and down the ramp in the correct way when teaching him or her to use the new ramp. Normally just a few days are all that are required to train dogs to use the ramps correctly and safely. This is just one of many things a pet owner can do to help ease the pain and difficulty their older dogs have when combating the disease of arthritis. Little things, like building an inexpensive device for accesses the porch or house make a lot of difference in the quality of life the animal enjoys in his or her later years.
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