Anyone use a dog car ramp?

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Thinking of getting one for my old girl (11 year old lab) but DH thinks they're a bit silly. She's finding it harder and harder to get into the boot or even onto the back seat. I can see her refusing a ramp though - she's very stubborn!

Does anyone use them or have any recommendations?

It depends on the type of vehicle you have and the weight of the dog... I tried a widely available folding, bought version which allegedly took a weight of 60Kgs. My dog was half that, and: no. Far too narrow, far too wobbly.

In the end the OH built one which basically resembled a smaller version of the 'A' frame (as used in agility), complete with nonslip paint, until unfolded flat. We were able to train the dog to use the ramp away from the vehicle (a tall-ish 4x4) and he took to it willingly enough. He had a degenerative condition though so only got the benefit for a short while; he did like his rides out though, while he still could!

Have you checked with your vet if your dog is in pain or has restricted movement? There are supplements and collars and things that can help with older dogs.

Yes, she was at the vet on Monday. Normally a bit of Loxicom keeps her arthritis at bay and she's remarkably sprightly for 11. But since the weekend she's been limping quite badly. Vet couldn't find anything wrong. Maybe she's pulled a muscle trying to keep up with our 2 year old dog. We're going away for the weekend so trying to think how to make things easier for her. She's 33kg and some of the ramps do look a bit flimsy.

If it's a normal-height saloon or estate car, could you rig up a step for her somehow? Might be easier than trying to source a ramp before you go away.

I bought a Trixie Pet Ramp, Black, 40 × 156 cm last year for my collie as she now has trouble jumping into our land rover as the back is quite high, she has no trouble jumping out!
My little dog also uses it
It’s really good, not wobbly, just a bit of a faff to use every time and even though it folds in half it is still quite bulky but it’s a lot easier than lifting her up.
I would say though that my dog did a lot of agility when she was younger so was used to ramps and it was easy to get her to use it.

Yes, I use one all the time for my large breed with hip Dysplasia. Can’t remember the make, but it folds in two and has a grainy non slip surface. Easy to get my dog to go up and down using treats.

Yes, they’re brilliant. Don’t think a folding one would be as good but we’ve got a Solvit sliding ramp, much sturdier. Not cheap but we’ve had it nearly six years and still going strong. We had to get it when we took on our rescue Labrador girl. She was only eight but weighed nearly 44kgs when we first took her on so there was no way she could jump in the boot and no way I could lift her. She’s thirteen and a half now and she needs a teensy bit of enticing with a treat but still gets up and down relatively easily. I’ve had many people come and ask about it when I’m using it, a lot of them with old dogs themselves, lots of whom said they were hesitant to get one but when they saw our old girl using it decided it was a good idea.

I used one for our arthritic lab from about the same age. She was very dubious at first. We laid a trail of treats up it and a special treat at the top. We tried it every day until it became a routine.

She used to need to take a bit of a run up to get up it. Later on I used to give her bum a push. But it was worth it because she liked the car and going on trips. She used it for three years. I'm sure it saved her poor hips from being jarred from jumping out as well.

It was a very sturdy aluminium one that I got second hand, with a non slip surface and folded in half.