Sturdier dog ramp for large breeds

Foam steps collapsing is a real problem — they're built for small dogs and most of them are misleadingly marketed as suitable for larger breeds. The right mobility aid depends entirely on where your dog is struggling: back legs, front legs, getting in the car, or navigating stairs all call for different solutions, and a poorly fitted or structurally weak one can knock a dog's confidence badly or cause injury. Before I point you toward something better, can you tell me: what size is your Dalmatian, roughly how much do they weigh, and what are they specifically trying to get on or off — the sofa, a car, stairs?

That makes complete sense — 27kg is well beyond what foam steps can handle safely, and an arthritic dog losing footing like that can really set them back, both physically and in terms of willingness to try again. For car boot access at that weight, you want a proper ramp rather than steps. Steps still ask the dog to lift each leg individually, which is harder on arthritic hips and hocks. A ramp lets her walk up at her own pace in one continuous movement. Can I ask — does she still have reasonable strength in those back legs, just reduced range and some pain? Or is she actually dragging or buckling when she walks? That'll help me work out whether you need a standard ramp or one with a raised side rail she can lean into.

Perfect — that actually puts you in a good position. She has the strength to use a ramp independently, which means you don't need anything specialist, just something structurally solid with a good grip surface. The one I'd point you to is the PetSafe Happy Ride Telescoping Pet Ramp. It extends from around 91cm to 152cm so you can adjust the angle to suit your boot height, the walking surface is a rubberised textured mesh that gives real grip even when damp, and it's rated to 68kg so your Dalmatian is well within its limits. It folds flat for the boot too, which matters when you're using it every day. It's on Amazon UK and typically around £55–£70 depending on when you look. The key thing after foam steps is reintroducing it slowly — let her sniff it on the ground first, reward her for stepping on it at ground level before you ever angle it toward the car.

The PetSafe ramp's mesh surface is reasonably grippy as-is, but if she's hesitant you can lay a strip of self-adhesive anti-slip stair tape along the centre — the kind sold for outdoor steps, available cheaply on Amazon. Some people also use a yoga mat cut to size under a reluctant dog's paws for the first few sessions just to build confidence, then remove it once she's going up and down reliably. The bigger factor with a hesitant dog is the angle — the shallower the incline, the easier the ask. Set it as flat as your boot height allows at first, even if that means she's walking a longer distance. Once she's confident, you can steepen it slightly if you need to.

Good luck — at 11 with arthritis she's doing well to still be getting out for trips. The ramp will make a real difference once she trusts it. If you find she's still struggling after a few weeks of practice, or if her back end starts to weaken more noticeably, it's worth asking your vet about a rear-support harness alongside the ramp — but for now the ramp alone should be all you need.