Dog Ramps

Here is what I use.. Biceps.

Our dog doesn't swim when we're not beached.
That's fine and dandy if you are standing on the bottom, but what is your solution to lifting a 115lb pooch out in the middle of the lake? Better have egg beaters for legs while treading water to lift them up! Haha luckily, and unfortunately, I don't have this worry since my dogs HATE the water(but love the boat,go figure!). It would be nice to play with them in the water. It'd be good exercise for my dog AND me!!
 
I'm certain our cat would like swimming.

Oops.  Dog topic.  Sorry.
 
That's fine and dandy if you are standing on the bottom, but what is your solution to lifting a 115lb pooch out in the middle of the lake? Better have egg beaters for legs while treading water to lift them up! Haha luckily, and unfortunately, I don't have this worry since my dogs HATE the water(but love the boat,go figure!). It would be nice to play with them in the water. It'd be good exercise for my dog AND me!!
That is why our 90 lb lab doesn't swim in open water. I'd drown trying to get him back on board. Just like I don't eat dinner in the middle of a highway, there is a safe place for all and our lake has two sandy islands connected by a sand bar so there is no reason for me to throw him off in the middle of the lake. I know waterways vary but for us it is easier to control where he swims, thus we have control of how he gets back on. I typically load the dog in the port side gate after swirling his paws in the water to rinse off.

I want to see you come out of the water with a dog in each hand Derrick, like a Canadian Zeus!
 
Haha, Canadian Zeus!  Maybe like that old spice commercial,  riding 2 dolphins, oh wait, I live in Canada, guess it could be one the nose of a Beluga whale! Haha
 
Derrick can walk on water. Most of the year anyway.
 
We have the paws aboard ladder for our 100# German Shepard, She loves it. Constantly in and out. I added another pull out ladder on the other side of the motor  just for her ladder works out great. 
 
Doggydocks update:  Just received their new swivel cleat - http://pupgearcorporation.com/products/doggydocks-Mounting-Kits/doggydocks_2.  I'm hoping if I'm in cove off the main lake, the water will be a bit calmer and this could work really well.  Still cold in Indiana, and it may be May before my hounds hit the water.  I'll update this post with what I discover.
Noah thanks for the update. I still have not purchased anything for my dog. I look forward to your post on how the swivel works out.

David
 
I need to find something simple and easy to store, for the front of my boat. I have a 160# Great Dane that will not get off of the boat unless there is a dock. He refuses to jump off onto the beach. I know he won't be easy to get back on there once he gets off.
 
We had a harlequin and he hated the water but wouldn't let us go out on the boat without him. He'd only get on and off at our dock.

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bcpnick...That ramp looks like it might work from the bow to dry land if partially beached and as long as you don't have wave action making the bow go up and down you should be ok.Please keep us posted on results if purchased...THANKS
It worked beautifully. I ended up purchasing this one from Amazon. When folded in half, it stowed nicely in the changing room storage area with plenty of room to spare lengthwise alongside the bin I keep my anchor, etc. in.

I was a little worried about making sure the top part of the ramp below the rubber fingers wouldn't make contact and damage the boat but that was easily fixed by just pulling our runner rug that we keep up there forward a bit. We never had huge wave action but the way we had it setup, I think it would be alright. If I wasn't around to watch it, I would just kick it onto the beach. 

My other concern was traction and heat. It was comfortable to walk up in bare feet, shoes, sandals and for dogs. Even in the late day direct sun, it didn't get hot on the feet, but it was only in the high 70's so we'll see when it's 90+. The traction was surprisingly good. I had planned to spray on some rustoleum anti-slip spray, but I don't think I need it now. 

Weight capacity was also awesome. Handled a 300+ pound dude stomping around on it with no problems. 

I need to find something simple and easy to store, for the front of my boat. I have a 160# Great Dane that will not get off of the boat unless there is a dock. He refuses to jump off onto the beach. I know he won't be easy to get back on there once he gets off.
My 12 year old dog is only half that size, but she can't even come close to getting on and off and it was a pain lifting her. It took a couple times showing her how to use the ramp but now she loves it. One of the best accessories I've picked up for the boat so far. 

Here are a few pics of the ramp in action on the trip I just came back from. I'll post up more pics from that trip in a week or so once I work through them all. 

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NICE!
 
Very nice! Both the ramp and the scenery!! My mom has been recently pretty sick (heart issues) so she doesn't have much energy and can't walk that well,  anyway she got a motorized scooter and it has a double folding aluminum ramp to get it into the back of the SUV, it is the 5ft one, but there is also an 8 ft one. It folds in half twice(length once and width once) and can carry I think around 600+ lbs. First thing I thought of was all the other uses for the ramp! Haha
 
Sorry to hear about your mom Derrick. But on a different note you probably increased her scooters battery output, added a wet sounds system for her and put some fancy wheels on it for her!
 
beautiful scenery bcpnick, I love those rock walls.  Tell us about this place is it a lake, reservoir or river? 
 
beautiful scenery bcpnick, I love those rock walls.  Tell us about this place is it a lake, reservoir or river? 
It is Lake Powell on the Colorado River in southern Utah. I just came back from a 3-day trip where we boated about 40 miles down the main channel of the Colorado into an extremely remote area called the Escalante Arm. There is a unique feature there known as Cathedral in the Desert that is usually submerged but the water levels are near historic lows so I wanted to see it before the lake started to fill again this spring. I'll post up a little trip report on it in a week or so once I've gone through the 800+ pictures I took, but here's one more:

This is Cathedral in the Desert. I was a little bummed to see another boat in there considering we had only seen two others in 40+ miles of water, but it was still a stunning experience to drift around and listen to the waterfall echo off the walls. The walls soar several hundred feet up and nearly close in on each other making it feel almost subterranean when you're inside. More pics to come...

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wow! Beautiful place.
 
Sweet pics !!!!
 
Nothing like that in Wisconsin...that is so cool.  Is it just me or does it look like a huge snake is draped over the rocks with its head almost in the water?
 
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder halveb.  I am not going to say what I think it looks like
 
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