My 8 year old black lab Koda has a growth on his left front shoulder, had a biopsy done and it is not cancer. It is causing him some discomfort and is on meds for this. He does have a minor limp when walking, jumps into his kennel in the back of the Tahoe with no problem, but as of late really hesitates when jumping out. You can not see a problem when he retrieves, but he is a lab and all he knows is to get it and bring it back to me, bird or ball. So today is a rainy day Sunday, wife is doing some laundry and watching those home make over shows and I start digging through my scrap in the shed.
This is the materials that I came up with.
A piece of 2" aluminum tube about 16" long that I rounded the edges so that it will fit into my receiver hitch, 1/2 inch plywood about 16" by 18", some old outdoor rubber back rug that I cut to size and stapled and of course I have several cans of bolts, nuts, washers, etc. and a stapler.
The end result.
The step and carpet should make it sure footed, much easier and less painful for him to get out of a vehicle. I just insert the step into the receiver prior to opening the kennel door, after he is on the ground, pull it out and stow next to the kennel, light and simple.