My husband added sheetrock sides to the ramp so Syd would not be so scared of it. We let all the other dogs go up and down the ramp so he could see it was okay. Took some convincing with some of the 4 legged ones to go down the ramp. Going up was no problem, just going down caused some nervousness. At the top of the ramp where the garage wall was, my husband had cut a hole and put a handle on the "door" so we could either close up the ramp at night or leave it open during the daytime. When the other dogs would be standing at the top of the ramp, they would step onto the ramp and freeze. We would have to walk up the ramp and coax them down to reassure them. After a few times of doing this, they became comfortable. We actually were able to get Syd up and go up the ramp with some encouragement. We found that it was easier for him to start at the bottom of the ramp, step up onto the ramp, position himself to be lined up straight and then he would run as fast as he could hobble up the ramp. Going slow did not work. So we figured out we had to make sure everyone was out of the way and he had a wide berth to move. My husband told me to go outside and whoop it up. He got Syd up the ramp and outside and he took a few steps, but wouldn't go any farther and plopped down in the grass. It was overcast and humid with no wind, but the sun was starting to come out, so we let him rest for a few minutes. We tried to tell him we were going for a ride and he perked up a little, then got up, screamed a little, then walked a few more steps. We were hoping he would urinate but he plopped down again. We walked around the yard for a few minutes, then took everyone back in and put the collar and leash back on him and tried to get him up again. Took some doing, but we took him into the garage and he wouldn't go down the ramp. I thought that if we all went inside and I left the ramp door open and the light on downstairs, he would hear us and want to come down. He didn't. My husband came downstairs and asked if Syd was still there and I said yes. He looked and said he wasn't there and peered out the ramp gate and said it looked like he was trying to go up the regular steps! But it turns out it was our other male dog sitting on the landing of the steps. So we ran outside to see where he went to and he had gone out the back door to the back yard and was urinating! He then laid back down, so we let him rest for a few minutes, then got him to get up and at least closer to the ramp in the garage. He plopped back down and laid there for a few minutes while I worked on the computer downstairs. I kept hearing him crying once in awhile (like he wanted to do something but couldn't) and kept telling him to come on down. My husband then went outside and put the collar on him and got him up, then I got onto the ramp and he told him to go see momma and he started coming down the ramp. He stumbled slightly but stayed upright. I helped ease him down and he stumbled as he tried to make the corner to step off the ramp, but he did it! He laid down on his bed and started licking the bandage on his left front leg where the vet left the catheter thing in, in case he needed to come in for IV or something.
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