Puppy Day: Celebrating the Creative Minds Behind DIY Puppy Stair lifts

A puppy using the world's first dog stair lift.
Puppy Day: Celebrating the Creative Minds Behind DIY Puppy Stair lifts

Authored by:

Kieran Harris

Today is International Puppy Day! At Senior Stairlifts, we love our furry friends, and as stair lift experts, we have noticed that there are a lot of creative minds that have been able to build their own or re-purpose a stair lift for their dogs to use in their day-to-day lives.

To celebrate, we are going to share some of our favourite DIY stair lifts that people have made for their friendly companions.

1: Woman Builds Stair Lift for Elderly Dogs

For our first example, we have the famous video by Sonya Karimi in New Orleans. Sonya is an occupational therapist by trade & noticed that Adorable Pug pups George & Bodhi were having problems with navigating the stairs in their older age. Their human parents made them a completely bespoke stair lift out of wood, big enough so that they could ride together up & down the stairs.

2: Bubba’s Boom Boom Bus

Posted by a channel that goes by Renée K Santiago on YouTube, Bubba was an older dog who was losing mobility in their hind legs & was struggling with going up the stairs. So their owners decided to make them a handicap lift that would help Bubba with accessing the whole of their house.

They have an in-depth guide on how they built their stair lift on their YouTube Channel.

3: Shelby’s Dog Stair Lift

At the time of uploading, Shelby was a 13-year-old Border Collie who had arthritis in her hind legs & Degenerative Myelopathy was suspected to be present. Shelby’s human dad, who by trade is a mechanical & electrical engineer, used a reconditioned stair lift base & rail to make Shelby their own little lift so that they can get around their home.

Blending Creative Problem Solving with Mechanical & Electrical Expertise

It is worth pointing out that for all of these examples, they were made by individuals who have experience with mechanical & electrical engineering. We personally do not recommend attempting to build your own stair lift for your pet unless you understand the risks involved & you’re a trained professional who has extensive knowledge in how stair lifts work.

One aspect that is a major element to consider is the weight that a stair lift would be able to support. Without an in-depth understanding of the working load limit of the pieces that make up a lift, there is a high risk that any efforts made could result in the failure of components, leading to injuries.

If you would like more information about pet & child safety around stair lifts, we have more information on that in a further article.

Where Could I get Experience with Stair Lift Engineering?

If you feel inspired by the creative minds that have been able to make stair lifts for their pets & would like to know how you could get the knowledge & experience with being able to make something similar, you could always look at opportunities to become a stair lift engineer. You could either look at apprenticeships, or if you have mechanical or electrical engineering qualifications, then you may be able to land an entry-level job at a professional stair lift installation company.

Happy Puppy Day, Everyone!

We hope that you & all of your furry friends have a wonderful puppy day. Our wonderful companions deserve the world (or at least an extra treat or two). We are so glad that there are many talented individuals out there who are able to either take a used stair lift & re-purpose parts & pieces or be able to make a functional stair lift from scratch.

If you or your beloved pet is struggling with the stairs, don’t risk DIY solutions; trust the experts at Senior Stairlifts! We offer professionally installed, safe, and reliable stair lifts designed to keep you and even your pets moving comfortably at home.

Contact us today for a free consultation and find out how we can customise a solution that works perfectly for you and your companion.