If you are a professional dog trainer, an avid hunter running a pack of bird dogs, or a show dog handler traveling the country, your vehicle is much more than just transportation. It is your mobile kennel, your basecamp, and a critical component of your daily operations.
You know better than anyone that managing multiple dogs is a complex logistical challenge. But one of the most overlooked aspects of running a multi-dog operation isn’t the training, the grooming, or the feeding — it’s the physical act of getting your string of dogs in and out of your vehicle safely.
When you are loading and unloading half a dozen dogs (or more) multiple times a day at field trials, hunt tests, or dog shows, the wear and tear adds up fast. It takes a toll not only on the canine athletes you’ve worked so hard to condition but also on your own body.
Lifting heavy dogs into a tall chassis mount or custom dog box is back-breaking work and letting them jump out on their own is a recipe for career-ending injuries. At Canvasworks in Cokato, Minnesota, we understand the unique demands placed on professional handlers. That’s why we developed the Dogs-Up Ramp: a custom, professional-grade solution built to make loading your entire pack safer, faster, and easier.
The Professional Handler’s Dilemma
For the average pet owner, a dog jumping into the back of a crossover SUV once a week to go to the park may not be a massive issue (although we would still say you should consider a Dogs-Up Ramp). However, for working dogs and show champions, the stakes are completely different.
Retrievers, pointers, and show dogs are elite athletes. When a dog jumps out of a high dog box or truck bed, the repetitive impact on their front shoulders and joints is immense. Over time, this repetitive stress leads to early-onset arthritis, joint degradation, and a significantly shortened working life.
Worse yet, a single awkward jump or slip on a wet tailgate can result in catastrophic shoulder injuries or a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (CCL). As anyone who has paid for knee surgery on a performance dog knows, it is incredibly expensive and requires months of rehabilitation.
To prevent these injuries, many professionals resort to physically lifting their dogs into their crates. If you’re a professional handler, do the math: lifting a 60- to 80-pound dog into a chassis mount ten times a day, multiplied by six dogs, equals thousands of pounds lifted daily. It’s a fast track to severe back, knee, and shoulder injuries for the handler.
You need a ramp, but if you’ve been in the industry long enough, you know that most off-the-shelf pet ramps don’t make the cut for high-volume professional use.
Why Standard Pet Ramps Fail the Pros
The pet market is flooded with dog ramps, but the vast majority are designed for casual users, not the seasoned professional. Most commercial ramps are heavy, bulky, and require complex folding mechanisms or latches to secure them to the vehicle. When you are managing a string of dogs at a fast-paced hunt test or trying to stay on schedule at a crowded dog show, you don’t have the time to wrestle with clunky equipment.
Plus, standard plastic ramps often lack durability. They bow under the weight of larger breeds, lose traction when muddy, and are incredibly difficult to clean. Professionals quickly abandon them because the hassle outweighs the benefits. You need a tool that works as hard as you do, integrating seamlessly into your truck setup without slowing you down.
The Canvasworks Difference: Designed by Pros, for Pros
Our Dogs-Up Ramps were born out of necessity. Canvasworks owner Duane Smith, an experienced hunter and retriever trainer, saw these exact problems firsthand. He wanted to protect his working dogs, who were jumping in and out of his truck all day, but found the ramps on the market too heavy and incapable of fitting the varied heights of custom dog trucks.
Through extensive ingenuity and trial and error, he engineered the very first Dogs-Up Ramp.
Built from an aluminum frame with a taut marine fabric body, our standard ramp weighs a mere 8.5 pounds.
You can easily pull it out of your truck bed and carry it with one hand while managing a dog’s leash in the other. They are covered in premium marine carpeting that is highly durable, incredibly easy to clean, and provides a familiar, high-traction walking surface for your dogs, even when wet.
Customized for Your Pack & Your Rig
Professional handlers don't drive standard vehicles. You drive custom-built chassis mounts, specialized toppers, and heavily modified trucks. A one-size-fits-all ramp simply doesn’t work.
At Canvasworks, we fabricate our Dogs-Up Ramps to fit your specific setup.
Because the ramps do not fold, they retain an incredibly thin profile that easily slides alongside dog boxes or under gear in your truck bed. The length of the ramp is completely dictated by your vehicle's height and the angle of ascent your dogs can comfortably navigate.
If you run a multi-breed operation or handle giant breed show dogs, our standard 18-inch width offers plenty of room and incredible stability. However, for those needing even more space, we also make the Dogs-Up MAXX. At a generous 24 inches wide and available in a 60-inch length, the MAXX provides extra stability for massive breeds or older, cautious dogs, while still weighing only 10 pounds!
Because our ramps don't flex or bow, dogs feel secure instantly. We have yet to have a dog refuse to use a Dogs-Up Ramp. Most working dogs have it completely figured out in just three tries. This means you can implement this tool without missing a single beat in your tight training schedule.
Protect Your Liveliest Livelihood Today
When you transport multiple dogs for a living, your vehicle and your equipment are vital investments. A Canvasworks Dogs-Up Ramp protects the physical longevity of your elite dogs and saves your own back, allowing you to focus on training, hunting, and winning.
Streamline your loading process with a ramp built specifically for the demanding environment of the professional handler. Because every rig is different, give us a call at 320-559-0165 to discuss your specific vehicle height, dog breeds, and storage space.
We’ll personally walk you through the tape-measure process to ensure your custom Dogs-Up Ramp is the perfect fit. Protect your pack and order your Canvasworks Dogs-Up Ramp today!