DIY: Yoga mat = cheap, non-slip steps for aging dogs

Our dog suddenly started acting frightened to go up and down some of the stairs in our house. Neither we nor the vet could find a physical reason--in fact, he's very healthy for his 10 years of age and likely won't develop any mobility issues anytime soon--so our only guess was that he'd had a spectacular fall one day while we were at work and was still a little spooked.

The bedroom stairs were some that he was avoiding, and it was quite annoying to have to get out of bed to coax him up and down! I looked around for solutions, from ramps to stair treads, and didn't find anything I liked--many were too expensive, "country," or in colors I particularly disliked. I mentioned this to the vet technician, and she said, "Oh, we just use yoga mats here," and explained that they bought them online by the roll, cut them down to size, and secured them with double-sided tape.

I thought it sounded like a good idea provided I could find a color I liked--and in fact, I found there are some really pretty yoga mats out there! Some even use natural materials. The one I ended up with is below (the color is off in this picture; a better representation is here, though I bought mine sans matching bag on Amazon for a little over $20). I thought the print would go nicely with our bedroom's Asian theme, and we will likely be painting the walls a shade of green.

First I made sure to dust the floor really well, and then I positioned the mat. After taping it into place, I "installed" it using a staple gun and 1/4" nails. I then removed the tape.

Initially, the dog wasn't sure what to make of the mat, and wanted to go around it. However, with some coaxing he seems much more confident. Maybe now he won't bother me in the middle of the night when he wants a drink of water!