Dogs | Accessories

Best Dog Stairs for Small Dogs in Australia, Ranked

A small dog throwing itself off the edge of the bed looks like nothing — until it's an older dog landing badly, or a dachshund doing it for the thousandth time. That short drop onto a hard floor is a real jolt through little legs and long backs, and it adds up. A good set of dog stairs turns the leap into a walk, so a puppy, a senior or a short-legged breed can reach the couch or bed and get back down without the impact. The catch is that a stair built for a chihuahua is not the one built for a high bed or the back of the car. We've compared four dog stairs and ramps you can buy in Australia right now, and worked out which dog and which piece of furniture each one suits.

Best Overall

4.6

COZY KISS Curved Dog Stairs

Gentle curved climb on joints
Leakproof washable cover

Small and medium dogs only

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Best Budget Pick

4.2

Anshine 3-Tier Dog Stairs

Cheapest way to try stairs
Light, easy to move around

Basic three-step foam build

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Best for High Beds

4.5

LOMORA 5-Tier Dog Stairs

Tall enough for high beds
Widened steps feel more stable

A big unit in a small room

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Best for Travel

3.8

PAWZ Foldable Dog Steps

Folds flat for the car
Wipe-clean for outdoor use

Harder steps than foam

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By Tom • Updated August 2026 • 🕒 12 min read

What separates a set of stairs a dog trusts from one it steps around comes down to a handful of things — how gentle the climb is on small joints, how stable it sits underfoot, how well the height matches real furniture, and how easily it cleans and stores. Stairs take the daily jump out of a small dog's routine, and for an older dog they pair well with our guide to joint supplements for dogs.

What to look for in a dog staircase

Five things worth weighing before you buy, so the steps match your dog and your furniture. Swipe through all five.

Match the height

Measure the drop from the floor to the bed or couch before anything else. A staircase that's too short leaves a gap the dog still has to jump, and one that's too tall becomes a steep climb they'll quietly avoid.

Step depth and rise

Small dogs have short legs, so shallow, deep steps are kinder than tall, narrow ones. A gentle rise per step, or a sloped ramp, asks far less of stiff hips and long backs than a big vertical hop between tiers.

Grip top to bottom

The surface the dog climbs and the base on the floor both need to hold. A non-slip tread stops paws skating on the way up, while a gripped or rubber-dotted base keeps the set from sliding out as the dog pushes off.

Foam or plastic

Foam is softer and warmer underfoot and suits sore joints, but it can't fold and won't shrug off a muddy paw. Rigid plastic folds flat and wipes clean for travel and outdoors, at the cost of a firmer, cooler step.

Cleaning and washing

Puppies and older dogs have accidents, so a removable, washable cover earns its keep. Check whether the cover is waterproof or leakproof, and whether only the sleeve washes, since most foam cores can't go near a machine.

At a glance

The four picks side by side on height, build and price, with the short version of our verdict on each.

Rank	Product	Best for	Key feature	Approx. price	Check price
Best Overall	COZY KISS Curved Dog Stairs	Small dogs and joint protection	Curved foam slope, leakproof washable cover	~$55–$75 AUD	Check price
Best Budget Pick	Anshine 3-Tier Dog Stairs	A cheap first set of steps	Memory foam, non-slip textured surface	~$41–$51 AUD	Check price
Best for High Beds	LOMORA 5-Tier Dog Stairs	Tall beds and car boots	60cm tall, widened steps, rubber-dot base	~$85–$105 AUD	Check price
Best for Travel	PAWZ Foldable Dog Steps	Travel, storage and outdoor use	Folds flat, 76kg capacity, anti-slip mats	~$42–$62 AUD	Check price

Our picks in detail

What we rate, what to watch for, and the dog each set suits.

Best Overall: COZY KISS Curved Dog Stairs

Bottom line — the gentlest all-rounder for a small dog, with a curved climb and a leakproof cover made for accidents.

The curve is the whole idea here, and it's a good one. Instead of asking a small dog to hop up square-edged steps, the surface slopes like a gentle ramp with just enough tread to stop paws sliding, which is easier on stiff hips and long backs than a straight drop between tiers. A 30D high-density foam core holds its shape under a small dog instead of sagging into a hammock.

The cover is where it earns the top spot in a house with a puppy or an ageing dog. It's a leakproof, machine-washable sleeve over the foam, so the odd accident wipes and washes off instead of soaking in, and a non-slip nylon base keeps the whole thing from skating across floorboards when the dog commits. You stack it to the height you need — a couple of layers for a chair, more for a bed — and there's a handle for shifting it. It suits small and medium dogs only, and the foam wants a day or two to fully expand out of the box.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Curved slope is gentle on joints Leakproof cover wipes and machine-washes Non-slip base grips hard floors	Small and medium dogs only Foam needs a day to expand Bulkier than a folding step

Best Budget Pick: Anshine 3-Tier Dog Stairs

Bottom line — the no-fuss budget pick that gets a small dog off the floor without spending much.

Not everyone needs a fancy set of steps, and this is the one to start with if you just want your dog off the floor. It's a simple three-tier block of 30D memory foam with a textured, non-slip cover, sized to bridge the gap up to a couch or a lower bed. Nothing clever, but the foam is firm enough to take a small dog's weight without folding under it.

The whole thing is light, so it's easy to shift from the lounge to the bedroom or lift into the car, and the cover pulls off for a machine wash when it gets grubby — though the foam core itself can't go in, so a spill needs blotting rather than soaking. Three tiers suits small dogs and a low-to-standard bed; it won't reach a tall bed, and a bigger dog will squash it flat. For the money, it does the one job that matters, which is turning a jump into a few easy steps, and it's a sensible way to find out whether your dog will use stairs at all before spending more.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Lowest price of the four Light to carry and reposition Removable cover machine-washes when grubby	Only three tiers, low reach Foam core is not washable A larger dog will flatten it

Best for High Beds: LOMORA 5-Tier Dog Stairs

Bottom line — the tall, wide set for a high bed or the car boot, giving a small dog a stable way up.

Some beds and most car boots are too tall for a three-step foam block, and that's the gap this fills. At 60cm over five steps it reaches proper high-bed height, and the steps are cut about 5cm wider than a standard set, so a smaller dog has room to place its feet instead of balancing along a too-narrow step. The same 30D foam keeps each step firm underfoot.

Wider and taller reassures a dog that hesitates on a steep climb, and a non-slip base with rubber dots keeps it planted when the dog pushes off the top step. It comes in a four-step version for a sofa or lower bed and the five-step for a high bed or the car, so match the height to the drop instead of defaulting to the tallest — a five-step stack has the steepest rise per step here, so a stiff or tiny dog does better on the shortest set that reaches. The catch is bulk: a 60cm staircase is a real piece of furniture in a small bedroom. For a genuinely high bed, though, nothing else here reaches.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Tall enough for high beds and boots Widened steps give surer footing Rubber-dot base stays planted underfoot	Bulky in a small room Priciest of the four picks Overkill for a low couch

Best for Travel: PAWZ Foldable Dog Steps

Bottom line — the one that folds flat for the car and boot, if you can trade foam softness for plastic.

Foam is comfortable but it doesn't fold, and if the steps need to travel or vanish into a cupboard, plastic wins. This set folds flat, clips shut with a safety buckle and pops back open in a second, standing 50cm for a couch, a bed or the back of the car. An anti-slip mat on each tread gives grip on what is otherwise a hard surface.

The upside is packability and cleaning — it wipes down after a muddy outdoor session where foam would soak it up, folds into the boot for a trip away, and takes a claimed 76kg, so it isn't fazed by a chunkier small or medium dog. The trade-off is the feel underfoot. Hard plastic steps are firmer and a touch steeper than a foam slope, so a dog with sore joints or a wobbly senior may prefer the give of foam, and a nervous dog can take longer to trust the harder tread. For travel and easy storage, though, nothing here matches it.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Folds flat for car and storage Wipe-clean for muddy outdoor use Holds up to 76kg of dog	Hard plastic is less joint-friendly Steeper rise than a foam slope Nervous dogs take longer to trust

FAQ

Are dog stairs better than a ramp for a small dog?

It depends on the dog. Stairs take up less floor space and most dogs work them out quickly, since climbing steps is a familiar movement. A ramp is one gentle slope with no stepping at all, which can suit a dog with very sore joints, weak back legs or a disc-prone back like a dachshund's, where even a small step up hurts. Plenty of the foam sets blur the line anyway — a curved, low-rise staircase behaves much like a shallow ramp. If your dog is wary of heights or has real mobility trouble, lean towards the gentlest slope you can find; for a fit small dog that just can't quite reach the bed, ordinary steps are usually plenty.

What size dog stairs do I need?

Start with the furniture, not the dog. Measure from the floor to the top of the bed or couch, then pick a set that reaches within a few centimetres of that height so there's no leftover gap to jump. Then check the step height suits the dog — a chihuahua or a dachshund wants low, shallow steps, while a beagle-sized dog can handle a taller rise. Depth matters too: the step needs to be deep enough for the dog to stand square without teetering. Too tall, too steep or too narrow and the stairs get ignored, so it's better to under-shoot the height a little than overshoot it.

Will my dog use these stairs?

Most do, but rarely on the first go. Put the stairs exactly where the dog already jumps up, so they read as the obvious way up instead of a strange new object in the corner. Lure them up and down a few times with a treat or a toy, keep it calm and let them set the pace, and reward every attempt. A day or two of short, patient sessions is usually enough. Older or more anxious dogs take longer, and a set with a gentle slope and wide, grippy steps is far less intimidating to a hesitant dog than a tall, narrow one.

Do puppies need dog stairs too?

They can benefit, yes. A growing puppy's limbs and joints are still developing, and the RSPCA advises avoiding activities where a pup leaps into the air, since landing awkwardly can damage growing limbs and joints. A daily jump down from a tall bed onto a hard floor is that same kind of repeated hard landing. Stairs let a puppy get up and down without the jarring impact, which also saves you lifting them a hundred times a day. The same steps then earn their keep for years, and for a breed prone to back trouble — dachshunds, corgis, French bulldogs — getting a dog used to steps early is a habit worth building before the jumping does any damage.

Can dog stairs help a dog with arthritis?

They can be part of the picture, but they're not a treatment. For a dog with sore joints, the point is to cut the repeated high-impact jumping that stairs replace with a gentler climb. The RSPCA lists weight management and activity modification — including shorter walks on even ground and using a ramp to get in and out of the car — among the ways to help a dog with arthritis, alongside proper veterinary treatment. Keeping an older dog at a healthy weight matters just as much, since extra kilos load the joints further, and the right senior diet is part of that. If your dog is stiff, slowing down or struggling with steps it used to manage, see your vet — stairs make daily life easier, but they don't treat the underlying condition.

Final thoughts

If there's one thing I'd sort out before buying, it's careful measuring — the height of the bed or couch, and the size of the dog. Most of the grief people have with dog stairs comes from a set that's too tall, too steep or too narrow for the dog it was bought for, so it sits in the corner gathering hair while the dog keeps jumping anyway. Measure the drop, match the step height to the length of your dog's legs, and set it down at the exact spot the dog already jumps up.

Pepper, my staffy, would treat any of these as a launch pad and clear it in one bound, so I'll be upfront that stairs are really for the little and the older dogs — the puppies, the short-legged breeds and the seniors whose joints have done enough jumping. If that's your dog, the best set is the one they'll use, which usually means the lowest, widest, most stable one that still reaches the furniture. Walk a nervous dog up and down it a few times with a treat and a bit of patience, and most of them work it out faster than you'd think. And if an older dog is suddenly struggling with steps it used to manage, that's a vet conversation about the joints as much as a furniture problem.