Going up or down stairs or ladders I think will depend on the dog. We had a 15-20 pound mutt that loved the water. My parents bought a house with a pool and the dog used the pool more than the people.
The dog would go swimming multiple times a day, especially when it was hot outside, even though he stayed in the house. He could climb out of the cement pond using the cement steps or the pool ladder. :lol:
Decades ago my wife stopped buying expensive, bagged, commercial dog food. Even the expensive stuff was causing problems with the various dogs that owned us. Instead, she feeds the dogs a raw meat diet with veggies and some supplements.
This has evolved into buying frozen beef burgers because they are generally cheaper than bulk ground beef and the burgers are already the right size/weight. To mix it up, the dog gets turkey burgers as well. This is more expensive than buying bulk ground turkey, but like the beef burgers, the patties are already the right size.
The dog gets the raw ground meat along with ground spinach and/or canned pumpkin with a supplement or two. For some reason, the wife puts in a dried mint or something similar.
I have not priced out what the expensive bagged dog good costs in many years, but I suspect it is no more expensive than what we spend on raw meat, canned pumpkin and frozen spinach. What is cheaper, is the dogs did not have reactions to the food and require skin medicines and vet trips. The fillers in the dog food, rice, corn, wheat, and who knows what else, caused the various dogs we have had over the years to have reactions.
The other benefit with this raw meat diet, and why I am mentioning it, is that the solid waste from the dog(s) is GREATLY reduced. They poop less often and with much less volume because the dog is not eating fillers, i.e., wheat, rice, corn, etc. Furthermore, the poop does not attract flies and it seems to break down "better." On a boat that may or may not be an advantage.
Later,
Dan