Our almost 15 year old 65lb Newfie mix Cubby can’t navigate down our stairs anymore. We’ve been carrying him down in the morning, and DH and I are debating the safest way to lift and carry a large dog.
Any suggestions?
Seems that this kind of a lift might be the best option. Navigating stairs with an armload of large fluffy dog presents some safety issues for all involved.
http://www.amazon.com/Our-Pets-Lift-N-Aid-Mobility-Harness/dp/B0009YUE7Q
Also check this forum: www.handicappedpet.net for ideas. Good luck!
ETA: This is really cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Br6W4HwG0
But I bet it’s not cheap.
We tried that lift before. Cubby refuses to walk forward. He just flattens himself out and splays his legs. We only have six stairs to go down so it’s not too bad.
Rather than lifting, try the Help Em Up harness. I’ve posted about it before because it added 18+ months to my time with my old dog - he was a large Lab mix, close to 100lbs, so lifting really wasn’t an option. The harness has two handles - one over the shoulders and one over the hips - so that you can help and support the dog up and down stairs, etc. The website is www.helpemup.com. I hope this helps!
(And a 15 yr old Newfie? Wow!!! That’s awesome!)
Could you put up a ramp? My dogs have a ramp going up to their dog door, and they love it. (They also play King of the Hill on it, and push each other off.)
Hmmmmm, would a ramp be too steep for 6 steps? Might be a possibility. He’s a determined old dog and would probably prefer to come down on his own.
Here he is last June with my niece:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/CubbyandAbby.jpg
What a sweet looking fellow!
When I lift a large dog into my bathtub or grooming table I put and arm under the neck, and an arm under their tummy close to the hind end. Around the neck you still are putting pressure on the chest more than the neck, never had one get ‘choke-y’ this way. And under the tummy. if you grip around the hind end, some big dogs get nervous this way and it doesn’t give you the control. It also forces the hind legs/hips to bend which can be uncomfortable for a dog with arthritis.
Truthfully I will actually lift dogs at my shop by under the tummy and with their collars. This allows me to keep my face away from an unknown dog in case they attempt to bite, and it a very short quick lift so never had a problem with it. But with a dog you know you can do more of a hug around the chest/under neck, and an arm under the tummy.
we built a ramp for my old dog to go in and out. If its just a once or twice a day thing (like coming down from the bedroom in the morning) can you carry him? When my dog slipped a disc in her neck, we had to be very careful the way we carried her. She weighed about 60lbs, and was 14. We laid her bed at the top of the stairs, made her lay down, and carried her in the “taco” to the bottom of the steps. A ramp might be easier. Youll have to make it longer that the stairs and put a non slip pad on it (a piece of carpet or the non slip drawer liner).
My dog loves to sleep in the bed with me, but she can no longer jump into the bed. (my bed is quite high.) Every night, I cradle her in my arms with one arm around the front and the other around the hind end. At just a few more pounds than your dog, I’m always proud of myself that I can dead lift that much weight. My dog is very particular about her body and doesn’t like to be touched, but she will sacrifice the inconvenience for sleeping in the bed.
Thank you for starting this thread! There are some good ideas. I know that I will soon have to make a plan for getting up and down the stairs. The help em up harness looks cool. Right now, my dog wouldn’t stand for something that invasive, but the time may come when she’ll consider her options!
No ideas, just my sympathies! My 50lb collie mix is staggering to carry, even down a short flight of stairs; another 15lbs must be - ouch. I’m considering one of the carry-type getups, because while my dog can still get up and down on her own (albeit with me hovering at the ready in case she slips) I can see she might need it in the future. And if she does, she’ll have to get used to the sling because there’s no way I could carry her up and down every day.
One suggestion - put good lighting in or near the stairs so you can see WTH you’re doing. Darkness plus a large hairy dog in your arms = virtual blindness.
Maybe some of you will laugh at me for this, but when my husband & I bought our house, we intentionally looked for one that had easy (no stairs/not steep) access to the outdoors and a 1st floor master bedroom. At the time we had an elderly, arthritic cocker spaniel who could no longer manage stairs. We figured that even though he wasn’t going to be with us forever, we’d always have dogs, so. . .
This of course disqualified an awful lot of very nice homes in our range, but fortunately we did have an understanding agent!
It’s just once a day in the morning right now. Cubby can come up the stairs on his own and DH and I are strong enough to carry his weight down once a day.
Cubby is “letting” us carry him down but I don’t know that he’d let us use a carrying device. We tried it a couple of times and he was not having any of it. :lol:
I carry him around the chest and butt. DH carries him around the chest and under the belly. We were discussing which method was better.
Of course I think I’m right. :winkgrin:
When we HAD to carry my old dog instead of using the aforementioned taco, our vet told us to put one arm under her belly (like where the back flank is) and then the other arm perpendicular through the front legs so that no pressure is on the neck. Her issue was with her neck, but it still sounds safer to put your arm on the chest/belly than the neck/front part of the chest. My dog was very independent and didnt like the “taco elevator” but she got used to it and became totally fine with it.
BTW, your dog is super cute!
[QUOTE=Mara;6181299]
Maybe some of you will laugh at me for this, but when my husband & I bought our house, we intentionally looked for one that had easy (no stairs/not steep) access to the outdoors and a 1st floor master bedroom. At the time we had an elderly, arthritic cocker spaniel who could no longer manage stairs.[/QUOTE]
No laughter from me. If I could, I would absolutely move to a one-story place right now because that would be so much easier on both of us.
