Our beloved boy Cameron is now 14 years old... he has lost the use of his back right leg, and has partial use of his back left leg. This means he's dragging his back end all the time :( But he is a happy boy, and we've got all sorts of awesome "accessories" for him.

He is a LARGE boy, but not fat. 12" at the shoulder, and 36lbs. Vet says he's a good weight for his size. We carry him up and down the stairs, into the yard, etc.

Looks like I've developed a rotator cuff tear in my right shoulder, aggravated multiple times a day carrying my long low doggie. I'm  hoping that some sort of cross body sling would help me carry him with comfort for us both, but with his size, I'm not easily finding something.

Luckily I have a PT who understands that I'm not going to stop carrying my boy, but I'd love to find something that takes the pressure off my right shoulder. All suggestions  welcome!

Views: 958

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I would try looking up dog slings or dog support slings on Amazon. They have some but not sure what may work or not for you! Good luck!!!!!

 Oh gosh, this does not sound like a happy development. I also have enjoyed an injured shoulder and must say...it surely does seem to take a long time to get over it!

Okay, so where do you have to carry him? Are you lifting him up and down stairs in the house? If that's the case, could you either a) get one of those elevator things that us old folks can ride to the second story on? OR b) move your master bedroom furniture to a downstairs room so he doesn't have to struggle up steps to be near you at night?

If you're carrying him on level ground: my neighbor has a dog that she wheels around in a baby buggy thing -- like a fancy stroller. Dog just loves it. She says the dog isn't able to walk very far but loves to get outside, so she accommodates. Problem is, you'd still have to lift him into the thing. But it's not very far off the floor. Maybe a strategy could be devised so he could be partly lifted and partly supported on something so once you got him to a certain point, he could pull himself into it?

The obvious punt, o'course, is to lift him with your left arm. That, however, invites two injured shoulders instead of just one.n Can you lift him with your spouse? ;-) 

The backend harnesses at doggon wheels work quite well. A dog could manage a few steps with this but not a full flight.

http://www.doggon.com/dog_support_slings.html
Sounds crazy, but Home Depot does some pretty impressive mini home Reno projects and they may be able to work with you to Coe up with something more OMG term and sturdy (such as a rolling ramp with sides?) That could roll slowly down the stairs on a self-braking system, and be pulled up on. Some type of lever system. I am not an engineer, but I think a mechanical system may prove less risky for you and your dog if it were possible with in the structure of you home. I am thinking of a light, temporary, removable system. Might be worth lookin into. I pulled my dog over the snow in a plastic bin when the snow was over her head last winter. Different situation, but I have a disability so it was easer on my body to and safer for the dog to use the bin than a carrier.

Thanks so much for your replies!

I've looked at support slings on Amazon, and I'll probably end up giving one a try. Most are for much smaller dogs/children, though, so I hesitated.

I carry him up a flight of stairs (and down) inside the house, and a bit outside so he can go potty and sit in his favorite lounge spot on our deck. I mostly carry him with my left arm, and support his chest with my right arm (the injured side). My hubby carries him up in the evenings, but I'm in charge for mornings and afternoons.

We've experimented with some improvised ramps into the yard, but he doesn't like any of them (sigh! ;) ). The main issue is the inside stairs, and we've jokingly talked about making a Corgi Elevator, but we might consider something like that. Our house is super small, so no sleeping or working downstairs... Our stairs are very narrow, so a side ramp or anything won't work for both corgis and people - and I think the pitch is too steep for him to be comfortable on with his bum backend.

I'm thinking we might try to devise an elevator (or a sturdy laundry basket on a pulley, lol!)...

RSS

Rescue Store

Stay Connected

 

FDA Recall

Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall

We support...

Badge

Loading…

© 2024   Created by Sam Tsang.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report a boo boo  |  Terms of Service