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  1. #1
    Senior Dog MontananDakota's Avatar
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    Time for a Helper Harness I think

    Yesterday the weather was kind of weird, humid but not too hot (it was cloudy) So we went to the park for our walk early. Then the damn sun came out. Everyone was sweltering. We stuck to the shady path as much as we could but we still got hot. We turned back. I checked my Endomondo and it said we did 1.5 miles. That's fine though because we were hot. Dakota was panting a bit harder than China when we got home so I got her cold pack from the freezer and put it under her. She was fine. Bedtime she didn't want to get up to go out for last call. I had to lift her butt and she gave me a look like she was pretty annoyed with that move. She was panting when we got back inside and rather than risk her hurting herself jumping off the bed I just put her to bed on the floor with her cold pack. She had a lot of trouble on the hard wood floor, in fact she crawled over to a spot she wanted instead of getting up. Same thing this morning. And she is laying with her head on her paws-she never does this. It is time for a harness to help her back end up. Any suggestions / tips? I think its also time to get her to the vet to see if its painful then get her something for it.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    poor girl, rough day Hope she is feeling better after a bit more rest.

    So one thing my vet said at our last visit: if Rocky is having trouble getting up use a harness and just sorta help them up in a way they don't notice. Some dogs once they struggle/fail they will stop trying and it becomes a viscous circle (vs if you help them without them noticing then they don't release they had any help. Having said that, I'm not sure how to apply it in reality!

    I had to cover all the hardwood at my place. I have random rugs all over covering as much space as I could. Gives him more traction. especially anywhere he gets up.

    I use the help them up harness. I can't imagine life without it!

    Help Em Upâ„¢ Dog Harness | Hip Dysplasia | Dog Carrier

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog MontananDakota's Avatar
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    For the most part she's doing great getting up, its just really the bedroom floor (refinished a few years ago so its slippery) so I've been putting something like an area rug up against her back legs when she lays there. It has come to my realization that she no longer gets up on that bed when I'm not there. Only when I'm there and say "let momma help". So-do I leave that harness on her all the time? I guess take it off when I leave for work? Also-she has a pretty big fatty lipoma on the inside of one of her front legs. I should have had it removed but I didn't think it would get much bigger ( stupid me) and Im certainly not going to put her under at 13 for that. Unless I had to of course. Anyway-does the harness go in the creases of their front legs at all?

    I hope this is not painful for her. But then if its painless would that mean degenerative myelopathy??

  5. #4
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Poor baby. Rubber backed mats/runners live in our house. May not be a fashion statement but I don't care as long as the furkids had good footing.

    You may need to try on different harnesses. I have a Ruffwear harness that both Melody and Mardi used and it did help. On the very hot and humid days, keep walks short and sweet. Maybe a few short walks instead of one long one. I did not leave the harness on all the time.

    I've never stopped any dog from sleeping in the bed but I don't encourage it either. There comes a time when they cannot jump up and jumping down can have dire consequences.
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  6. #5
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    Not sure on diagnosis depends what it is. Often there are drugs that can help!

    Honestly i don't leave it on Rocky. it goes on and off to do stairs. he has yet to need help getting up except during the winter with the cold/snow incidents. A harness could be better if you think you could slide it under. I don't know. However, I am pretty sure some people do leave them on all the time/most of the time.

  7. #6
    Senior Dog MontananDakota's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by POPTOP View Post
    Poor baby. Rubber backed mats/runners live in our house. May not be a fashion statement but I don't care as long as the furkids had good footing.

    You may need to try on different harnesses. I have a Ruffwear harness that both Melody and Mardi used and it did help. On the very hot and humid days, keep walks short and sweet. Maybe a few short walks instead of one long one. I did not leave the harness on all the time.

    I've never stopped any dog from sleeping in the bed but I don't encourage it either. There comes a time when they cannot jump up and jumping down can have dire consequences.
    Yes exactly--she has ALWAYS slept with me except for the hospital stay when I had my dd-can you believe that? We are always together. But I was afraid she was going to jump down in the middle of the night and what if I couldn't get to the end of the bed quick enough to help her? That would hurt...
    I'm picking up some mats today to ensure she has something to grip.

  8. #7
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    I have a SolvIt Harness for Molly. I got it during the winter when she was having so much trouble with arthritis, & getting around on snow & ice. She has since started on Galliprant & that is helping her a lot. Since we started on that, we have not had to use the harness except when we went camping to help her up & down the steps of the motorhome. I know I will likely need the harness for her in the future, but right now she is doing pretty well. It comes in 2 pieces--you can use them together, or separately, depending upon what your dog needs help with. I use the whole thing. When I used it, I put it on to take her out for walks, but took it off so she could rest during the day while I was at work, & also at night I took it off after I was done walking her. I didn't want it to chafe. Also, she did not like it, especially in the beginning! It seemed like an insult to her spirit of independence! But, wonderful Lab that she is, she was patient & tolerant, & put up with us! I'll try & post a picture of it, but PhotoBucket being what it is, I finally saw I've been added to the list of people who got the message about 3rd party posting....Huh......guess I won't--can't get around the giant ad on PhotoBucket telling me to upgrade.....

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  10. #8
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    I think that maybe the 1.6 mile walk in hot/humid weather tired her out. I don't think it's degenerative myelopathy. My guess would be age related arthritis. I'd take a few short and slow walks throughout the day with her, instead of a long one and let her rest.
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  12. #9
    Senior Dog MontananDakota's Avatar
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    I think you're all right. I was thinking well its less than our 2.5 miles we used to do and still can do in cool dry weather..without realizing that little bit of humidity takes a bigger toll on her. goodness I feel terrible. She's been better last few days and there's been only short potty trips because of the rain.

  13. #10
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MontananDakota View Post
    I think you're all right. I was thinking well its less than our 2.5 miles we used to do and still can do in cool dry weather..without realizing that little bit of humidity takes a bigger toll on her. goodness I feel terrible. She's been better last few days and there's been only short potty trips because of the rain.
    glad things are better.

    and i am forever having to re-asses things with Rocky. "why did what we did yesterday not work today?". even the smallest factors seem to have a big impact (even if I thought i'd taken them into account). I'm actually trying to figure one out right now!! Actually, I have two on my radar I am trying to work thru. AND once you DO figure them out, things change AGAIN :P This is part of what has made things harder for me as Rocky is going thru changes so fast that we get very little "stability" before some new quirk pops up!

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