What's her hearing like now both my oldies acted like this when they went deaf. They became a little isolated and did't join in some much.
Sky
- Thread starter Atemas
- Start date
- Location
- East Sussex
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
No problem with her hearing @SwampDonkey
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Yes I am finding it hard
- Location
- Malvern Worcestershire
I am sorry and sad for you. Maybe she has an infection, perhaps another check at the vet? I am just thinking laterally.
I’m really sorry. Perhaps she needs her pain medication increased?
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
Alison x
- Location
- Argyll & Bute, Scotland
I'm so sorry this is so very hard for you. Thinking of you Alison xxx
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
She is on the maximum dose. We saw the vet last month. I don’t think she has an infection - overall she is well in herself - just the aging process and arthritis. The only time I see her really excited now is when she has wet food for tea and her kongs 3 times a day - typical Lab
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Yes I haven’t tried that so will give it a go. I do give her a massage which she likes. We are camping next month - Sky has camped all her life and loves it. We won’t leave her behind (friends say we should) but I am really concerned about it - normally we do masses of walking with both dogs but we are going to need to manage things very differently this year.
I saw a guy in the forest walking his Golden Retriever in what looked like a huge padded briefcase. Specially designed body bag with two handles—front and back. He could hold one handle to take the weight off the dog’s legs and the dog could walk with him. This dog had had a stroke and was very wobbly. The bag made it easy for the guy to take the dog out with him. I’ve used a similar idea to help Snowie into the car when his back was sore: I took a towel and made a sling under his tummy and ribs, and lifted him into the car. It would’ve been easier with a properly fitting “bag”, but it did the job. Could you get something similar to take camping so that you can do longer walks?
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Thank you @M.F. - that has got me thinking. Maybe a strong harness with handles might be the way to go. DH lifts her in and out the car but it’s not easy. A harness where we could take a bit of pressure off her in certain situations could help. I need to spend a bit of time looking at ways to make her life easier.
- Location
- Buckinghamshire UK
I really feel for you. Bear is old and I know how heart breaking all this is.
We use the handle on our Copenhagen harness quite a bit for helping Monty, particularly up and down uneven steps, just giving him a bit of support and making sure he doesn't go too fast. Also to help him over stiles, or very occasionally if there's a gap in a bridge he's unsure of we can hoick him over quite easily. I wouldn't use this harness for sustained lifting, I think something more specialist like @M.F. suggests would be better. Also @Emily_Babbelhund has a harness with a big, wide handle on which might be worth a look, depends what the underneath bit which goes round the chest and tummy is like, I suppose
Emily_Babbelhund
Mama Red HOT Pepper
- Location
- Regensburg, Germany
Carbon's handle is just an improvised bit (it's actually a doggie car seat belt) attached to a regular harness. It wouldn't be good for support.
When Brogan started having difficulties, I bought him two harnesses: a RuffWear Web Master and a Help 'Em Up harness. Both had good reviews when I was researching support harnesses.
The Web Master worked perfectly for what I needed (Brogan still had strength in his back end so didn't yet need the extra support of the Help 'Em Up). The Web Master was good for all day wear. I used it mainly to help him to stand up from and lay down on the floor and for both of us for stairs.
He passed before I tried the Help 'Em Up. I already shipped it back to California for storage, or I'd just send it to you. It looked nicely made and supports both front and back. There are handles and a special carrier strap. You can literally wear your dog - even a large dog - on your shoulder like a hand bag. I think Brogan would have gotten a kick out of me lugging him around like that - he liked being the centre of attention.
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Thank you so much for this information @Emily_Babbelhund. It’s really helpful and kind of you. I think the RuffWear Web Master might be the one for her - going to chat to DH about it