My dog is real sick.

[Redbug]

Don't feel too bad, George. My dog has me trained. I tell him to get in the truck and he jumps up and puts his front paws on the tailgate, and gives me this sorrowful look. And I give in and lift his rear half the rest of the way onto the bed. Maybe when you get that myth busters cardboard ramp perfected and patented...I could buy a set of plans, (or just order the set), from the company "George's Doggy Ramps R US". Could you offer me a discount since I am a member of TBN AND a Carolinian? I'm not gonna say whether I am a Gamecock or a Tiger for the obvious reasons...

 

[studor]

Hey George -- Have you thought about two people and a blanket? -- I tried that ramp thing as well after ligament operations (on the dog) but ended up having to make it very long so that the dog would use it rather than jump that it was very inconvenient -- finally ended up with multiple hinges etc and it worked just ok. We eventually convinced the dog that it was a good game to stand on the blanket, then lie down and be lifted. Even at 100 plus lbs you really just needed four hands.

 

[N80]

Studor, with four hands and a couple of towels for slings my wife and I can get him in the car just fine. The problem tomorrow will be when my wife gets him back home. I'll help her load him. Vet tech will help unload and load at the vets, but I'll be at work and my daughter will be in school when my wife brings him back home.

PetSmart does have one ramp in stock. It has gotten bad reviews because it seems poorly made and apparently the non-slip surface on it is uncomfortable for most dogs, plus it is like $120. I don't mind spending that on a good ramp (the Pet Step II has gotten very good reviews) but I'm hesitant to spend it on one that seems sub par. Anyway, tomorrow is not the Normandy Invasion, we'll work this out logistically one way or another.

I think I may order the Pet Step II very soon though. It will support 500 pounds and can double as a table so even if Dash recovers completely it will still have uses. And, Dash will need it when he's older even if he does recover from this. It is 72 inches long so the grade will be fairly low for my wife's station wagon and will probably even work for my truck.

Dave, I think I'm out of the card board engineering field, but I'll gladly mail you the prototype for only shipping and handling.

 

[Bird]

I hope you have better luck with the pet steps than we had. Our Chihuahua would want in our bed at times and she'd jump against the side of the bed until one of us gave her a boost. So we bought some pet steps from PetSmart. And there was no way she'd touch them. We eventually sold them for a dollar in a garage sale.

Of course, as someone else said, she's got us pretty well trained. She has a pillow on the sofa where she spends a considerable amount of time, but she will not jump up onto the sofa. Instead, she'll put her front paws up on the sofa and wait for my wife to pick her up and put her up there. If she gets to playing and running in the house, she can run and jump up on the sofa easily.

 

[N80]

Bird, this thing is actually a ramp. Pet Steps makes little steps too but this is a 72" long ramp. Here is what it looks like:

Here is a shot from the side:

Oh, and my card board ramp just got new life. My wife figured she could pull her car up right next to the garage steps and use a board to go from the car to the top of the steps. Well, the board was too narrow and he wouldn't walk on it but with my wider cardboard ramp with the board under it for support he walked right across, no problem.

So, until I can get the ramp shown above, this little rig might work okay.

 

[Bird]

George, glad to hear you and Dash got lucky with your ramp. Hope all goes well at the vet.

 

[Redbug]

Awww George...I thought you were sending it to me!! Good luck tomorrow with Dash!

 

[Lacal]

N80 - I hope by the time you read this the situation has changed. We had two dogs that ended up with cognitive dysfunction (alzheimers like condition) and we spent a lot of money on both of them and I would do it all over again even knowing the end result.

I know this is probably off base, but did they check for a bite of any kind? Snake bite or spider?

I hope it turns out well.
Lacal

 

[dmccarty]

We had a Golden that did not have a good leg to stand on. Four legged critter and all of them bad.

I built a ramp out of plywood and 2x2s.

Dang dog refused to use it. It did give a bit in the middle which I think scared her. And it may have been too hard for her to climb.

For Kelly we could back up to the back porch and get her in the car that way if I was not home to get her in/out.
We had Kelly on the same steriod.

Later,
Dan

 

[N80]

The vet was very pleased with Dash's improvement and felt sure this is a disk problem. We will start tapering him off of the prednisone now, which is great because it makes him pee all the time. She recommended that we start taking him on walks but no running or jumping. She did recommend a ramp since he is in and out of the car a lot. She did not feel like he needed an MRI at this time but did suggest that we call and find out exactly how much one costs and how much surgery/rehab would be in case it re-occurs.

He looked very good this morning and even went down the steps without stumbling so things seem to be looking up.