"Melinda Shore" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Kathleen wrote:
I saw a guy at a herding trial use a log-carrier sling to help his
ancient BC in and out of the vehicle. He also used it to help support
her while she peed and pooped. It looked like it might work better than
a towel since it had handles. He looked like he was carrying a
dog-shaped suitcase, but both he and the dog seemed comfortable with it.

I've heard people say that before, but the log haulers I've
seen look a bit wide (12-18"). Towards the end of Duncan's
life I used a dog sling to help him get around and while it
has some nice features (machine washability, for example -
he was pretty incontinent in his last few weeks) it was also
pretty shabbily made. It would be nice to find a sling
that's as sturdy as log carriers but sized better for
medium-sized dogs.
--

I used a towel with Zeffie but neither of us liked it much as it didn't
distribute the support evenly and I found it awkward to hold the towel ends.
Then we tried the log carrier trick with great success. It fit her well as
she was a long-backed (much like Emmett) 65 lb collie.

Dino in his dotage had a different problem in that his hind end was fine but
his front was horribly arthritic from shoulder to toes. He became frightened
of going down stairs since his shoulder/legs hurt and were unsteady. We
tried the towel trick but he didn't like it (again didn't distribute the
support and he didn't feel secure). So I took a tracking harness and covered
the bottom straps with lambs wool and put it on him. When Dino needed to go
down stairs (3 steps to the backyard), I would stand next to him, grab the
top strap and tell him "Let's go." We would step down together while I
maintained constant steady support. Worked great.

Chris and her smoothies
Pablo & Lucy

Here's an update after spending the first night at the new place. She
did manage to make it up the two flights of stairs very slowly. I was
expecting housebreaking problems, so I cordoned off two adjoining rooms
and covered the floor with some cheap shower curtains.
I set out a housebreaking pad and sprayed it with the training stuff,
but she didn't seem particularly intrigued by it. She'd been drinking
a good deal of water, but didn't pee when I took her out for her usual
"last-chance" midnight outing. When we returned, she drank even more
water, so thinking she wouldn't be able to hold it till morning, I
napped for a couple hours and took her out again at 3am. Again, she
didn't/wouldn't pee after more than half an hour of my leading her
towards lamp-posts and hydrants. When I brought her home, she sniffed
around the room making a whining sound, climbed on her cushion and
urinated on it.
It seems to me that she was reluctant to do her business anywhere in
the new neighborhood, which is strange considering the volume of water
she drank and her history of urinating and fouling up all over the
place. Any training tips or insights into this scenario? Many thanks
for all the advice given so far!
KR