How To Get A Dog In The Car Who Can't Jump

[kickchick2000]

Last night I posted about Milky Way's back leg. This morning when he went out he was limping a little bit on his front leg too. I called the vet as soon as they opened this morning and they will be seeing us at 3:30 today. I took half the day off and when I came home Milky Way would NOT put any weight on his front leg. He even laid down in the hallway on the hard floor something he'sNEVER DONE so he's in pain. Swet Pea our bulldog knows something is wrong too as she came in and sat with him and he licked her. (He's never really liked Sweet Pea in fact they almost never interact) I'm so scared it's............... I think we all know, I don't need to say it.

 

I need to get him into the car. I have a Corolla but I called my mom who has a highlander to come help me. I still have an hour but I'm not sure what the best way to get him into the car is. I'm pretty sure he can't jump and both cars are pretty high. I'm think about trying to get his front feet into the seat and lifting his back legs. I'll get someone at the vets to help get him out.

 

What have others done when the dog may not be able to get in and out of the car???

Edited April 11, 2011 by kickchick2000

[TheFullHouse]

If you're strong enough you can lift him by putting one arm behind his back end and one arm around his chest in the front and pick him up. They're used to being lifted like that. If you can't lift him, best to put his front feet on the seat or in the back and lift the back end up. He will automatically adjust the position of his front legs when you do this and help you help him so to speak.

 

They can even do this with just the use of 3 legs.

Edited April 11, 2011 by JillysFullHouse

[buddibear]

please use a muzzle. If a dog is in pain,he may recoil and take it out on you. I never thought that could happen but I got it in the face.

[Guest Stripeyfan]

Kelly will jump in the car to go somewhere but usually refuses point-blank when we are ready to go home. To lift him, DH puts one arm between his front legs along his chest and one arm around his back legs/base of his tail.

[GeorgeofNE]

You'd be surprised what a dog can do on three legs.

 

Assume by now it's a moot point, but it he were mine, I'd just pick him up. A Corolla is a nice, low car, and unless he's very big and you're not very strong, it's just one short lift and your done!

 

Good luck. I hope it isn't what you suspect.

 

 

 

[Guest sheila]

I used to have to pick Kiowa up and put him in the back of my Escape. K was 80lbs and I'm 5'2". My arms aren't long enough to put one arm behind the tail so I would bend at the knees and put one arm under his tuck area and one arm right behind his front legs and just quickly lift him into the truck.

[macoduck]

Hoping for an update.............

[kickchick2000]

Milky Way is back home and resting from the new vets. The diagnosis for now is neurological, his back leg knuckles and he can hardley walk at this point. The vet performed a series of range and motion tests as well as a skeletal and ligament exam. She is pretty confident the problem is coming from his lower back and possibly his neck, most likely from one or more of his disks. She thinks there is pressure on the disks which is causing the back leg to knuckle. The front leg she feels is from compression in his neck. The way she described it to me was that there is a delay / mess up of information from his body to his brain. Based on his condition today she did not even want to X-ray him as she feared the manipulation could cause him more pain. The vet wants to see if the compression is from swelling from over doing it or if it's the disk itself. Milky Way recieved a shot of steroids and a pain injection. He goes back on Friday, if there is no improvement she will X-ray him then. If it's his disk she said there isn't a whole lot we can do unless we want to look at surgery.

 

Tonight we were able to get weight on his feet and get his back leg down so he could go out and potty. He ate some chicken but turned his nose up at his regular food.

 

I am beside myself. In 48 hours my life has been turned upside down. Milky Way is my best friend and my heart dog. I adopted him when I was in college, I'll be 30 in a few weeks. It was him and me before it was DH and me. He and I have been through crappy townhouse rentals, crazy roomates, hurricanes, research papers, graduating college, getting married, and SO much more. He'e always been there for me, he's my snuggle bug, my dance partner, my walking companion, my alarm clock, and my assistant house cleaner. I've always needed him 10 times more than he's ever needed me. I feel helpless and my DH simply does not understand me right now.

[TheFullHouse]

Many prayers that the steroids start to work and he's back to normal soon.

[Guest dee]

Steroids sometimes do amazing things. Praying for you and milky way.

[Guest june]

Sending out prayers for you and Milky Way.

june

[hikinghounds]

The Help Em Up Harness is great. I had to use one for my big boy, 80+ pounds, a few weeks ago, and I'm a small person. I was able to get him up and down stairs by myself. Good Luck, I'll be thinking of you.

Edited April 12, 2011 by hikinghounds

[Guest greyhound1]

Sending prayers!

[TheFullHouse]

How is Milky Way today?

[Remolacha]

My old girl Sugar had spinal issues, and acupuncture was a huge help for her. It did take some time (and steriods helped in the meantime) but she went from not being able to stand, much less walk, to about 80% normal motion in a few weeks.

[kickchick2000]

Update!! We have some good news and some bad news.

 

The good news is Milky Way's back leg seems to be doing better and he was able to get up on his own however he is VERY wobbly on his feet. Dh came home at lunch to check on him and take him out to potty since the meds are making him have to go more. DH said Milky Way was excited to see him(Milky Way excited to see my DH the meds must be making him nuts as he is a momma's boy) I left work as soon as school got out when I got home he was standing behind the babygate wagging his tail so he was up on his own. We are keeping him gated in his bedroom, yes he has his own room. This is so we minimize his movements and that room has carpet to help with his traction. We also want to keep our bulldog and him seperate in case he were to get up we don't want her under his feet.

 

Now for the bad news. His front leg is now VERY swollen and painful near the wrist joint. He was limping a little yesterday but showed no sign of pain when the vets manupulated his leg and joint. Today is another story, his front leg is now quite tender and pretty swollen up. I called the vet back this afternoon as soon as I saw his leg and they want to take another look tomorrow morning. In the meantime they said to keep up the meds and hopefully they will help with front the leg swelling too.

 

On the bright side Milky Way has been eating like a king. If he pulls though this poor fella will be so spoiled he will never eat dog food again he will be expecting me to hand feed him chicken for the rest of his life.

[Guest corinnewynne]

Milky Way is back home and resting from the new vets. The diagnosis for now is neurological, his back leg knuckles and he can hardley walk at this point. The vet performed a series of range and motion tests as well as a skeletal and ligament exam. She is pretty confident the problem is coming from his lower back and possibly his neck, most likely from one or more of his disks. She thinks there is pressure on the disks which is causing the back leg to knuckle. The front leg she feels is from compression in his neck. The way she described it to me was that there is a delay / mess up of information from his body to his brain. Based on his condition today she did not even want to X-ray him as she feared the manipulation could cause him more pain. The vet wants to see if the compression is from swelling from over doing it or if it's the disk itself. Milky Way recieved a shot of steroids and a pain injection. He goes back on Friday, if there is no improvement she will X-ray him then. If it's his disk she said there isn't a whole lot we can do unless we want to look at surgery.

 

Tonight we were able to get weight on his feet and get his back leg down so he could go out and potty. He ate some chicken but turned his nose up at his regular food.

 

I am beside myself. In 48 hours my life has been turned upside down. Milky Way is my best friend and my heart dog. I adopted him when I was in college, I'll be 30 in a few weeks. It was him and me before it was DH and me. He and I have been through crappy townhouse rentals, crazy roomates, hurricanes, research papers, graduating college, getting married, and SO much more. He'e always been there for me, he's my snuggle bug, my dance partner, my walking companion, my alarm clock, and my assistant house cleaner. I've always needed him 10 times more than he's ever needed me. I feel helpless and my DH simply does not understand me right now.

[Guest corinnewynne]

Several weeks ago Curtis' vet diagnosed his limping problem as being caused by a pinched nerve in his neck. The steroids she prescribed helped him almost immediately. Unfortunately, the limping returned 2 or so weeks later, and this time, it seemed it was a joint injury. Anti-inflammatory meds had no effect, and ultimately we found out the primary problem was osteosarcoma in his upper leg. Now that we have had the surgery to amputate that leg, we are also faced with the problem of getting him in and out of the car - a station wagon he previously jumped right into. After his amputation, Curtis was given a harness with 2 handles - one at his shoulder and one at his hips - which made it very easy to help him both getting in and out of the car. It's called the Help'EmUp Harness - easy to use, and can be ordered at helpemup.com, if you are interested.

 

Curtis also does have a problem with his disks, causing the pinched nerve - this was seen when he had a CT scan before his amputation (to see whether the cancer had spread to his lungs, etc.). So I know that we'll keep the harness to continue to help him when he needs it. I only hope that your Milky Way will be able to improve from treatment he gets. He sounds like a most wonderful dog, and we send our prayers for his recovery.

Corinne

[TheFullHouse]

Milky Way is back home and resting from the new vets. The diagnosis for now is neurological, his back leg knuckles and he can hardley walk at this point. The vet performed a series of range and motion tests as well as a skeletal and ligament exam. She is pretty confident the problem is coming from his lower back and possibly his neck, most likely from one or more of his disks. She thinks there is pressure on the disks which is causing the back leg to knuckle. The front leg she feels is from compression in his neck. The way she described it to me was that there is a delay / mess up of information from his body to his brain. Based on his condition today she did not even want to X-ray him as she feared the manipulation could cause him more pain. The vet wants to see if the compression is from swelling from over doing it or if it's the disk itself. Milky Way recieved a shot of steroids and a pain injection. He goes back on Friday, if there is no improvement she will X-ray him then. If it's his disk she said there isn't a whole lot we can do unless we want to look at surgery.

 

Tonight we were able to get weight on his feet and get his back leg down so he could go out and potty. He ate some chicken but turned his nose up at his regular food.

 

I am beside myself. In 48 hours my life has been turned upside down. Milky Way is my best friend and my heart dog. I adopted him when I was in college, I'll be 30 in a few weeks. It was him and me before it was DH and me. He and I have been through crappy townhouse rentals, crazy roomates, hurricanes, research papers, graduating college, getting married, and SO much more. He'e always been there for me, he's my snuggle bug, my dance partner, my walking companion, my alarm clock, and my assistant house cleaner. I've always needed him 10 times more than he's ever needed me. I feel helpless and my DH simply does not understand me right now.

 

The swelling in the front legs may be from not being mobile. When Saint's not feeling well and just lays around for a day or two, I have a problem with his legs swelling up. The first time it scared the crap out of me and we rushed him to the vet. The vet said that poor circulation will lead to swelling in the legs and not being up and walking around will cause the extremities to swell. I hope it's something as easy as that for you.