Degenerative Myelopathy

Thanks corgi-traveler for the information and for your assistance in emailing Bobbie Mayer for us. We do want to keep our boy as long as we can and any information that allows us to do that is very much appreciated.
Thanks again
Michael and Tye

I emailed Bobbie Mayer (author of the book I suggested in an earlier post)...
here is the short version of her answer. "I" here is her talking, btw.

1. I doubt they would want the dog in the cart in the trailer, anyway, so they'd most likely take him out and carry him into the trailer.

2. The issue with the ramp is more the width than the incline, especially for a dog the size of a GSD.

3. In her opinion, the best option would be to have the dog in a cart when outside, and use a harness to assist the dog up the ramp.

4. The Ruffwear Doubleback harness is really supportive and can be worn in a cart, so they might consider that and then take him out of the cart to go up into the RV

Thanks, I'm sure the ramp I have for the 5th wheel is much steeper than a wheel chair ramp, so I'll have to think about a way of modifying the ramp if we go that route.

corgi-traveler wrote:
Most cart dogs handle wheelchair ramps with ease. It depends on how much strength the dog has in the front, though.

I would agree as long as the ramps are constructed within ADA guidelines. Most RV ramps are at a much steeper incline and would pose a problem with carts.

Most cart dogs handle wheelchair ramps with ease. It depends on how much strength the dog has in the front, though.

Thanks for the information on wheel chairs, we are also looking at that possibility, for the moment we will take it as it comes. Do you know if the dog can get up a ramp in a wheel chair? Our boy is a little to big for us to be picking him up.

DM dogs can have many more years of good quality life in a wheelchair cart.
Check out http://www.k9carts.com/

This book focuses on corgis with DM, but you may still find it useful. Written by a friend of mine.
http://www.corgiaid.org/cart/corgisonwheels

Thank you, we will order one.

We used the bottoms up rear support. It worked for our male dog and he tolerated it well after a bit of training. It was pretty easy to get it adjusted so the stress on me was minimal.

Thank you Doug
I was just on the site that you suggested, they have three products that look like what we would need they are "Bottoms Up Dog rear support lease" , "Fabric Walkin lift rear harness" and "Walkabout rear harness" . Which product do you think would be best for our situation?
Thanks
MIchael