Help Needed: Dog bed for falling over dog

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Donna

Help Needed: Dog bed for falling over dog

Post by Donna »

It is getting harder for our dog (large, 85 pounds) to remain in the sternal position (lying on her belly) without falling over to one side. Now, she is on a shag rug that I place on top of a canine cooler. It abuts the wall and I have 2 throw rugs rolled up to make a bolster that I place between the wall and our dog.

However, she still slides over. The falling over onto her side is very upsetting to her because she can't get herself back up.

I'm at a loss on what else to do. Does anyone have ANY suggestions?? Thank you!!
Cody's Mom
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Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:00 pm

Re: Help Needed: Dog bed for falling over dog

Post by Cody's Mom »

Hi Donna,

My beloved Aussie Cody had the same problem. He also would roll off his bed and not be able to get back on it. I tried two different things. Both of them worked. One is fairly cheap and one is not.

The first was a baby bed rail. This is the cheaper option. I think it was about $20-30. I put Cody's pillowtop bed in the corner of my bedroom and then up next to the night table. So that took care of three sides. I put the baby bed rail on the fourth side. He had about a one foot opening on the side by the night table so he could get in and out of bed by himself when he was able. Cody loved the bed rail because then he didn't fall out of bed anymore. In the beginning before he lost his balance due to his brain cancer, he would jump over the bedrail when he was ready to get out of bed instead of going out the gap by the night table.

Next, the more expensive option. After leaving Cody at the vet's for chest radiographs, the vet commented about how Cody fell asleep in the x-ray positioner. He said he slept through all the x-rays and seemed to be so comfortable. The vet commented on how strange this was as he said most dogs fight it, but for some reason Cody loved it. So I ended up contacting the x-ray supply company and I ordered one for Cody. It is a foam v-shape and would definitely keep your dog from falling out. I don't know if your dog would like it or not. I can send you the name and phone # for the company if you're interested. It was not cheap though - I think close to $200. If you want the info, e-mail me @ kfw73@yahoo.com.

Hope these ideas help.

Love,

Cody's FOREVER proud Mom
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GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily
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Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:00 pm
Location: St. Helena Island, SC

Great ideas!

Post by GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily »

I was going to suggest piling pillows under a sheet on either side of him.
Also when our children were infants, we had to prop them on their sides to keep them from aspirating vomit, a roll of a towel under them.
Linda Mili

Re: Help Needed: Dog bed for falling over dog

Post by Linda Mili »

Hi and Many Hugs...

What about a large piece of wonder foam?? They say it takes on your body's shape...If true, it would take on her shape in the position you want her in and if you could brace it against a wall on one side and maybe using a belt type or a piece of rope, attaching it at the back and front under the foam which you could cover with a sheet to make it comfortabe for her, and then attach the belt or rope to hooks in the ceiling...This would secure the foam from moving when she tried to get up and also keep her comfortable while lying in position. I wish I could draw a picture of what I am trying to describe...hope my words offer such...If you should try this, please let me know how it works out...My darling Theodore no longer can get up by himself and so he spends his days on his side...As you,I just hate this and wish I could find a means for him but that would have to be mechanical I am afraid....He has a wheelchair that he uses when I am home which offers him relief from just laying on his side....

Hugs from One Parent to Another

Linda and "chilren short and tall" in Baltimore
Linda Mili

UPDATE - Our Visit to the Neurologist TodayRe: Help Needed:

Post by Linda Mili »

Hello and So Many Thank Yous and Hugs to Everyone for Your Love and Support....

I am back at work and trying to relax...Right now you could shatter my body into a million pieces with even a whisper...

Not great news and not yet seriously bad news...Dr. G. wants to review the bloodwork Dr. M has done to see if additional blood testing should be done to check further the condition of my little boy's liver...Only a problem there he said could possibly be the cause of his skeletal
condition...unless there is a very small tumor which has not surfaced enought to be picked up via touch, etc.

He has ruled out any xrays, physical tests, even teeth cleaning due to his age and the high risk of anestetic...

He said Theodore does not seem to have any pain. He believes the head motions and some of his discontent is due to his being blind and deaf
and very seniored leaving him with little ability to corrdinate in his head all that is going on around him/his senses and what they
sense...Demenchia is also a great factor in all of this...

He sees that he does have a cervical disc problem but again with his age treatment via surgery is out of the question as are xrays to
better detect the severity but he did not think it was causing him any pain, just the inability along with the brain deteriation, to walk
well or at all...

He said as long as he is eating and drinking and having bowel movements that are normal and urinating regularly, then he is as good
as he can be considering his age, and demenchia....

As far as any medicine, etc. to help comfort him, he wants first to review Dr. M's blood test results and then go from there if other meds are found that would help or if other bloodwork related to his liver should be done...

Of course Theodore was quite verbal during the exam and the question, "Is he always this verbal came up...smiles...My reply..."Has been since
the day he came home"..."A bit quieter in his senior years but still
shares when he wants something, etc"...Dr. G asked if his eyes twitched or rolled and really I do not remember ever seeing that...just the
whole head twitching which he evaluated last summer. He also said that if he had ruptured a disc he would have screamed in pain for a
very long time...The only time I can remember him screaming like that and it was only until I picked him up and held him and comforted him
was right after Ridgley came home...Ridgley was asleep on the family room floor and I had gone into the kitchen to throw paper away and thought Theodore was also in the kitchen asleep...did not look though...He must've gotten up and walked into the family room and when I heard him he was standing under the coffee table..Ridgley had gotten up quickly and barked very very ear piercingly loud...I thought for that moment that maybe Theodore heard the shrill of his voice and it scared him or felt his body presence so close to the side of the table he was under and that scared him...After holding him for just a few
minutes he was fine and his problems with his legs did not begin for a month or months or more later...I do know that this neck thing and the
stiffness and sliding around did not begin until after March of this year...

He did not feel there were any indications his problems/symptoms were being caused from any ear problem, surface or deep inner ear...He said
if it were his ear/s his head bending would be in the down motion and not the back motion - completely opposite from what Dr Parks had
said...

He did not really display the stiffness and when I think about it, he hasn't since he has been on the baytil for the liver inflamation...And
he now wants some treats....

So I just have to wait until he calls me.....

I saw Dr. Sooy and asked if he had noticed on her xrays a fracture to her pelvis (Dr. Parks has had asked this during our visit to have her wheelies made last month..He commented that her legs and hips looked like those of a dog who had had a fractured pelvis)....He got out his report and the xrays and reviewed and shared no...No signs of a fractured pelvis to be seen...I shared Lily
is on MSM now and is showing smiles and a much less stressed face and some improvement in freedom of her mobility and gait but that Dr. Parks did make her a half wheelies for her bad days and the future...I gave him one of Dr. P's pamphlets and a lot of his cards as he is now in Maryland.

So...I have learned a little this day and wait to see what might still be discovered or a possilbe means of making him a bit more comfortable...I did strongly share that if Theodore has cancer, I
would not allow him to be in pain...I would have to make that horriable decision to end his life, but if all is basically old age then I will wait for the angels and Alex to lift him to heaven...

I told him also that it was just about this time last year that Theodore was running around the patio in our garden yard with that horrid possum in his mouth screaming in delight of his feat and I was screaming and chashing him trying to get him to drop that critter that I was convenced was a GIANT rat!! Now just a year later and he is so
so much more aged....Yet every breath is a blessing and so hugged with gratfulness to God for sharing his life with me/us....

So Many Thank Yous for all of the prayers and hugs and hand and paw held this day...Please keep praying the research furthering will come up as good...

L and Thodore and
Lily Emma, Sassy, Saucy, Roses, Emily Olivia Grace and Oliver Ridgley in Baltimore
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connie
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Re: UPDATE - Our Visit to the Neurologist TodayRe: Help Need

Post by connie »

you and theo are always in my prayers. sounds like you've been so darn busy. i need to comment on the ruptured disk remark your vet said about him screaming for hours if he had one. cricket screamed once and only once, just dragged himself away in a corner then till i got him to vet. it was hours before he got into surgery and he never screamed after that once, just a whimper till meds kicked in.
i sure hope you get some good news soon, your due for it. till then, i will ask special prayer tonight just for theo. keep us updated.

hugs,

connie and cricket
Carol T.
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Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:00 pm

Re: UPDATE - Our Visit to the Neurologist TodayRe: Help Need

Post by Carol T. »

It's so hard to see our precious babies deteriorate, isn't it? I lost my sweet little Sparkle a year ago this past June at age 18. After awhile, it just seems they will always be there. When I get to heaven (or IF), I'm going to tell God He really messed up; pets should live as long as their humans!!!! I hope the news turns out positive. Theodore will be in my prayers.
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critters
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Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: UPDATE - Our Visit to the Neurologist TodayRe: Help Need

Post by critters »

"I told him also that it was just about this time last year that Theodore was running around the patio in our garden yard with that horrid possum in his mouth screaming in delight of his feat and I was screaming and chashing him trying to get him to drop that critter that I was convenced was a GIANT rat!!"

I have to laugh--Theodore must have been a REAL handful all these years; I can just see his joyful parade now! You're right, you know--possums DO look like giant rats!

Good luck!
labsmith
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:43 pm
Location: California

Re: Help Needed: Dog bed for falling over dog

Post by labsmith »

Our dogs are of very different sizes but maybe this will help you. My pug,Sumi, is paralyzed in her rear end. I bought a large bean-bag chair and mold it into a low end climbing to a somewhat rolled, rounded end. The bean-bag is covered with a blanket. Sumi can drag herself up to the rounded part and sleep or relax on her tummy or side. Once she's in place her weight (22lbs) makes a slight depression and she is stable there until she wants to slide off. I hope this can stimulate some ideas to help your 85 pounder.Thanks for listening. Leslie
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