HandicappedPets.Net

I just found something I've never seen before. It is a hoist with a load leveler. The load leveler looks like it might work in place of making a trapeze. You would just need to attach some hooks to it. This saves half the work of making the hoist. Also the whole package of hoist + leveler is very affordable, $244.99 in this ad. Here is a picture of the hoist with the leveler, and below it I'll put a picture of a hoist with a trapeze (DIY) for comparison.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools ... _200640934

I expect they'd be equivalent, and the commercial one would be ready-made.

I'm thinking you might get more stability with the trapeze, but you could probably jury rig the leveler so it isn't able to tip on either end. You absolutely want the dog to stay level while lifting. If he doesn't, it would be uncomfortable, and you might also risk his harness shifting, depending on what kind of harness it is and whether it is loose or snug. It's one thing to lift an inanimate object like an engine, and another to lift a dog that might move around. Attaching a copy of the picture with blue lines to show where you might want to stabilize it. But that would be easy to do. You could use rope (that won't stretch), chain, a coat hanger, it doesn't have to be fancy.