Maybe we could have done this once or twice to get a pass or two, but first aid training shows wrapping the bandage over and over again so the whole dog is secured to the board and is not at risk of falling off if they suddenly squirm. The dog is scared, the board and dog are very heavy, so one of us is trying to steady the dog and calm her so she doesn’t squirm while the other tries to slightly lift a corner and shove part of the bandage under. Even trying to lift a corner once was nearly impossible. We’re both in good health and pretty strong but there was no way that bandage was getting under that board. Maybe if we had 3 or 4 people to help with this, it would have been more doable. Lifting corners of a large, thick board with a scared 100+ pound dog on it is not safe or realistic. Even if you’re lucky enough to safely get the dog onto its side, or for arguments sake, say you decide to secure the dog to the board while it’s lying upright, you still have another problem. Considering the last thing you want is for the dog to start thrashing and squirming for fear they may injure their spine further, forcing them over was not something we were willing to risk.
#Dogs that dont make the jump full#
Anyone with a giant breed dog, however, knows trying to get them to sit, lie down or roll onto its side when it doesn’t want to is a full contact sport. If we were talking about a Maltese, it’d likely be easy enough to gently roll the dog onto it’s side and wrap away with the bandage. Here’s why:Ī conscious and scared dog does not want to lie on its side. When you actually try putting this whole “secure the dog to the board” part into practice, it’s completely unrealistic for a giant breed dog. Here’s where my first aid training would have chimed in and said ” but you’re supposed to secure the dog to the board by wrapping an ace bandage or blanket around the dog and board together.” Seems logical, right? Just tuck the dog’s legs in while wrapping the bandage around her and the board and they won’t dangle off the edge. If it was narrow enough for the doorway, it wasn’t wide enough to keep her legs tucked onto it.
If it was wide enough so she’d be comfortable and her long legs wouldn’t be dangling off the ends, then it wasn’t narrow enough to get through a doorway. We had plenty of wood that was thick enough and I even ran out a cut down a piece to the right length. It needs to be thick enough to not risk breaking under the weight of the dog, long enough to support the dog from head to hind region, and this last part was the kicker, narrow enough to get through a doorway. Despite this, we still didn’t have a board that was both thick, long and narrow enough to work. For starters, we do a lot of DIY projects around here…I mean A LOT, so we probably have more scrap wood laying around the house than most. Unless you have an actual stretcher laying around your house, trying to use a wooden board or large blanket is either very difficult or completely impossible. Everything I had learned that sounded logical at the time, in practice turned out to be completely unrealistic.
Unfortunately, we quickly came to realize these certification programs don’t seem to be catered to or tested on giant breed dogs.
#Dogs that dont make the jump how to#
Fortunately, I had just been certified in canine first aid and CPR which covered how to safely move an injured animal. Relatively small as she may be, getting a 100 pound animal to the vet when they can’t walk is no small feat. At just over 100 pounds, she is actually quite small for her breed. One morning in April of this year, our beloved 7 year old Great Dane, Dylan, suddenly couldn’t walk.
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