In most cases, you need to put on the dog lift harness and hold the strap or handle and pull up gently to take some of the weight off your dog’s hips, shoulders, legs, and feet. The following five scenarios are certainly the most common to use a dog lift harness:
Helping your dog negotiate stairs. If your dog is able to get around fairly well, but needs help getting up and down the stairs, you’ll use the dog lift harness to lift up her gently while walking beside her. Don’t try to lift her off the ground, just take some of the weight off her hips and legs.
Helping your dog hop into the car. If your dog has ailing hips or joints, you do not want here to jump up into or out of a car. A well designed dog lift harness allows you to lift your pup by the hips and shoulders. If your dog is too heavy to lift confidently, you should invest in a good ramp to allow her to enter and exit the car.
Helping your dog go outside to poop or pee. Even dogs with severe limitations have to go outside to sniff around and relieve themselves, but they’ll obviously need help doing so. In such cases, you’ll have to walk a fine line between providing enough support to help your dog stand and move, yet without infringing on her ability to assume the position and answer nature’s call. If your dog needs support while going to the bathroom, be sure to select a lift harness that doesn’t cover her parts – otherwise, you’ll just have to take the harness off, which defeats the entire purpose.
Helping your semi-mobile dog go for a walk. Dogs that have relatively minor limitations may still enjoy (and benefit from) going on short walks. Owners of such dogs will likely want to use a dog lift harness with a handle on the back. This way, you can provide a little bit of extra help to your pup, while still being able to walk comfortably yourself.
Carrying a completely immobile dog around. If your dog is completely dependent on you to get around, you’ll need to use a harness that helps you lift her entire body off the ground in a safe fashion. Such harnesses must support the dog’s hips and shoulders, rather than her abdominal region, and you’ll want to select one that includes a shoulder strap, so that you can use the large muscles in your legs, butt and back to carry her, rather than just your arms.