Claire's New Harness

We finally found a harness that seems to work for Claire! Shaped much like a backwards diaper, Claire steps into it. It has a velcro closure at the top with a loop on each side. Hooking the harness to both loops ensures it will not come apart. It's made of fabric and does not seem to be wearing rugburns under her armpits the way the last one did.

The brand is GOOBY. Their website is www.GOOBYfashion.com.

We found and purchased it at C&C pets, who kindly had a donation can out for us for about three months in the summer/fall. It was nice to be able to give them a little bit of business for their generosity.

Custom Harnesses

One thing that's really been an issue for Claire is finding a harness that works for her. She was trained to an extremely lightweight mini prong collar, but I understand collars of any kind are bad for IVDD dogs, and harnesses are generally recommended. The mesh one I got following her diagnosis has consistently caused rugburns and scratches in her armpits. She now refuses to walk in it at all, so I finally returned it.

This company will make a custom harness based on your measurements of your pet. I haven't ordered one yet, so will have to follow up with a review once we've tried them out. I wanted to pass along the source.

http://doxidelight.com/hugadog.htm

Claire's New Heating Pad

After Claire's latest setback, due to the cold temperatures that day and just the general change of seasons, a friend told me about a thermo heating pad for cats that is reactive to the pet's weight. I had an aha! moment and filed the idea away. The next day, a generous donor sent Claire a $50 check, so I immediately placed an order.

It arrived this weekend, and both dogs have already discovered it! I ordered only one to see how well it would work, but it's obvious we'll need one for the crate and the bed in the bedroom, in addition to the couch in the living room. Chance found it first and nestled in, but as soon as Claire figured out what it did, she laid claim to it, so Chance will have to get his own.

I've always left blankets out in chilly weather, and the pups dug around in them until they were comfortably nestled in. But now Claire seems not to burrow at all due to her back injury, so this will be an invaluable tool in her recovery.