Our 15 year old retired guide dog, who we adopted nearly 6 years ago when his owner passed away, has naturally slowed down, and even more markedly so over the last few months. However he still enjoys hydrotherapy swimming, and on occasions a walk in the woods. The problem has been that both require trasnport by car, and having progressed through a series of different platforms and steps to get into the car, things were becoming more and more difficult. Of late, he was becoming distressed at the though of climbing in and out. Additionally, he sometimes stumbled walking up the shallow from the pool after his swim. This was worrying as we could see the two things he still really enjoyed would be difficult for him to continue with.
The Help Em Up Harness was recommended to us by the Hydrotherapist, and although we were advised it may be more expensive than some harnesses, we read the reviews and based on those and the Hydrotherapist's recommendation, we went ahead and bought it.
The harness arrived in just 2 days - in time for the next swimming day too! We were a bit daunted by what seemed to be a complex structure, but in fact this was a misread on our part. In fact, after straightening out the harness and looking through the set of instructions, it was very easy to fit, especially after we'd properly adjusted the straps to fit.
Our dog was fine with the harness - after all as an ex-guide dog he was used to having harnesses. And we couldn't be happier. He gets in and out of the car without fear, and the same with getting out of the pool. In fact, we find we don;t really need to hold the harness up that much. It's not so much lifting him, but giving him support, and through the harness this can be minimal but enough - much better than any other help we've tried.
I thoroughly recommend the Help Em Up Harness to anyone considering it.