Biscuit turned twelve in March, and the three wooden steps off our back deck stopped being a small thing. She would stand at the top, look down at the yard, and wait. Not because she is stubborn. Because the first step down hurts and she has learned to be careful about it. For about a month I did what most people try first. I put my forearm under her belly and took part of her weight while we went down together. That worked until my own back started filing complaints. What actually helped was a strip of nylon with handles on it, the LOOBANI hind leg sling, and I have been using it now for about ten months.
Here is what it does, plainly. It goes under her hindquarters, you take the handles, and you lift. That is the whole design. It supports the back end only. It does nothing for Biscuit's elbows, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Ten reasons it earned its hook by the back door, in the order they actually mattered to us.
The three deck steps are the first thing it fixes
If your dog stands at the top of the stairs and thinks about it for too long, this is the piece of gear I reach for every morning. Nylon, machine washable, adjustable, and it stores in its own bag.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →It takes the guesswork out of the three steps down to the yard
Biscuit does not need to be carried. She needs about a third of her weight taken off for four seconds. I slide the band under her hindquarters, take the handle, and walk down beside her while she steps. She goes down on her own four feet the whole time. Before the sling, she would stop halfway and I would hold my breath. Now she goes down, sniffs the grass, and gets on with her morning.
It saves your back while it saves her hips
This is the part nobody warns you about. A 68 pound dog leaning away from you on a staircase is a lot of dead weight, and an arm under the belly puts your shoulder in a bad spot. The handles let me stand upright and lift straight. My back stopped aching within a week. If you are the one doing the lifting every day, that matters as much as anything happening with the dog.
It adjusts to her body, not to a chart on a box
The LOOBANI sling is adjustable and closes with a drawstring, and the size Large is listed for dogs in the 15 to 30 kilogram range. Biscuit sits comfortably inside that. I fitted it once in the hallway, adjusted it while she stood still for a biscuit, and it has not needed touching since. Ten months of daily use and the adjustment has held. That is more than I can say for most things in this house.
The lining is soft enough that she stopped bracing
The first sling I borrowed was a plain flat strap, and Biscuit planted her feet and refused to move. The LOOBANI has a thicker band with a soft, sheepskin-like lining against the dog. That was the difference. She stopped bracing because nothing was digging into her. If your dog has already refused one of these, it may not be the idea she objects to. It may be the strap.
It gets her into the Outback without a wrestling match
Our Subaru has a rear hatch, and Biscuit's back end has to come up about two feet. For planned trips to the vet or the park, we use the folding ramp and she is fine with it. But for the quick ones, the ramp is more setup than it is worth. The sling takes four seconds and she is in. I keep both in the car and reach for whichever one the day calls for.
The first morning I used it, she went down all three steps without stopping to think about it. That had not happened in weeks.
It is one piece of gear, not a fitting session
A full body lift harness has its place, and I looked at several. But getting Biscuit into one on a cold morning, with her elbows the way they are, was a production. The sling is one band and one handle. She steps over nothing. I set it, lift, and we go. When a dog is stiff and sore, the fastest, least fussy option is the one that actually gets used every single day.
It goes in the washing machine
This is not a small point. A sling sits under a dog's hindquarters, and after a few weeks it needs washing. The LOOBANI is nylon and the care instructions say machine wash, so it goes in with a load of towels, comes out fine, and hangs over the laundry sink to dry. I have washed ours maybe fifteen times. The lining has held up and the stitching has not let go.
It folds into its own bag and lives by the door
It comes with a small storage bag. After each use I fold the sling, drop it in the bag, and hang the whole thing on the hook by the back door. That sounds like a small detail until you have searched a house for a piece of gear while a sore dog is waiting on you. Because it lives at the door, it gets used. Because it gets used, it helps.
It gets her onto the grass on the mornings she would rather quit
There are bad mornings. Arthritis does not read a calendar, and some days Biscuit comes off her bed moving like she is ten years older than she is. On those mornings she still gets down the steps, gets into the yard, sniffs around, and does what she needs to do. Without the sling I would be carrying her, or worse, she would be staying on the deck. Dignity is a strange word for a dog, but that is what it is.
It protects the two walks a day that keep her moving
Biscuit gets two short walks, morning and evening, fifteen to twenty minutes each. Our vet has told us more than once that staying moving is part of the plan. The sling is what lets the evening walk survive on a stiff day, because getting her down the deck and back up is the hardest part of it. The walk itself is fine once she is on flat ground. It is the steps at both ends.
What I'd Skip
I would skip anything that claims to fix the whole dog. The sling supports the back end for a few seconds at a time on steps, into the car, up onto the couch. It is not a walking aid for a mile long stroll, and if you leave it on for a long stretch it will rub. It also does nothing for Biscuit's front end, so on the mornings her elbows are the problem, the sling is not the answer and I do not use it. If you want help with the front legs, this is the wrong piece of gear and you should not buy it hoping otherwise.
I would also skip buying one and then quitting on it after two days. Biscuit needed about a week to stop bracing when I first reached for it. Slow, with treats, in the hallway, before you ever try a staircase. And talk to your vet about the bigger picture. A sling is a convenience. It is not a diagnosis and it is not a treatment plan. Biscuit's arthritis is managed by our vet, with Cosequin chews we started about a year and a half ago, an orthopedic bed by the window, and non-slip socks on the hardwood. The LOOBANI sling is one piece of that routine, and only one.
Ten months in, it still hangs by my back door
It is the least complicated thing I have bought for Biscuit and the one I use most. Adjustable, machine washable nylon with a soft lining and a storage bag. If your dog is hesitating at the top of the steps, start here.
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