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Wilbour
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# Posted: 22 May 2017 01:57pm - Edited by: Wilbour
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I have an issue. Ok I have more than one issue but this is not the place for 99% if my issues...but I digress
I have a 25-30lb dog that sleeps in my loft when I'm at the cabin alone. I have a wooden ladder I built and have to carry said doggy up and down the ladder. She is long and slippery so it takes two hands to carry her. That leaves me armless to climb the ladder (not do-able)
I have seen some nice back-country harnesses with a handle for about $75 to $100 American. That's more of an ordeal than I had planned for each evening and morning but it looks like my best bet.
If I had power I would install the Acorn Chair Lift as seen on TV (no not really but most Canadians are familiar with these while watching the Late, late, late show)
Any other suggestions?
Yes I like the dog.
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 22 May 2017 02:03pm
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Imagine something like this, but vertical with a box on it for the pooch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy-h-1tS0Ik
Tim
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Wilbour
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# Posted: 22 May 2017 03:34pm
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Cool idea. 
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naturelover66
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# Posted: 22 May 2017 03:34pm - Edited by: naturelover66
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How about placing your dog in a carrier with a handle.... Using one hand on railing carry doggy up stairs...? They make some that are a bit larger than a cat carrier... 😀
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old243
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# Posted: 22 May 2017 05:23pm
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Maybe get your dog a comfortable spot and leave it on the main floor. Personally I wouldn't sleep with my dog. Maybe just me . old 243
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paulz
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# Posted: 22 May 2017 11:27pm
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I sleep with my dog. I slept with my wife for 25 years before I switched. There are advantages.
1. He doesn't get up twice a night to go to the bathroom.
2. He doesn't even know what the TV remote is.
3. He doesn't gab on the phone.
3. If there's a noise he gets up to check it out.
As for your dilemma, I'd probably run a box on a rope, or a kennel if you're worried, around a pulley attached to the ridge beam.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 12:22am - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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Teach her to climb the ladder.
I'm serious. There are videos and tutorials Online.
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Jebediah
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 06:27am
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Where does she sleep when you are not alone at the cabin or am I reading it wrong? My dog sleeps with me ticks and all, but she will sleep anywhere if I kick her out of the bed when she snores louder than I do....She will put her paw on the bed when she wants back up, but I just say no and she retires to the couch for the rest of the night. The question is, are you doing it for you or for your dog? If its just for your dog I wouldn't bother....
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 10:27am
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Its amazing what we do for our dogs. The bond between man and dogs is unique, unlike any other animal on the planet. I think god designed dogs for mankind. 
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 11:43am
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Wilbour, I completely understand that your 4 legger is your friend... Heck, many of the best "folks" I have ever met had 4 paws ! and I've had the pleasure of having several around over the years - OK in short, I'm a critter lover... much to my chagrin, every critter figures that out almost instantly... geez I wish I knew how they sense that.... even wild critters come close up...
With that in mind, why have Pooch sleep in loft, the hottest place in the cabin ?? While I never allowed "dog" to share bed, they always had theirs in the bedroom too, in the corner... where it's cooler and more liveable in general.
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paulz
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 12:12pm
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Quoting: Jebediah My dog sleeps with me ticks and all
I read something interesting the other day after having a couple of ticks walking around on me in the night without biting. The monthly tick medicine my dog gets paralyses the tick's mouth so it can't eat or bite. They just walk around until they starve to death. Kind of cruel, but it's a tick.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 12:30pm
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What do you mean I can't sleep in your bed?????
A proper fitting harness and a pulley might be you best bet but it will still have some peril. Single point lifts can sway. Plus there's the leaning over the edge to pull the dog over to the upper deck.
You could build a dumbwaiter but I'm betting that's going to take up valuable floor space and be in the way
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tichalet
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 01:15pm
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Quoting: Wilbour If I had power I would install the Acorn Chair Lift as seen on TV (no not really but most Canadians are familiar with these while watching the Late, late, late show)
Oh my gosh, I had no idea dog lifts really existed!
(via http://www.stairliftconsultants.com/article/59/Bison-Bede-Stairlift-Model-Types, this company is a division of Acorn mentioned by Wilbour.)
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tichalet
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 01:18pm - Edited by: tichalet
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Oops. Image didn't upload (saved in wrong format), I'll try again:
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naturelover66
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# Posted: 23 May 2017 06:29pm
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Ha ha.. Thats awesome.
I couldnt sleep without my dogs!
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 24 May 2017 09:11am
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Quoting: naturelover66 I couldnt sleep without my dogs!
I could. LOL.
Abigail is part Aussie and part Chicken. She gets exceedingly nervous during thunder, fireworks, or when doing anything new (like teaching her to ride in our UTV).
During a storm, she apparently only feels safe if she can crawl inside you. She pants like a steam engine, and has learned how to shut off the power strip that runs my fan, light and clock with her paw. I cant sleep without a fan, and I laid in bed for hours once thinking the power went out. She is not allowed on the bed, but she will get her head under my covers and stick a cold, wet nose in places that are best left nose-less.
I've tried Benadryl (under advice of the vet) with no results. I bought a thunder-shirt, and it freaks her out more putting it on her than just letting it go. If I lock her out of our room, then she wines at the door. Any time I see there will be a storm, I know its gonna be a long, sleepless night.
Still... A small price to pay for such an otherwise great dog.
Tim
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paulz
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# Posted: 24 May 2017 09:28am - Edited by: paulz
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Beware of dog!
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thes10kid
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# Posted: 24 May 2017 12:16pm
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How about a Doggie Dumbwaiter? I have used this product to store tires out of the way in my garage, near the ceiling (I'm not affiliated with this at all, just useful). If you were to attach a dog-carrier to the base of it, it should make for a fairly easy elevator... Copy and paste below...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009I8AO6/ref=asc_df_B0009I8AO64997843/?tag=smacab-20&crea tive=394997&creativeASIN=B0009I8AO6&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167146980943&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw =g&hvrand=1865347374636558219&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlo cphy=9002339&hvtargid=pla-273151882929
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Wilbour
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# Posted: 24 May 2017 02:07pm - Edited by: Wilbour
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I may just do this...
https://www.levelsix.com/products/rover-floater-canine-pfd?variant=1145612204
Was going to get her a PFD anyways. I can handle her 28lbs in one hand with a handle
When my wife is up at the cabin she sleeps on the couch/bed with my wife.
I sleep in the loft because their is a real matress up there. Although it's warmer in the summer it's wamer in the winter
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hattie
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# Posted: 26 May 2017 12:20pm
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I would either purchase an appropriately sized crate or build one. Then rig a pulley system so that you can put her in the crate, climb the ladder and (using the pulley) pull her up to the loft. You could probably use a winch off a boat trailer. Once up there you can let her out. You would just reverse the procedure to take her down. Make sure you have a good railing around your loft so that she doesn't accidentally fall over the edge at night.
I would not recommend using a flat platform that the dog could jump off. Also make sure you put something to block the ladder so that at night she doesn't decide she wants to try to get down on her own.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 26 May 2017 04:45pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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How about a miniature spiral staircase. Or an alternating direction fire exit style, except without platforms or the inside and outside sets of stairs. For dogs you'd just need ramps mounted to the wall and a sheet of clear plastic, chicken wire, corrugated fibreglass on the outside for safety. Wire might be a problem for accessing the ramps. A hinged or removable clear sheet would be good for cleaning and helping the dog if it gets stuck.
Just have alternating ramps with gaps for the dog to change direction and jump up or down to the next ramp going the other direction.
/
\
/
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/
Here - found this - the one on the left - sized and 'safetized' to fit your dog of course;
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Hk6waF7zCo/TbTI58jJPlI/AAAAAAAAATE/oQGeXOTEmEg/s1600/P1050 691.JPG
You could toss treats up onto the loft and have races with your dog to the top.
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rockies
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# Posted: 26 May 2017 08:43pm
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I would suggest using a built-in cabinet along one main floor wall and then using a dog ramp up to the top of the cabinet and then placing another ramp from the cabinet top up to the loft. This ramps folds so that it doesn't have to be there all the time.
https://www.wayfair.ca/Pet-Gear-Travel-Lite-Tri-Fold-71-Pet-Ramp-PGI1180.html
If not a cabinet then perhaps a countertop or even a shelf (something wide enough to use daily as a desk or prep surface when not needed for the dog).
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rockies
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# Posted: 28 May 2017 06:38pm - Edited by: rockies
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Here's another option if you'd like to add more storage to your cabin.
The first "step" is an 18 inch high bench with storage in it (you can use one of those "above the fridge" kitchen cabinets to make the bench - just add a top). Next to it is a 30" high by 30" wide by 24" deep table/desk/prep counter. Next to that is a 2 foot wide by 44" tall by 24" deep cabinet with open shelves. On top of that is a 14" tall by 12" wide by 24" deep box.
The next cabinet is a 72" tall by 24" wide by 24" deep with another 14" tall box on top.
This system can be lengthened, shortened or made more narrow depending on the area you have available in your cabin but should be sufficient for your dog to climb up to the loft.
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Malamute
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# Posted: 3 Jun 2017 06:15pm - Edited by: Malamute
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How about forget sleeping in a loft and use it for storage? I for one cant imagine the annoyance of sleeping in a loft and having to go down a ladder to go pee in the middle of the night. That's even without a dog to be concerned with. A murphy or day bed may work to not eat too much floor space when not being a bed. if I were going to get tricky with gizmos, Id make a raising and lowering bed before Id try raising and lowering a dog. Lower the bed at night, raise it in the daytime. Some friends have an electric lowering bed in a cargo trailer camper conversion so the rear cargo door is still useful. Works great, very simple. Turn a switch to raise or lower it.
When considering cabin designs, I thought about a loft for maybe 5 minutes before deciding there was no way Id ever have one to sleep in. Rooftop tents on vehicles are in the same league for me, especially with a dog and bad back.
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rockies
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# Posted: 3 Jun 2017 06:27pm
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Since Wilbour hasn't responded to anyone's ideas since May 24th I'm sure he's either decided on his solution or isn't going to change anything at all.
If people take the trouble to find solutions, methods or products for you to help solve your problem then perhaps a follow-up to tell us what you did would be nice.
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