Pets of the expanse!

Rick Hunter

Celestial
Thanks guys. Yes, I think Cole had a good life with us. We got him in early 2011 when he was maybe 1-1/2 years old. We live in the country so he was always free to run around and live without restraint. Three years ago we adopted a younger dog, which encouraged him to be more active. I believe his body was just worn out from living a good long life and you can't ask for anything more than that!
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Been a rough few days. Long post.

We had Pie's lame knee repaired on Wednesday. This is what she had done: CORA Based Leveling Osteotomy

Twenty years ago we had a shepherd mix of the same size and when her cruciate ligament snapped she pulled her leg up entirely. Our vet at the time was one of the last old school ones around, since retired. Large animal vet, a real James Herriot. He used what he called 'eighty pound test line' for the repair, essentially fishing line. This is the procedure I got to witness several times as a vet assistant.

Turns out Pie's GSD heritage affected the way her knee was formed to a greater degree than our previous dog so this became a plate and screws and that realigned the joint properly and means a much more involved recovery. She'll eventually have the other one done, theoretically anyway.

No stairs whatsoever for quite some time. She's only out for three short periods per day with a harness on that we hold her up with. She's trying to use the leg by touching her foot down which is an early and excellent sign. Yesterday she was feeling much better, the copious pain meds had kicked in so we spent some time out in the sun on a beautiful day.

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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
So here's the thing. Stairs.

Why does it always have to be the goddamned stairs? Not always with pets either but at a certain point the thing you never bothered to notice becomes a giant p.i.t.a. I only have to get her up/down five steps but to do so I have to carry her. She's 50lbs which isn't heavy but my wife can't do it. My left shoulder joint is destroyed - literally no cartilage left and doing this is absolutely no fun for me. Ouch.

I need a sustainable alternative. I need one that is stealth, low key so as not to attract the attention of the verdammit Building Code Nazi that I recently encountered. Nothing more annoying than a civil servant actually doing the job they are supposed to.

I put a 12 by 20 deck on the back of the house years ago. When I put on deck railing I don't use the fast 'contractor method' I set them inside the rail posts. You can see it in the pic above. Looks nicer and means those rail sections just unscrew and come out as a unit leaving a space between 3-4 feet wide.

Dog elevator. This gave me the idea and I threw myself into it with a passion.

Trick is to build a sturdy but lightweight box approximately 2 by 3 feet and about 3 feet tall. It needs sides about 24" tall and the doors on the front and back will hinge down to act as ramps.

12 foot tall 2 by 6 and 2 by 4 pressure treated uprights will be the 'shaft' or track the box travels up and down in. just a loose fit, no rollers, just like an old single pane window. A Horrible Freight ATV winch with a hand controller makes it go and that'll get power from a low voltage lighting transformer. I'll tuck this next to the stairs snugged up to the house and no one will ever see it.

The box is surprisingly more complicated than I initially thought. There are several videos like this online and the one I have in mind will travel 6 feet which is twice what the ones I seen do. The only detail I haven't figured out is one nobody seems to have thought of probably because they aren't as high. A real people elevator has an automatic brake if the cable fails. I am not seriously expecting it to but want to find a way to cushion the impact if it does slam down hard. I have some ideas about that that sound very Wile E. Coyote involving automotive coil springs and it turns out I am a guy that has a few old ones around.

 
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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Prototype v2.

I'm going to tie the top and bottom together with threaded rod. I'll slip some vinyl tubing over the rods so they are smooth and that'll tie it together very nicely. It's extremely solid as is and not overly heavy. I have a piece of oak to lay down the length of the top that'll have the eyebolt through it for the winch hook. Putting in sides and fitting the doors are really cosmetic that'll get done later.

It'll ride up and down with the outer 2 by 4s in L shaped channels. I'll put some plastic on them so it slides easily and a coat of car wax in the channels themselves. The upright channels will just be 2' by 4' by 12' and/or 5/4 decking by 12'. I have a tendency to overbuild and want to dial this back. I'm not lifting a cow, its a dog.

That's made from what I had down in the shed. I have to go to a big box store to get the threaded rod and I never do that on a weekend because I am not a glutton for punishment. 'Use what you have' is ingrained in my DNA chain. In that vein I think this'll get a nice thick protective coat of high gloss battleship grey Rustoleum. Why grey ? Because I already have some ......

The uprights will be redwood like the deck. Not all of this is pressure treated and I want it to be around a while, that paint will help.

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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
I wanted to use a 12v ATV winch I already had but they are intended for horizontal use and are 12v powered. A low voltage transformer with enough onions to run it would get pricey. Instead I'll use this 440 lb. Electric Hoist with Remote Control plugged into a GFCI outlet already there and build an enclosure that'll keep out the weather but allow air to circulate. Yellow jackets too most likely but that's nothing new.

We have a lot going on just now in Real Life and I am multitasking. I need a few odds & ends from a Lowes or HD that'll get the box finished and painted. I need a sheet of pressure treated plywood, some 12' PT 2 by 4s and 5/4" decking. I'll rip the last half inch off that decking to make a flat edge and then make the L bracket by securing it to the 2 by 4. After that it's just noodling them up plumb and square around the box. Really doesn't look hard at all.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Dogovator YouTube video!
Did I miss a link or something? I searched for that on YT but didn’t see it. There are a few like the one I’m building. Not that complicated really, very much like an old window sliding up and down in wooden tracks.
 

Todd Feinman

Dogs are angels that poop in your yard.
Did I miss a link or something? I searched for that on YT but didn’t see it. There are a few like the one I’m building. Not that complicated really, very much like an old window sliding up and down in wooden tracks.
I was thinking you should make one! Be pretty adorable to see it in action.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
I am making on
I was thinking you should make one! Be pretty adorable to see it in action.
I am making one :)

The box she'll ride in is sitting in my garage. Yesterday I got some additional hardware I needed and today I'll go back and get the other stuff I forgot. Conveniently I work right near a Lowes.

The hoist will be here in a couple of days and in the meantime I need to get the rest of the box assembled and painted. Might as well make it look nice.

There are very few things I loathe more than big box indoor lumber yards. For a few sticks they're OK but I always have to sort through a pile of garbage. Tomorrow I'll run over to the real lumber yard. I need a sheet of pressure treated 3/4" plywood, some 12' length two by fours and 5/4 decking.

This is when having a full size pickup comes in handy. That sheet of plywood fits between the wheel wells. The truck's a supercab so it only has a 6.5' bed but I leave the tailgate down and use come-alongs to tie everything in tight. A couple of bright red poopy bags on the parts sticking out will get it home.

Girl dog is doing fine. My wife and I are a bit ragged around the edges but it gets a little easier each day.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Got the hoist. Good grief its really loud and scary. My dog will flip. I'm off to Horrible Freight this morning to get another one that will hopefully be less frightening.

Beyond that it looks like a pretty sturdy unit with a few extra nice doodads thrown in. One of them will be returned.

I could/should have built this thing entirely out of 1/4" plywood and 1 by 2s. It would have been much lighter. Who knows, maybe the thing will be handy for hauling other things upstairs too. Even at that the box + dog don't even weigh 100lbs and the hoist I am getting this morning is rated at 440lbs. The loud one downstairs is rated at 1100lbs. I tend to get carried away ...................
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
OK, so I have all the materials and have the first coat of oil based paint drying on the box.

Pie just used the stairs up and down. Slowly, carefully and only with my help and a harness. She doesn't walk without me holding the harness taking weight off that knee to help her rehab. Just following the written post-op instructions but today she's clear as a bell and can do it. Glad to see it but .... dogs .........

I'll likely still put the elevator in. I think.
 
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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
The third prototype was the winner. I clear coated all the hardware and have thread protectors on order. I'll figure out the front and back ramps after it's mounted.

Today I'm setting the uprights, and possibly dying of heat stroke. Hoo boy it's thick out there already at 8 in the morning. Took forever for this thing to dry over these past few days.

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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Standing up those 12' uprights was absolutely at the limit of motion for my shoulder - should've used my brain instead and pulled it up.

This is just sitting there temporarily fastened so it won't fall over, it's not really plumb but will be presently. I need some more hardware.

In the Fall I'll be able to clean and repaint everything including the uprights so it'll all blend in. I used to stain the deck and get 3 years out of it but the state of NY took away all the oil based deck stains. That's what 3 years of latex looks like - like ****. I'm trying to get a few more years out of it all - it's been 15 years already. Considering they took away all the good pressure treatment chemicals that's a miracle.

It's been well into the 90s with super high humidity lately. I can deal with it but man, enough is enough.

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