Lifting happens more often than most owners admit: into the car, out of the bath, up a flight of stairs that has become too much, onto the vet’s table. Done well, it is a five-second non-event. Done badly, it is the moment a senior dog’s back twinges or a cat decides hands are the enemy. Lifting is a skill, and for older, small or unwell pets it is one of the most useful skills an owner can practice.
Why Technique Matters More With Age
A young dog tolerates a clumsy lift; an older one remembers it. Stiff joints object to being dangled, arthritic hips object to being lifted by the armpits alone, and a cat that feels grabbed rather than supported will fight every future pick-up. Small dogs bring their own rule: a leap from your arms is a long fall for a two-kilogram body, so the lift is only half the job — the hold and the set-down are the other two halves.
The Basic Lift, Step by Step
- Approach low and from the side, speaking first, never looming from directly above
- One hand under the chest, behind the front legs, supporting the ribcage
- The other hand under the hindquarters, so the whole body is level and supported
- Bring the pet close to your chest as you stand — a supported body is a calm body
- Set down gently, rear end first, so the pet feels its back feet before its front ones
What never works: hoisting by the front legs or armpits, which hangs the whole weight on shoulders and spine; carrying a cat by the scruff, which is not transport under any circumstances; and lifting mid-play or mid-walk without warning, which turns your hands into a surprise. For cats, the carrier is usually the better lift tool — a familiar carrier with an open top lets you lift the whole comfortable room, not the cat.
When You Need Help or Equipment
There is a weight where one-person lifting stops being smart, and it is lower than most owners think. For large dogs, two people work as a team: one at the chest, one at the hips, moving on a count. For dogs who struggle with stairs, a folded towel slid under the belly as a handle gives hind-leg support while their front legs do the stepping — a widely used mobility aid that costs nothing and spares both of you the carrying. And before any lift becomes routine, check whether the obstacle can be removed instead: a ramp to the car or a step to the bed means the lift never needs to happen. Your own back is part of the equipment too — bend at the knees, keep the load close, and hand the twenty-kilogram jobs to a second person.
Make Being Lifted a Good Deal
Practice when nothing is wrong. Lift for a second, treat, set down; repeat over weeks so the motion itself predicts something good. Watch the signals — a stiffening body, a tail tuck, a wriggle means the grip needs adjusting or the moment needs to pass. Cats who dislike being picked up can be trained toward the carrier instead, with food and patience, so the lift shrinks to one smooth motion. And never lift to punish or to end a game, or the hands stop meaning safety.
The takeaway. Support the chest and the hindquarters, keep the body level and close, set down rear first, and get help or a ramp when the load says so. Practice lifts on good days, and the necessary ones — the car, the stairs, the vet table — stop being events your pet braces for.