I can only lift my dog up if I throw a blanket over him, but it feels so mean

Hi,

As the title says really. My dog is mostly blind and if I try and pick him, he gets freaked out by the fact I’m reaching over him and scrambles away. I always try and pet him from the front and never over his head/respect his boundaries. I am always very aware of whale eye, any attempts to move away, etc. He never bites, he just kind of gently grabs your hand with his mouth. He’s one of the most patient dogs I’ve ever had.

However, there are times when I have to pick him up. For example, he whines and barks until I lift him on the couch. Or he needs to be lifted into the car! He’s only a small dog, and can’t jump very high. We did have a system of me patting the couch before I lifted him and he would back away if he didn’t want to go up. Sadly his hearing and sight have now faded further, and this doesn’t work anymore. I also can’t “grab” him more firmly because he has several non-cancerous lumps that can hurt him and I’m worried about trying to keep a firm hold of him if he’s wriggling.

The other day I needed to pick him up to take him to the car, and I had the idea to completely cover him with a blanket and gently lift him IN the blanket. He stayed completely still, didn’t struggle, and when I got to the car, he was relaxed and half asleep. Since then, I’ve done it several times and he now stops and sits when he sees the blanket. 🤣

I still feel evil though! I don’t want to scare him or freak him out with the blanket. He’s 15 and everyone I pick him up, I feel like I’m kidnapping him. At the same time, he seems to be LESS stressed.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? Do you think I could cause issues with covering him with a blanket and picking him up longer term? It is far easier for me, but it still feels mean.

Thank you!

Also ETA: I didn’t mention my main reason for asking is that I’m concerned about missing any physical signs of discomfort. For example, if I covered him in a blanket and he was in pain, I might not notice unless he a) growled/whined or b) bit. My previous elderly dog bit me once as I picked him up and he was in pain, and I wasn’t receptive enough to the signs he was in pain. I’m worried about something like that.