The Dog Wheelchair
- and other ways of improving
your dog's quality of life
Search Our Site
A dog wheelchair or dog cart can really help canine mobility.
It's just a matter of finding the right one for your dog's needs.
Is your dog struggling with arthritis or joint pain?
Try Arthro-Ionx All-Natural Dog Arthritis Formula
Click here to read what others have said about this product.
Through the use of a dogcart or wheelchair, dogs that have lost the use of their front or back legs due to illness or an accident can start enjoying their walks again.
Your dog's precious mobility and love of life can return overnight. Read how Poppy had a new lease of life after getting a dog wheelchair.
This section focusses on improving your dog's quality of life following an illness, accident or due to old age.
As well as Dog Wheelchairs, we have pages on the following:
Aging Dogs
Canine Hydrotherapy
The Bottoms Up Leash
Dog Boots
Dog Diapers or Pants
There are many designs of dog cart on the market and it is not my place to recommend one above the other. You will need to visit the websites and decide what is best for your dog. I want to put you in touch with top quality sites that I think will be useful to you in your search for a dog wheelchair for your pet.
Excellent sites - excellent products
First of all here are two excellent sites, both based in America but able to send products abroad. The second company has representatives in various parts of the world who act as consultants for the products.
The first is Handicapped Pets.
The second is Eddie's Wheels.
Handicapped Pets Website.
If your pet is elderly, recovering from surgery or experiencing mobility difficulties, this American website offers advice, information, lots of support and products that could transform your dog's life.
They have masses of specialist products such as dog wheelchairs, leg splints, no-cone collars, pill dispensers; information on various conditions including canine arthritis; and videos and photos of special needs pets getting out and about. It’s a really inspiring and helpful site.
They sell two types of dog wheelchairs:
Walkin' Wheels
This is an adjustable dog cart sold by Handicapped Pets which comes fully assembled and is adjusted in minutes to fit your dog. It also folds flat for easy transportation as well as being very lightweight. It has a comfortable neoprene harnessing system.
Currently, Walkin' Wheels is not available as a front wheel cart (ie. if your dog’s front legs are damaged) or a quad cart.
Doggon Wheels Custom Dog Wheelchair
This is also available from Handicapped Pets. It is a much more detailed affair and eleven measurements are needed to build this specialised cart. The advantage is that it can be made as a front wheel cart for pets that have limited to no use of the front limbs but fully functional rear limbs; or a four wheel cart for pets that have generalised weakness in all four legs.
This wheelchair also has a harness system that suspends the dog in the wheelchair. The rear harness can be slipped on while the dog is still lying down. There is a handle accessory that clips onto it so that it can be used as a walking harness for quick trips outside, or to get into the car or up the stairs.
Having this kind of a harness system means that if a dog's legs don't work, the stirrups will prevent the feet from dragging on the ground.
Eddie's Wheels
For the past 20 years, ever since his own Doberman Pinscher, Buddha, became paralysed due to disc disease, Ed Grinnell has been designing and manufacturing mobility carts for dogs with disabilities.
A mechanical engineer by trade, he brings a lifetime of professional experience to this work, incorporating the highest engineering standards with special consideration to each pet's unique disabilities and anatomy.
The large wheels on this unique design add considerable stability to the wheelchair making it easy for dogs to run and play. Lightweight aluminium braces offer firm support while a soft rubber harness holds the dog around the chest and back. This dog cart opens with the removal of two pins which allow the hinged top to open. Gender specific saddles also insure males and females can relieve themselves while in the cart.
Optional equipment can include upgrades to counterbalance (for pets with weak front leg strength), counterweights (for amputees), training wheels (for pets needing additional front balance) and full-scale quad front wheels that can be added to any standard rear wheel cart.
Angela Griffiths, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner, based at Greyfriars Rehabilitation and Hydrotherapy Centre
in Surrey, is available as a private consultant for Eddie's Wheels.
Other Wheelchairs
I have recently come across "K9 Carts" the original patented wheelchair company for paralyzed pets developed and owned by a veterinary orthopedic surgeon. For over 45 years, K-9 Cart Company has developed custom-built mobility aids for handicapped dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, sheep, goats, etc. with disabilities ranging from disk disease, arthritis, birth defects, degenerative neurological diseases, and other orthopedic injuries.
Dr. Parkes writes, "Our pet wheel chairs are the product by which all other "imitation" wheel chairs for dogs and other pets are judged. Accept no substitutes for your handicapped pet."
Their third patent for pet wheelchairs was approved in 2004. They write, "We have continued to improve on the design in the last 5 years. Our leg rings are the only detachable hindlimb harness that are integrated to work with your dog wheelchair. In addition, we have put forth a lot of effort to make sure the carts are lightweight using tubular aluminum and plastics. We go one step further by using foam-filled wheels. You would not believe how heavy some competitor's wheelchairs are since they use traditional spoked wheels with air-filled tires or solid aluminum stock! Weight and proper balance are so important in a wheelchair. We hope that our veterinary expertise also lend further to helping out dogs with disabilities."
Dogs To Go has been building custom wheelchairs since 1999 when our own little Dachshund, Penny ruptured a disc. We needed a good, sturdy, lightweight cart to aid in her recovery, but we had just spent $2500.00 on her surgery and could not afford the carts on the market at the time.
My husband, Larry came up with the original design and it was tested for a year in the veterinary surgical practice where I work as a technician on our disabled patients. It worked so well, we decided to market it. The rest is history.
Dogs to Go now ships carts worldwide, with over 8,000 carts sold in the past 11 years. Many dogs use them on a daily basis and have for over 10 years. Our Schnauzer, Mary has been a permanent cart dog for 8 of her 11 years and she is happy, healthy and loves her life!
Our carts are guaranteed for life and we replace or repair any damage or wear and tear at no cost to the client. Dogs to Go wheelchairs are very affordable and durable.
If you are interested in talking to us about one for your pet, just come and visit us at Dogs To Go.
Help for you . . .
If searching for a dog wheelchair or other kind of mobility support is new for you, then try not to rush into anything. This can be an emotional time and it is good to talk to other people who might be going through a similar situation. They may be further down the road than you and may have tried out different products with varying success.
There are online support groups for the owners of amputee dogs as well as disabled dogs, and Yahoo and Google are a good place to start. Ask for advice and guidance from people who know just what you’re going through.
Some Useful Links
This group is for owners of pets that have Degenerative Myelopathy
Helpful forum for owners with handicapped pets
Hydrotherapy can really help dogs with mobility issues. This is our page.
Arthro-Ionx for Dogs - all natural pet health products
Read what people have said about Arthro-Ionx by Vetionx.
I just want to let you know how much I appreciate Arthro-Ionx.
A few months ago my 14 year old Keeshound had very bad arthritis symptoms. One day she couldn?t even stand up. She tried to stand up five or six times in a row only to fall back down. At that point I seriously considered having her put to sleep, but I decided to a least try your product first even though her veterinarian had told me nothing would work.
Within a couple of weeks of placing my first order she was noticeably better. Within a month or so we resumed our daily walks, although not quite as far as we used to go. Today she has a slight limp at times, but appears happy and healthy. Once again, thank you!
Mike G., Florida
I use Arthro-Ionx for my 9 year old pitbull, Frankie. In August of 08 he got down and could barely get up. I literally had to pick up his hind end to get him in the car to go to the vet. He could hardly walk and I was sure he was terminally lame.
After numerous x-rays and 2 vet bills later I was told his hip joint had worn down and there really wasn?t much they could do short of daily steroids. Hip replacement wasn?t an option due to his age. I had already been giving him a daily prescription anti-inflammatory without much improvement.
About a week went by and after searching the internet for a solution I came across Arthro-Ionx.I decided to give it a try.
With Frankie being on this, without anything else (anti-inflammatory med) he started getting better. 2 weeks later I awoke and thought my husband had overslept for work; it was the dog in my bed. Frankie had not been able to jump up there for the past 2 years. I have a very high bed.
Arthro-Ionx has really changed his quality of life. No limp, or pain and he acts like a puppy again. Although he drives us crazy every night to play I definitely would recommend Arthro-Ionx to any animal lover.
He gets this everyday in his water. No steroids or anti-inflammatory meds for him. He's happy and playful again. Thanks for this wonder supplement. I recommend this all the time to anyone I can.
Pam M., California
Click here to go to the Arthro-IonX website. Orders are taken for the UK.
or
Call now to speak with an Artho-IonX product specialist. Mention Priority Code 281151.
USA Orders Call: 877-985-8669
International: 1-616-977-8500
Top of the page
Back to the Dog Health page
Take me from the Dog Wheelchair page to the Homepage
|
