Help Needed: Someone with an Eddie's Wheels cart I need answers

[CarolC]

How exactly do you get the dog into the cart? What direction to you face? How do you grab the dog starting from him lying in a Sphinx position. How high do you have to lift his hindquarters?

Is your back curved while you are doing this?

Does anyone lift their dog into an Eddie's cart with the use of a rear harness???

I'm not sure I can straddle him facing backward and lift him in. I have a 32" inseam and he is 26" at the hip plus kind of wide and I'd have to lift another foot or so to clear the saddle and drop the feet in.

I can't picture how to do this.

[Weeble's :o~ mom Beth]

Carol, It's differant with Weeble, cuz he has a quad cart & he's small. But I lift him & put him in from the back of the cart. Sometimes he will hike one rear leg up so I have found it easier to put him in from the rear, so I can make sure his legs are all the way in the saddle.
Sorry I know thats not much help, hopefully someone else here can give you better hints.

[Tinker's Mom]

While Tinker is only about 14-1/2" and 21 lbs., what we did initially while he was down was to stand behind him and the cart and lift his whole body up aim and then place his legs in the saddle, then carefully place the front of him between the rails. Now that he's stronger and much more mobile, we can actually let him balance on his front legs, while lifting his back legs into the leg holes.

For a larger dog, you will need assistance getting him up and into the leg holes in the saddle- either a 2nd person or can you use a towel which can then be easily removed? I think that if you tried to use a lift harness, it would be challenging to try to then take the harness off to finish putting him into the cart. (You can't really leave a rear harness on because it would add a thickness between your dog and the "rails", and it is measured precisely so as not to be too snug of a fit and it could chafe.) And be sure to bend your KNEES so that you don't hurt your back!

[BethT]

Carol,

I face the open side of the cart with my right knee on the floor kind of in line with the tire. My left foot is on the floor towards the front of the cart and my left knee is bent. I am only 5'2" so it is easier for me to get Waffles in being close to the floor myself. Before I even get myself in that position of course I pull the back of the cart up to the back of Waffles. I have Waffles stand on his front legs, I am at the side of the cart in my half knealing position. With my left arm I scoop up his back end just under his back legs (where you would have a sling if you where lifting him). I lift his legs high enough so that his feet drop into the saddle loops and then with my right hand I begin to pull the side bar of the cart up and forward to get him all the way in the saddle. Then I put in the 2 pins and strap him in and put his feet in the stirups. When it all goes smoothly it takes about 15 seconds. Now Waffles is a pretty compact dog not much taller then my knees so his cart is not very high. If you are doing a big dog standing may be easier. Watch the bar that swings over the shoulders, sometimes it falls closed while your getting him in the saddle and then you have to get him out to open it. I hope this makes some sense to you Carol. Let me know if you need any more details. Beth

[Paul Coover]

Their descriptions sound about right, Carol. I am E-mailing you some pictures to help with the visualization. Good luck!

[Tracy]

I've worked with many large dogs (as big as a Ridge Back) and Eddies carts...
My usual way of getting them in is to straddle them and fact their rear end. I lift them from under the belly (with a towel if they're a boy) and guide their rear legs into the saddle. once they're in the saddle you can raise the sides and they're rear end is supported...easier said than done.
Practice makes perfect...I've had a bearded collie, the ridge back, a large chocolate lab, some smaller dogs, and my own boxer. I, of corse, am slightly trained, probably younger, and "buff" due to my daily work out routein (dogs from 14# to 110#)
Best of luck,
Tracy

[CarolC]

I found these 2 pictures on Eddie's website. The first one is a homemade harness according to the text. The second one is Rajah, who's 117 lbs. Looks like she's got a rear harness on. That would be the ticket.

[CarolC]

[CarolC]

[CarolC]

You're right, I haven't bench pressed any dobermans lately. I've been taking amino acids and I used to enjoy the rowimg machine. I'm considering looking for a secondhand rowing machine.

[CarolC]

I might ask them if they ever build a cart bigger to allow for a harness. I hadn't thought about chafing. I was more afraid the harness might get pulled off-center and interfere with pottying. I ordered a harness and am waiting for it to arrive. I've tried 2 brands that didn't work so far. Thank goodness we're starting early on this.

[Marni]

Hi!

My guy is little and I just lift his rear legs into the cart while he balances on the front.

I don't know how i'd work on a large dog but think that advice given by others here would eb a start.
Marni

[Tinker's Mom]

As I think I've mentioned before, we had kind of a hybrid situation. Following Tinker's surgery, the hospital sent us home with a rear harness that is actually the soft saddle sling used in a Doggon' cart- (which works very well). Then, when we started rehab, the facility we go to recommended an Eddie's cart, which also has worked great for us. When we first started with the cart, we kept the sling on, which made for a snug fit. When I spoke to Leslie at Eddie's she specifically said NOT to use the sling with the cart as it was not measured to be used that way. So, after that we left the rear harness off when using the cart - we just use a "normal" walking harness and leash to walk him in the cart.

Not here we are some 10 months later, and in reading this thread, I see a valid point- particularly for a larger, heavier dog that is cumbersome to lift. It makes some sense to leave the harness on, as long as the initial cart measurements account for the additional thickness, and the harness is left on every time the cart is used.

[Winnie]

Dear Carol,

I have a DVD which Eddies' Wheels' UK representative sent to me before I placed the order. It shows you how to take the measurements and put the doggies in the cart and also w/ lots and lots of dogs (incl. a huge St. Bernard but mostly German Shepherds) walking/running in their wheelchairs. Certain parts were apparently shot and included in the DVD by the UK representative.

I'm sure it would be helpful to you. You want it?

Winnie

[CarolC]

Hi Winnie!

Oh! I didn't realize there was a DVD. Maybe I could get one direct from Eddie's-US. I'm not sure about DVDs but I have a friend in England who told me the US-specs VHS tapes won't play on British machines, and vice versa. The same might be true of DVDs(?) It is helpful enough that you told me such a thing exists, let me look into at this end. Tnanks for the offer, though! ))