Hi we have an 11 year old cavalier king Charles spaniel with spinal problems which have left her unable to walk very well. We are currently trying to find a suitable wheelchair for her and came upon this site which seems ideal, can't find many available in Britain and I've never met any other dog owners who use a dog wheelchair? Is anyone able to tell me if Walkin Wheels ship to Scotland and approximately how much this would cost?
Thanks
Advice needed in Scotland please!
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Re: Advice needed in Scotland please!
Hello Scotland from English people living in New Zealand! We had a similar problem and had ours imported from the UK for our Border Collie. www.dogmobile-online.com
Re: Advice needed in Scotland please!
TKM! One of the members here also has a border collie in a wheelchair and created a website telling about his dog and helping others. His username is bordercollieman, and here is his post with a link to his site.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16072&p=85455#p85455
Re: Advice needed in Scotland please!
Thank you for your replies. I have now found a place that can supply us with some Walkin Wheels in Scotland which is brilliant! However they suggested I discuss with my vet first.
We took Penny to the vet yesterday who has advised against the dog kart for a few reasons -her age, she thinks it would be too stressful for Penny to get used to this (she is a very neurotic dog and howls and barks the whole time we are at the vet), she has creaky elbows, poor anal tone and she has lost a kilo in weight in 6 months my vet said there are a few things "ready to go" but no one really knows, we have come through a dislocated hip, a cancerous tumour, heart disease and she's still going and still seems happy. Because my vet doesn't actually know any dogs personally that are in a kart, they don't seem to be common in Scotland (I've never seen any at all), it's difficult to accept her opinion when it's not based on personal experience. I do believe she has the best interests of my dog in mind, she was very understanding and totally understood that we don't want to let her go yet as she is still the same dog in every way and is still so bright and alert, she just can't walk which is heart breaking to watch.
I haven't decided what to do yet, I think I may get the dog kart anyway and see how she is, looking at everything I've seen online the dogs don't seem stressed by them at all, I would give anything to see her able to walk/run around for whatever time she has left, be it weeks or months I think it would be worth it.
Thanks again for your replies, just writing this down is helping
mary
We took Penny to the vet yesterday who has advised against the dog kart for a few reasons -her age, she thinks it would be too stressful for Penny to get used to this (she is a very neurotic dog and howls and barks the whole time we are at the vet), she has creaky elbows, poor anal tone and she has lost a kilo in weight in 6 months my vet said there are a few things "ready to go" but no one really knows, we have come through a dislocated hip, a cancerous tumour, heart disease and she's still going and still seems happy. Because my vet doesn't actually know any dogs personally that are in a kart, they don't seem to be common in Scotland (I've never seen any at all), it's difficult to accept her opinion when it's not based on personal experience. I do believe she has the best interests of my dog in mind, she was very understanding and totally understood that we don't want to let her go yet as she is still the same dog in every way and is still so bright and alert, she just can't walk which is heart breaking to watch.
I haven't decided what to do yet, I think I may get the dog kart anyway and see how she is, looking at everything I've seen online the dogs don't seem stressed by them at all, I would give anything to see her able to walk/run around for whatever time she has left, be it weeks or months I think it would be worth it.
Thanks again for your replies, just writing this down is helping
mary
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markcrobinson
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Re: Advice needed in Scotland please!
Hi Mary,
Just wanted to chime in here -- I'm the president of HandicappedPets.com and the inventor of the Walkin' Wheels. Sounda like Penny is a lucky girl to have a family that cares so deeply.
When I first invented the wheelchair and brought it to US veterinarian shows, I was scoffed at. Many vets thought that the device was ridiculous. Some asked "Why keep a dog that isn't healthy anymore?" Many of these vets, I believe, came from a farming background where animals were raised for food or for helping around the farm -- where this attitude was common. When a working animal could no longer work, it had '"outlived it's usefulness." What those vets didn't understand at the time was that the animals were were talking about were not farm assets, they were family members. They were valued not because of what they could do, but because who they were.
That has changed here in the US. Now when we have hundreds of vets that sign up on our website to support what we do. It warms my heart!
Your vet is, most likely, giving very practical advice. A wheelchair might not give Penny years of happy, healthy life. There is a chance the Penny might not take well to the wheelchair. But Penny sounds like a happy girl and it is possible that she will adapt to the wheelchair like tens of thousands of others have. Maybe it will not be for a very long time, as the vet suggests, or maybe it will. What the vet can't bring into the diagnosis is love; your's and hers.
What I would want to ask the vet is whether the wheelchair will impact the dog negatively. Will it hurt, or further injure the dog? If the dog's hips are not suited to the harness or her front legs aren't strong enough then that's something you need to know -- but you can usually tell that when the dog tries the cart for the first time.
One of the reasons I designed the Walkin' Wheels they way I did was to make it easier on the owner, financially, if it didn't fit. The ols-style custom built carts that were available at the time were built for a dog of a specific size and could only be re-used by a dog of that same size, shape, breed, and weight. Because the Walkin' Wheels adjusts, it can easily be re-sold or donated to a shelter and used on almost any other dog, regardless of their size.
In any case, it sounds like you are making this decision wisely. I always get a little 'loud' when I hear about veterinarians who recommend against carts. In many cases they just don't yet understand -- but they're learning.
Warmest Regards to you and Penny!
Mark C. Robinson
Just wanted to chime in here -- I'm the president of HandicappedPets.com and the inventor of the Walkin' Wheels. Sounda like Penny is a lucky girl to have a family that cares so deeply.
When I first invented the wheelchair and brought it to US veterinarian shows, I was scoffed at. Many vets thought that the device was ridiculous. Some asked "Why keep a dog that isn't healthy anymore?" Many of these vets, I believe, came from a farming background where animals were raised for food or for helping around the farm -- where this attitude was common. When a working animal could no longer work, it had '"outlived it's usefulness." What those vets didn't understand at the time was that the animals were were talking about were not farm assets, they were family members. They were valued not because of what they could do, but because who they were.
That has changed here in the US. Now when we have hundreds of vets that sign up on our website to support what we do. It warms my heart!
Your vet is, most likely, giving very practical advice. A wheelchair might not give Penny years of happy, healthy life. There is a chance the Penny might not take well to the wheelchair. But Penny sounds like a happy girl and it is possible that she will adapt to the wheelchair like tens of thousands of others have. Maybe it will not be for a very long time, as the vet suggests, or maybe it will. What the vet can't bring into the diagnosis is love; your's and hers.
What I would want to ask the vet is whether the wheelchair will impact the dog negatively. Will it hurt, or further injure the dog? If the dog's hips are not suited to the harness or her front legs aren't strong enough then that's something you need to know -- but you can usually tell that when the dog tries the cart for the first time.
One of the reasons I designed the Walkin' Wheels they way I did was to make it easier on the owner, financially, if it didn't fit. The ols-style custom built carts that were available at the time were built for a dog of a specific size and could only be re-used by a dog of that same size, shape, breed, and weight. Because the Walkin' Wheels adjusts, it can easily be re-sold or donated to a shelter and used on almost any other dog, regardless of their size.
In any case, it sounds like you are making this decision wisely. I always get a little 'loud' when I hear about veterinarians who recommend against carts. In many cases they just don't yet understand -- but they're learning.
Warmest Regards to you and Penny!
Mark C. Robinson
Mark C Robinson
HandicappedPets.com
For Elderly, Disabled, and Injured Pets; products, services, and support.
HandicappedPets.com
For Elderly, Disabled, and Injured Pets; products, services, and support.
Re: Advice needed in Scotland please!
Is she eating the normal amount but still losing weight?