What do you think of doggie wheelchairs?

[True Grit]

Thanks! Romie has had xrays and mris that showed no arthritis or disc problems so the vet thought it could be a degenerative disease (no treatment. no cure). He has been weak on the hind end but manageable until he recently started to go downhill faster so I can foresee that he may not retain his mobility much longer. I started him on glucosamine anyway but he hasn't been on it long and I don't expect any improvement as he isn't arthritic, grasping at straws is all. He's a smart guy (aren't they all) so I'm thinking he could adapt to a wheelchair. He has a few other medical issues but I don't think he is unhappy, he always wants to go out, so I just want to give him a way to do that, I guess. I don't want to keep him going at any cost. If he can't adapt and becomes afraid to go out because he has to go in the wheelchair we'll have to do something else. I have never investigated pools but I know he doesn't like going in the water so not sure I would pursue that avenue.
Thanks for your responses, I'll try to get a video and post it if we succeed with the chair.

 

[xchairity_casex]

Quote:
oh you would be suprised the mircles that can be achieved thru hydrotherapy! dogs who cannot even use there bottom half after only a month are walking with nothing but a slight limp. i really think this would be a great thing to persue and although alot of dogs are frightend at first they soon learn to enjoy it

 

[Smartie_Pants]

My weiner dog has had two back surgeries because of slipped discs, and after the second surgery she cannot use her back legs. They gave us a wheel chair, and she just goes all over the place. If the dog is still lively, happy, and you can tell it has the will to live, by all means get one!

 

[LotsaChicken]

I volunteer at a shelter each week and about four, or five months ago a beautiful, sweet pit bull came in. Her entire hips and rear legs appeared to be completely paralyzed. This is a broke shelter that hardly receives any county funds at all. They euthanize way more than gets adopted, or rescued. It's a shelter in an impoverished county that is so rural it does not have a single Wal Mart and only one town that anyone can name that lives outside the county. In other words, the shelter is really low priority. To make matters worse it hugs the county line and is closer to a town in the next county over than it is to a town in it's own county. The next county over, which is my county, has it's own shelter to be concerned with. The two women who run it try to keep the animals as long as they can and try to get funds from as many organizations as possible. The bulldog comes in and I thought they would euth right away. They were trying to get a grant for shelters that help disabled animals and decided to keep her instead. It was the right choice. She ended up being a wonderful dog. At first they made a dragbag for her, but eventually enough funds were raised to buy her a chair off of ebay. She did well in the chair, but it was difficult to use it inside with her being a large dog. She could hardly get around for knocking things over, but it did work great outdoors. Not two weeks after she received her chair everyone noticed her moving differently. Her backend has healed. She must have had a spinal injury and it healed itself. She is not 100%, but she can walk on all fours now and gets better each day. It's been amazing, but really sad that there is no vet care at the shelter at all.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Quote:
oh you would be suprised the mircles that can be achieved thru hydrotherapy! dogs who cannot even use there bottom half after only a month are walking with nothing but a slight limp. i really think this would be a great thing to persue and although alot of dogs are frightend at first they soon learn to enjoy it

Our Emma lost the use of her hind end. We tried hydrotherapy but it didn't work. Not trying to slam the treatment, just letting you know that it doesn't always work, and we left her there as an 'in-patient' for longterm treatment. Not only did it not work for her, she came back with a UTI. So we paid a lot of money for her to have to be treated by our local vet. Didn't really work out well for us...again, concept good, but for us, not so much.
Our living situation at that time didn't afford the space for a wheelchair. We got a sling for her, which worked a bit. Ultimately, she was happiest dragging herself around on the ground and became quite adept at getting where she wanted to go.
If the wheelchair works for your dog, it's the opposite of cruel. It really gives them independence - it just looks harsh because of how the dog has to be tightly strapped in. Good luck - this is a tough place to be with your pet...
PS - what happened to your signature line?

 

[Beekissed]

If the dog is older and a large breed, it could place some painful stress on the front quarters. To me it seems like trying to wring the last bit of life out of an old, beloved pet....one has to ask oneself, am I doing it for them or for me? Am I letting them live in pain because I can't bear to part with them?

For younger dogs who still have elasticity in their legs and have just had an accident or paralysis of some kind, I say, why not?

 

[dewey]

Most of the animals I have seen have been happy and adapt quickly. If they are not in pain, or if any pain is able to be managed and the owner is willing to go the extra mile for the extra care, I say go for it for them.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Quote:
oh you would be suprised the mircles that can be achieved thru hydrotherapy! dogs who cannot even use there bottom half after only a month are walking with nothing but a slight limp. i really think this would be a great thing to persue and although alot of dogs are frightend at first they soon learn to enjoy it

My dog is so frightened of water I would never put her through the stress of hydrotherapy. It's hard enough to bathe her as it is and I can see the fear in her eyes when I do.

I'd say if the dog still young and isn't in pain then a wheelchair would be good. But if the decline is a natural process then the dog is slowing down and you just might have to accept that. Especially if it put undo stress on the front end.