I have had the dog wheelchair for about 2 months now. I wanted to wait until my dog had been using it for a while before I gave a review. I do agree with the other reviews when it comes to this product. The quality is poor for the price, the directions are awful, riddled with typos, as is the website, and I could find no video on their site or on line for their product on the best way to get my dog in and out of it. That being said, my dog loves it.
Out of box it had issues, the directions are not clear and when I got it out, put together and my dog into it, she fell through it. Everything was tight, but I found that I needed a spacer for one of the screws that just was not long enough to hold the leg straps in place, once she was in it. Not a fun experience for me or her. I placed a call to customer service at 6pm Arizona time, they called me the next day and emailed. I will say their customer service was very, very good and helpful. They responded right away, via phone and email, even though I had solved the issue on my own. Excellent customer service.
As for the product: I recommend flipping the harness part over so it is upside down from how it is described to be placed. I found having the clip on the harness with the red strap, going up and connecting over the shoulder, of my dog, far easier to get her in and out of the wheelchair. I have 55 lb dog, this was not easy for her to get use to, having her feet up and in the stirrups, had her going backwards, which was fixed by getting a pair of booties for the back feet and letting the back legs hang for a while until she is more comfortable. I have since put one of the back legs in the stirrup and she is fine with it. If your dog's back feet are not going to be in the stirrups and will drag on the ground, get a pair of booties to protect the feet.
We did her first couple of outings in the backyard and within a week, she was off on her own, no parent required, even at the dog park. The booties will fall off, so always supervise your dog when she is in the wheelchair, so you can find the booties. She is not in it all the time, just when we are out and about, once in the am and once in the pm, not more then 60-90 minutes each time. We worked up to this time. Start slow, maybe 15 minutes each outing for a few days and so on, it is not comfortable and will take time for certain muscles to get use to being in the new position. She may need some treat encouragement the first few times too. Thankfully her front legs are strong and help her get around in the house, but this wheelchair has made going to the dog park with my other dogs fun for her again. Give your dog time, smaller dogs will take to it far easier then larger dogs because they have a lower sense of gravity. She has been knocked over twice, once when a dog ran into her and once by a dog that did not like the chair. Do not leave your dog unsupervised as she will need your help to get the chair back up, if she falls over in it. Always bring the spare parts and tools with you, as just the movement can loosen the screws, but other than that, it is light weight, fits in my trunk, even though it does not collapse, easy to clean and she has learned how to go potty without getting any on herself. She can actually trot quite well in it too. It has given her back her mobility and we are all very happy about that. I would definitely recommend it.
**UPDATE** After three months, of twice daily use one of the hollow side rails, which bend very easily, broke...not fixable at all, so I took the other side rail, that had not broken, to Home Depot and told the very helpful person I needed to replace the part. I now have two solid side rails and larger parts that hold the straps in place for less than $20 and she is off again. I had to make the siderails myself, but well worth it to see her moving right along again.
**UPDATE** 05/29/2014: After 9 months: both sides rails replaced, one tire replaced, the leg harness broke on one side so replaced with wiring through the nyropene, the connecting component for the wheel and the cart itself, finally fell apart and could not be fixed. Thanks HD for assisting with finding suitable replacement parts. If your dog is around the 60lb mark and will treat the cart gently, I would recommend the 40-60lb cart. My dog off roads every chance she gets so we had to go with a different cart manufacturer.
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Happy to see her happy!
Instructions need some tweaking... To the seller; get someone who writes technical papers to redo the instructions for you , the tech writer should go thru the steps of assembling the product in order to write the instructions... after having read the reviews before I purchased this product I can now see what those reviewers were talking about re: instructions. Initial opinion of product "It looked Flimsy"... Plastic buckles didn't look like they would last. AFTER putting it together and testing with Storm... these last few days I am beginning to think it will survive.... Still a bit concerned with the buckles but so far so good.About the products use: GREAT!!! Storm is 14 years old and a 95 pound ball of fur and she was able to use it after the first few minutes of encouragement (and some snacks)... Once she got moving she knew how to turn corners and actually backed it up, then she walked out the garage and across the street to do her business on the neighbors lawn... (they were ok with that) :-) I was a little concerned if it would hold her weight but Storm showed us it would... she stopped at one point and tried to sit... the slings held her no problem at all. she rested there for a few minutes then stood up and decided to go back home... Not concerned if it will bear her weight anymore.About assembly: Fortunately for me I am mechanically and technically inclined so including opening the box and assembly it took about 50 minutes before I had Storm walking in the wheelchair. It helps if you "lay the parts out" like they do in their illustration. The most time consuming part was adjusting the straps and the front extension bars, that held her in the wheelchair (some trial and error there getting the height and length correct for her body.)The next day we strapped her in and she walked about two blocks. She didn't want to stop, but we saw her back leg getting a little tired so we steered for home; her tail wagging the whole time. She got home and navigated the door steps and obstacles in the house to find a toy. With just a few days of use we have noticed that her back legs are getting stronger... today she actually walked into the backyard and was able to stand without assistance while doing her business. We'll continue to use the wheelchair for walks and chasing the ball...Before we got the wheelchair Storm required assistance to conduct her business...she didn't want to get up to get a drink or food... the weakness and instability came on sudden... she was getting listless. We coped with this for a week while trying to get her up and moving. It got to the point we thought maybe it was time .... :-( I made a sling that we could hold, supporting her as she stood for her business, and noticed a big improvement in her both physically and mentally. Seeing this we decided to purchase the wheelchair to see if she would want to walk again... She loves it.Happy to see her happy!
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Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on November 10, 2024
produit de qualiter
Size: LargeVerified Purchase - buyer76Reviewed in Canada on October 7, 2024
Very cheap materials, plastic and aluminum
Size: LargeVerified Purchase
Like alot of other are saying, this is very overpriced for what it is. It is hard to assemble and even harder to adjust. My dog is an 8.5 year old German Shepherd with moderate DM. He still likes to play ball and move around so I thought this would be a good option to balance him so he doesn’t fall over sideways. The first issue I found was during assembly, the washers for the wheels lock the wheel when you fully tighten the wheel bolt like the instructions say. I had to loosen the bolts to get the wheels to spin. Problem 2: the adjustment of the front harness, there are no instructions on how to get the correct fitting for your dog so I had to fiddle with it for over an hour. Problem 3: it flips over when the dog tries to turn and once it flips your dog cant get up so you cannot leave the dog unsupervised for any length of time. They say this is for large and xl dogs, it is much too light. The tires in the picture appear to be treaded all terrain tires made of rubber, the ones provided are made of cheap foam/plastic. For $400 this should be better and heavier duty. Highly misleading and disappointing product.buyer76Very cheap materials, plastic and aluminum
Reviewed in Canada on October 7, 2024
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- VarshaReviewed in India on March 26, 2022
Wonderful product! Great material used
Size: LargeVerified Purchase
