Walking a dog in wheelchair without hurting him. Any advice

[yeshelp]

HI

I use an electric wheelchair most of the time to roll on the sidewalk, sometimes on grass , on the street and eventually inside the stores. i can sometimes get up a bit and move a bit and go back in the chair. i have a golden puppy and it is kind of dangerous moves sometimes to be honnest.



I feel scared to roll on him or on his tail or paw. My powerwheelchair and I are around 350 lbs probably more and the joystick command response is delayed a bit plus the dog can suddenly take me by surprise and cut me in front of a wheel. On top of that eventually i will have to handle other clients circulating close to me...



How do you adress that? is there a training for wheelchair-dog usage to do?

any tutorial?

any equipment that could help?

please share me your experience because it is one thing to see inventions and a better thing if i can also have a feedback on the product.



So far i use a hockey stick with a hole at the end of it . I pass the leach inside this hole so it is like if i would have an extra long arm but that is very tough on my real arm and it is not very fluent.



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The second issue i want to bring is kind of related. how should i attach him? at the moment i have a leather leach attached to his neck collar.

Wow he can really pull and resist my pulling forward. I can hear his troath make trumpet sound because the pressure is high when he fights to pull forward.



I fear it might hurt him with time(he is 11 weekold) . I also fear that i could damage his vertebra alignment since sometimes unfortunately in wheelchair things are happening is a way that pull suddently and with force versus a normal walking humain owner more gradual relaxed and flexible.



thanks

[Burgerman]

He will learn. My dog walked miles daily for 12 years. Parks, town streets, shops, etc. His lead was always hooked on to my chairs arm. He maintained a position in the exact correct place even when I turned towards him. So much so that when I walked him without a lead he did the exact same thing. As if the leash was still there.

So just be careful and slow initially and after a few weeks he will get it.

Old dog. Old chair too. He keeps the leash relatively taught. He automatically goes behind the chair when going through doors or where theres a narrow gap. He never gets feet where they shoudnt be and he even doe it when no leash exists. They naturally learn where to poition themselves.

Lots of dogs pull when youg to the point of choking themselves. Again they are keen to go! And in time they learn. The secret is that you should stop every time they pull for a few seconds. Go faster when they dont pull. Then they learn that pulling causes them to stop. So the avoid it! Takes months. 11 weeks is a bit soon though.

Be careful and slow initially and after a month he will learn.

https://www.wheelchairdriver.com/gopro/rc2.mp4

[biscuit]

I don't think it's worthwhile to do the hockey stick long arm thing. The puppy will learn in time without that.

[Burgerman]

Mine learned the washing machine by watching. He took everything out very enthusiastically. While I was trying to load it... That was a great game aparently. He never quite did get that I wanted to load it. Only ever any good at unloading. Then I had to chase my clothes around the house.

Puppies calm down as they grow. Only takes about 4 or 5 years.

[yeshelp]

Thanks for the info.
i have stopped using the hockey stick.
I talked to a guy that has had several dogs some goldens to and seeing me in the wheelchair with the puppy he came to me to help with sharing xp and advice.

one thing he said is that pretty soon the dog will have to have the possibility to run to get its energy out otherwise it because a destruction tornado at home instead of a tired dog that wants to rest.

I am curious to know how did you handle the running needs of the dog and how you did get him tired.

I though that just by walking it could be enough but sometimes i come back from walks and he is not tired and still a tornado.

I dont beleive that the dog park with other unknown dog and disease concentration is a good place for a futur service dog so i'm trying to figure out how i will make his energy spend to have less behavior problems.

[Burgerman]

I am curious to know how did you handle the running needs of the dog and how you did get him tired.

I though that just by walking it could be enough but sometimes i come back from walks and he is not tired and still a tornado.

They are all tornados when puppies. A walk with mine was typically 5 miles, maybe twice in summer. Along streets, parks, sea wall. Lamp posts were his favorite.They dont go for the excersize but for the smells strangely enough. Their noses are everything. Or games with a ball. Or hunting rabbits... Just walking some distance isnt what they really want.

[yeshelp]

Yes probably the nose involvement is very important for them.

Any of you used or found a trailer that allows the dog to run within 2 wall. Like a trailer fixed behind the wheelchair on the ciclyclist tracks to make the dog run without risk of sudden change of path?

I cant find the one i saw couple years ago. It was a trailer to put behind a bike but the each half of the bottom was foldable giving you the choice either to transport your dog or to fold the bottom and let him walk or run inside the trailer if you want. Also his view on the side was limited if i remember correctly.

If you know what i m talking about anyone please copy paste a link . It made sense for me even at that time.

thanks

[Burgerman]

Sounds cruel!

[yeshelp]

I agree with you that it might feel a bit cruel not to let him have full view or full freedom compared to being free to move on his impulse .

And at the same time allowing him to spend his energy (basic need) by walking or running in a safe controled way can be seen as less cruel than not exercising him enough or worse punishing him for home behaviors that he might not have done if it had have the chance to spend his energy. I m not saying it is the best option. Im exploring the possibilities so that everybody 's need are getting met in a general manner.

I am not convinced that running(relative high speed) a bike or electric chair with a simple pole attached to a leach is safe for him or other humans when we objectively consider that some dog will change trajectory to smell bikers, crossing dogs or whatever on a cyclist track (where some go fast) with all that can happen to him or the unknown walker or cyclist passing by.

It is a subject open to exploration and I am open to hear all strategies that can be considered. The trailer im kind of searching for seemed like a nice compromise to give an opportunity to spend the energy of the dog in a relatively confortable manner and avoiding the problems that can appear with sudden change of direction of the dog following his impulses. Again, Im exploring

thanks