Hej, So our dear Godzilla isn't doing too well with the longer walks that Jackie needs, but if I try to leave him behind and walk them separately, Godzilla howls and cries loudly. My mom works nights, so that is a no-go. It isn't that he CAN'T take long walks, he just doesn't want to. Some days, when the stars align or something, he will just keep walking and walking for hours if we'd let him. Today, as soon as I let him off the lead on the driveway with Jackie, they both zipped straight home at a gallop. No pain, no wobble, no limping, even though he had been stubbornly refusing to walk for more than a few steps for 15 mins before that. On a normal walk, when we aren't on our property, about 3/4 of the way through the walk, he will just lay down and refuse to go any farther. Sometimes he will limp, but the vet assures me that it is entirely for show. He's always been like this, and I've tried everything including rewarding when he walks, holding a treat by his face to keep his legs moving, just unclipping him and walking ahead (and then going back for him, because we have a mean neighbor that I really don't want a confrontation with). This last week, I've had to call to get someone to pick up Godzilla with the car so Jackie and I could continue our walk. So, as to the title; does anyone have any experience with dog strollers? I figure I could push the stroller empty most of the way (and I could keep treats and water in it), then load up Godzilla when he decides he doesn't want to walk any farther and push him the rest of the way. I live in a rural area with a very long gravel drive, so I'm not sure that a stroller is a good idea, but it is a very tempting thought at the moment.
Sounds do-able to me. Have a look at garden carts, kind of like this: https://m.masters.com.au/product/100643231/steel-garden-cart-with-liner Godzilla will probably be even less inclined to walk if he knows he can be pushed, that's the only downside. What other exercise would he be be getting if he refused to walk unless he was in his cart?
I was in a baby shop the other day, buying some second hand clothes for my bub. There was a lady in there buying a second hand baby pram for her dog as she said it was much cheaper than buying one of the proper dog ones so maybe check that out as well
It'd want to be low enough so that Godzilla could walk into it (maybe with a ramp...?). Otherwise a pram would be good, and also entertaining for the onlookers
I might not have used the right term when I said pram. It was more chunky than a stroller but the seat was flat and close enough to step in to. I agree, a dog in a traditional pram would be hilarious
I know you can get really rugged off road ones because a friend uses one. She's has 3 dogs and one of them a collie has a very nasty condition which has cause her ligiments to fail. The collie stays in the stroller and then gets out when she can. Its keep her happy and engaged and she is now about 12 years old having had this terrible condition for most of her life. Her dog stroller is realy good and her owner jogs with her dogs with her collie in it. I don't know where you are in the world but theres an on line company called Inner Wolf they supply lots of dog equipement and they have in the passed stocked this type of dog strolller. If you can find the name perhaps someone near you stocks them or find a similar one where you. Its been a godsend to my friend as its helped Amber not loose heart and have a normal doggy life.
Actually, Godzilla LOVES going for walks, he just refuses to finish them. It's like he has a built in pedometer that dings after he's taken so and so many steps, (different amount each time), so he decides that the walk is over.
I know the feeling! I have arthritis in my knees and I love walking, but I can't go as far as I used to. Exercise is very good - in fact essential - for old creaking joints, but you do have to take care. I have been tempted to get a doggy pram when the pups get to 10Kg and I still have to carry them! .
Right, so I've procured a slightly used, slightly broken, children's stroller with good rubber tires. Now I just need to personalize it to hold a basset hound. Requires some thought.
Here is the stroller before I started working on it. I stripped the padding. Removing extra bits, like the seat. This is what it looks like right now, as I'm taking a lunch break. I still need to add fixture points, padding, and to see if I can refit the canopy somehow.
Sometimes at our Cabin, Tilly will turn around and go back to the house instead of going on a walk. If I pick up a tennis ball she will come along. In her case she sometimes doesn't want to go on a short walk, but if she finds that we are going on a hike, she is all over it. Cooper is always ready to go anywhere. Years ago one of our friends had a very small older Sammy. We took Tucker out for one of our neighborhood walks and after about a 1/2 mile, she said that was as far as she was going. She would go back or sit, but not go forward.
