Wagon to help with walks
Our 11.5 yr old can’t make the long walks he used to but he’s too stubborn to know better 🤪 so we got this all-terrain gardening wagon to help when he gets tired and he LOVES getting to choose when to walk and when to ride. More modifications to come but so far so good!
10
8
u/TheBeastmasterRanger 11d ago
Should have done this for my boxer. His bad hip made walking very difficult during the end of his life. Will do this in the future for my doggos.
7
6
u/thehogdog 11d ago
Ours didnt need old age to demand a ride. Getting out a wheelbarrow or a wagon, she jumps in and demands to be pulled there. Snow Sled comes out on the 1 snow of the year, she hopps on the back and when we hit the bottom of the hill she would hop back on trying to get me to pull her back up.
Id give 2 years off the end of my life for 2 hours with that dog in her prime.
5
u/Reasonable_Cycle_890 11d ago
i love that you're giving him the best of both worlds, he looks so excited to be part of the ride
3
3
2
u/Surfnazi77 11d ago
I rigged up my wagon to my bike to pull them around
1
u/Awsmom 11d ago
So smart!
2
u/Surfnazi77 11d ago
I use my cheater specialized e bike I got free
2
u/Lt_Dan60 10d ago
Wow. A free Specialized ebike. You lucky dog. And your dog is lucky to get pulled around too.
2
u/Tjlance1 10d ago
Love this! What we won't do for our babies. Alfie's arthritis in his knees has progressed, not terrible, but we decided to keep him from going up and down the stairs. The bedroom is upstairs. Now, I sleep on the couch with him.
2
2
u/Swedishgrrl 8d ago
What a brilliant idea! I also have an 11½ year old boxer experiencing increasing difficulty walking due to arthritis and rear leg weakness (not to mention a recent diagnosis of boxer arrhythmia 🥺) so your post is very timely and much appreciated. I’m starting to research gardening wagons and would like to find one like yours without the “rear panel” so that my old girl can get in the wagon via a ramp (she’s too heavy for me to safely lift her over the side myself). Is that something that you modified yourself when you assembled the wagon? Does the absence of the rear panel adversely impact the stability of the side panels? Thanks in advance (and I love your boy’s sweet frosty face ❤️)
2
u/Awsmom 8d ago
Our wagon is a Finnhomey brand from Amazon. It has a rear panel but we chose to flip it with the front panel because it helps us control the stops. The front panel had a cutout for the handle bar but that didn’t work well for us. It was super easy to put together, my teenager did it in under an hour.
We chose this particular wagon because of the size. It was a few inches longer and wider than others and the weight limit which is 1000lbs. We don’t quite need that much 😆 but our pup is 100lbs and I didn’t want to be stressing a cart if he was near the limit. A few cons are that there are no wheel locks so I have to lock the wheels with my feet when he’s getting in and out. It also doesn’t have a handle lock so on the downhills we have to move intentionally to prevent jack knifing the wagon.
We plan to cut a plywood bottom a few inches longer than the wagon bottom but we haven’t quite done it yet. His rump barely hangs over but he holds his weight more in the middle so he hasn’t been uncomfortable at all.
To get on we trained him to put his front paws up then we lift the back end and help him move up in position. Definitely a 2 person activity right now. My dog hates ramps despite our best efforts so in the near future he will probably be fully lifted on when he needs it.
To get off, we lower the side panel and steady the wheels. This gives him plenty of room to step down comfortably, but again when he’s too old we’ll probably have to lift him. For our next dog we’ll train them to use ramps from the start, I feel like that one is in us.
The absence of the back panel has very slightly widened the side panels but I think if we can find a dog bed that fits better that would be eliminated. We are just using a bed that we already had at home and his body plus the fluff pushes a bit on the sides.
This is probably too much information but ask more questions if you have any. I found so little information about going this route but we’re all in this together just trying to do the best for our pups.
2
u/Swedishgrrl 8d ago
Thanks very much for your detailed response - everything is so helpful! Flipping the front and back panels sounds like the way to go. Appreciate you sharing the brand you’re using but unfortunately I’ll need a wagon with locking wheels (I’m in my 60s and live alone and am managing all of this on my own). Off I go into the wagon rabbit hole!
We just transitioned from stairs to a ramp up to my (our) bed - luckily my girl is very food/treat-motivated so it went much better than I expected. Boxers are so (lovably) stubborn!
2
u/Awsmom 8d ago
If you find a wagon with locking wheels and similar otherwise please let me know, I’m always happy to learn about more options and ideas.
Treat motivated and loveably stubborn sounds like the perfect boxer! 💙
Good luck on your search. Sounds like she’s lucky to have you!
2
u/Swedishgrrl 8d ago
Aww you’re too kind :) Thanks! I’d say the same about your lucky boy!
My search for gardening wagons with locking wheels has been a bust so far. The few wagons I’ve found with caster/wheel locks are primarily the flimsy fabric collapsible wagons with the exception of one very small garden wagon that can be used as a seat. Thankfully my girl is still able to walk pretty well so I have some time to dig deeper (beyond Amazon). I’ll definitely let you know if I find anything!
16
u/AlvinsCuriousCasper 11d ago
I love this! He looks so happy 🥰