Finding the right pet wheelchair can be tricky. In this blog post we examine how to pick the right type of pet wheelchair for your pet, compare top pet wheelchair manufacturers, outline key safety tips for pet wheelchairs, and even cover how to build your own DIY pet wheelchair.
Wheelchair Types
Rear Support Pet Wheelchairs
Rear support pet wheelchairs are for the back end of your pet only. This is the right choice when your pet’s only problem involves weak, immobilized, or amputated back legs, and your pet’s front legs are healthy and strong.
Before choosing this type of wheelchair, check with your vet to make sure your pet’s front legs are expected to stay healthy and strong in the future. Otherwise your pet may not be able to use this chair for very long.
Front Support Pet Wheelchairs
Some pets have the opposite problem, where only their front legs are weak, immobilized, or amputated. In this case, the pet wheelchair is mounted on the front of their body, allowing them to move forward using their back legs.
Again, it’s a good idea to ask your vet if your pet’s back legs are going to remain strong and healthy enough for a front support wheelchair.
Quad Cart Pet Wheelchairs
A quad cart has four wheels, and fully supports an animal's body weight. Your pet’s paws will still touch the floor naturally, allowing him/her to move forward using their legs, without needing to support their body weight on their legs.
Quad pet wheelchairs are a little larger, because they provide full support. They are more expensive, as well.
Which Type of Wheelchair Does Your Pet Need?
Rear Support
Front Support
Quad Cart
Safety First
Be aware that your pet can not sit, fully relax, or rest when they are in their wheelchair. That means they need to be doing an activity (like taking a walk or playing fetch) when they are in their pet wheelchair.
Otherwise, you’ve just trapped your pet in a standing position until you let take them out of the wheelchair. They probably won't enjoy that very much, to say the least.
No matter what type of wheelchair your pet needs, never leave them unattended in a pet wheelchair. A responsible adult always needs to be on hand in case your pet has to make a quick exit from their wheelchair.
Top Pet Wheelchair Manufacturers
This may be the best known of the mass produced pet wheelchairs. All three types of wheelchair listed above are available in their product line.
+ Pros
Price
Well priced as pet wheelchairs go, and good quality across the board.
Traveling with Pet Wheelchair
When you need to take the wheelchair with you, it can be disassembled and reassembled easily, making it possible to toss even their largest sized wheelchair in the trunk of a standard car.
Weight
These wheelchairs are lighter weight, which can be extremely helpful for pets who don’t need to be lugging along any extra weight when they move.
- Cons
Hard To Get Pet Into
This is not the easiest design to get a pet into and out of. Your pet will need to learn to be cooperative and a little patient with the wheelchair entry and exit process.
Mass Produced
Most pets will be totally fine in one of the standard sized wheelchairs offered. However, if your pet has unusual needs, double check to be sure this is the right option.
Limited Customizations
There do not appear to be many readily available customized options for pets with unique wheelchair requirements.
Eddie made his handicapped dog a fully customized wheelchair, and his business grew from there. Many years and countless wheelchairs later, he and his small staff can pump out custom chairs at an impressive clip.
+ Pros
Customized to Your Pet
A pet wheelchair purchased from Eddie’s Wheels is bound to fit your pet like a glove, because it will be made based off all your pet’s measurements.
Quality
These wheelchairs are well built and guaranteed against manufacturer defects or damage for your pet’s lifetime. The quality really shows.
Special Options
Special options provide full body support through a quad cart with a headrest for pets who need the extra help, along with a wide variety of thoughtful add-ons to answer many of the problems wheelchair bound pets face.
_ Cons
Price
If you are paying out of pocket for a pet wheelchair, you will find that these wheelchairs are on the expensive side.
Traveling with Pet Wheelchair
These wheelchairs are not specifically made to be disassembled for travel. If you have a large dog, you may need a larger vehicle to transport the wheelchair and your dog. They don’t come apart enough for easy travel, so large wheelchairs may not fit in the trunk of your car.
Weight
These wheelchairs are on the heavier end of the scale. If your pet can’t handle moving the extra weight of the wheelchair plus their own body, they may not be able to walk around much in this wheelchair.
Ok, so those are both awesome wheelchairs, but not everyone can afford them. If you aren’t one of our Pet Medical Cost Share members, paying out of pocket for a wheelchair may not be possible for you. We get it. Luckily, you can also make your own pet wheelchair!
You need to be a little bit clever here. Assuming you already know what type of wheelchair you need, you can start searching for blueprints online. Free directions are available for many types of DIY pet wheelchairs, with a little research.
PVC pipe is a very easy (and cheap) material to make a pet wheelchair from. Consider what kind or terrain your pet will be using the wheelchair on as well: Indoor terrains, such as carpeting or slippery tile and wood floors? Outdoor terrains, such as gravel, mud, grass, snow, ice? Find the right wheels to roll over the areas your pet will need to access year round.
How We Can Help
Medical Cost Sharing is a community of people who rely on each other to pay their medical bills. We provide the first Pet Medical Cost Share, where pet parents combine forces to improve their pet’s lives on a long term basis.
Check out your Pet Membership options to join our community today.
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