doggy wheelchair

[Two_Sheds]

... i would expect it to be able to manage on three legs reasonably well

That assumes that the damage is in the legs, not the hips.

This dog is a sprightly thing, he powers up and down in his wheelchair. He's happy and yappy

[lindyloo]

that's what i mean- it depends on the dog. so, if its life consisted of, as i saw on a tv program a while back; dog needs to be taken out of cart/ trolley thing, then laid on its bed, turned every hour or so, as it can't manage itself, put in cart to go out, returned to bed, etc. i question whether it is kind. also, i think it depends on the pain level , and in my mind, even numbness is very painful , particularily when the limb is being massaged and coming back to some operational mode. in that particular comment, i meant if it had a limb amputated, they can often manage quite well with three legs. so , i would be ok with that scenario, but if a dog of mine deteriorated to the point of needing a trolley, i would do the kindest thing imo, which is put him/her to sleep as comfortabley and kindly as possible. in my years with horses,especially, i have had to learn that the quickest option is often the kindest. as when injury/ illness reaches a certain point- it is only going in one direction, and it is not really always kind, to prolong that conclusion. i saw a thing on youtube, or a horse forum a while back, where a charity had 'saved' a pony- i think in a hurricane situation, and its limbs were amputated, and it had state of the art prosthetic limbs. i truly was appalled, as the horses legs bear the brunt of huge body weight, in ratio to the leg. this poor pony was then travelled around the country in various venues, as fund raising/ publicity for the charity. travelling is always a balancing act for a horse anyway, and i can't imagine the stress and wear and tear, pressure soreness this pony endures, but in my opinion, it should not be allowed- the poor thing should have been put down to stop it's suffering, and the money used to help more able bodied animals. just my opinion, which i know a lot of people won't agree with, but i think that when you are responsible for the wellfare of an animal, you have to take the hard decisions for the animals welfare, not your own feel good or dependancy..

[Hilary B]

I know where you are coming from Lindy, but it is never that simple. There is often a genuine belief that life is better than death, if the animal shows no evidence of being ready to give up.

[shirlthegirl43]

ooooooh, there's an argument against inbreeding right there.

But anyhoo, it's a great contraption. The chap says the vet would've put the dog down, so he built him a wheelchair instead

Not due to inbreeding T_S just a common problem for short-legged long backed dogs. Our first dachsie slipped a disc cos my brother tripped over him. He was paralysed for a while but we used to 'wheelbarrow' him out for loo breaks etc and he slowly got better. It depends on the position of the slip and the severity I guess. Better than seeing an otherwise healthy, happy dog dragging its back end around.

[lindyloo]

but i didnt say just put them down willy nilly, did i? i said it needs doing when the dog's quality of life has become questionable. and each dog is individual. we all have differing ideas as to what equates to suffering too much. ie shirl the girl's post she is talking about a dog who has a happy outcome in sight, or at least a good chance of a happy outcome. and i am all for that.