Best Friend MobilityDog Wheelchair - XX-Small

I really like this wheelchair. I have an 8 year old Yorkie who has knee problems. I can't afford the surgery so the vet recommended the use of a wheelchair and glucosamine and aspirin daily. I originally bought a wheelchair on eBay and she hated it. It was for dogs that were completely paralyzed in the rear legs and she is a very active dog whose back legs are just weakened by her condition. I debated for a long time about getting her a custom dog cart or this one off Amazon. I compared the product reviews, price and design. The custom ones for her size cost about $50 more and, to me there wasn't much of a difference in design. I also liked that with this cart, you could readjust it later if her condition changes or her weight fluctuates.It also includes slings for the back in the event that your dog is actually paralyzed, so you can keep the back legs from dragging. It wasn't terribly hard to put together, although the instructions are vague at best. I found a few YouTube videos that helped. She seems to like it a lot better than her old one, since she can used her back legs some and she can also "use the bathroom" while in it. After reading reviews I ordered her the x small. For reference, the box says its for dogs 5-15 pounds. There is an xx-small one available on the Best Friend Mobility website for dogs smaller than this. My Yorkie is about 11" long from neck to nub and weighs 10 lbs. I had to adjust the with of the cart because she is quite narrow.

If you are thinking about buying this product, just do it! Our dog with degenerative myelopathy who can't even support his own weight has gained his full mobility back with this product. He loves going for walks and being able to go to the park. I think some of the negative reviews stem from the product being a bit difficult to put together. You just have to have someone a little bit handy who knows what to do with all the screws and such. When it is well adjusted it works perfectly, even for our big dog. He is 130 pounds and we went with the large. It doesn't go by weight, it goes by height. So buy the one that is the correct height and it will work for you!

I have had the dog wheelchair for about 2 months now. I wanted to wait until my dog had been using it for a while before I gave a review. I do agree with the other reviews when it comes to this product. The quality is poor for the price, the directions are awful, riddled with typos, as is the website, and I could find no video on their site or on line for their product on the best way to get my dog in and out of it. That being said, my dog loves it.Out of box it had issues, the directions are not clear and when I got it out, put together and my dog into it, she fell through it. Everything was tight, but I found that I needed a spacer for one of the screws that just was not long enough to hold the leg straps in place, once she was in it. Not a fun experience for me or her. I placed a call to customer service at 6pm Arizona time, they called me the next day and emailed. I will say their customer service was very, very good and helpful. They responded right away, via phone and email, even though I had solved the issue on my own. Excellent customer service.As for the product: I recommend flipping the harness part over so it is upside down from how it is described to be placed. I found having the clip on the harness with the red strap, going up and connecting over the shoulder, of my dog, far easier to get her in and out of the wheelchair. I have 55 lb dog, this was not easy for her to get use to, having her feet up and in the stirrups, had her going backwards, which was fixed by getting a pair of booties for the back feet and letting the back legs hang for a while until she is more comfortable. I have since put one of the back legs in the stirrup and she is fine with it. If your dog's back feet are not going to be in the stirrups and will drag on the ground, get a pair of booties to protect the feet.We did her first couple of outings in the backyard and within a week, she was off on her own, no parent required, even at the dog park. The booties will fall off, so always supervise your dog when she is in the wheelchair, so you can find the booties. She is not in it all the time, just when we are out and about, once in the am and once in the pm, not more then 60-90 minutes each time. We worked up to this time. Start slow, maybe 15 minutes each outing for a few days and so on, it is not comfortable and will take time for certain muscles to get use to being in the new position. She may need some treat encouragement the first few times too. Thankfully her front legs are strong and help her get around in the house, but this wheelchair has made going to the dog park with my other dogs fun for her again. Give your dog time, smaller dogs will take to it far easier then larger dogs because they have a lower sense of gravity. She has been knocked over twice, once when a dog ran into her and once by a dog that did not like the chair. Do not leave your dog unsupervised as she will need your help to get the chair back up, if she falls over in it. Always bring the spare parts and tools with you, as just the movement can loosen the screws, but other than that, it is light weight, fits in my trunk, even though it does not collapse, easy to clean and she has learned how to go potty without getting any on herself. She can actually trot quite well in it too. It has given her back her mobility and we are all very happy about that. I would definitely recommend it.**UPDATE** After three months, of twice daily use one of the hollow side rails, which bend very easily, broke...not fixable at all, so I took the other side rail, that had not broken, to Home Depot and told the very helpful person I needed to replace the part. I now have two solid side rails and larger parts that hold the straps in place for less than $20 and she is off again. I had to make the siderails myself, but well worth it to see her moving right along again.**UPDATE** 05/29/2014: After 9 months: both sides rails replaced, one tire replaced, the leg harness broke on one side so replaced with wiring through the nyropene, the connecting component for the wheel and the cart itself, finally fell apart and could not be fixed. Thanks HD for assisting with finding suitable replacement parts. If your dog is around the 60lb mark and will treat the cart gently, I would recommend the 40-60lb cart. My dog off roads every chance she gets so we had to go with a different cart manufacturer.

Easy to put together, product is sturdy. My dog took off running as soon as we strapped her in. She was a bit confused but as she got used to it, she became very grateful. She’s lost feeling in both of her legs and this product allowed her to go to the bathroom comfortably. I love this!

Wishing I could give 5 stars! The chair was about 1/2 inch too tall. The measurements I took weren't incorrect, but for an 8lb mini-dachshund with longer back legs than front legs, the straps were too bulky and the wheels slightly too tall. They restricted her front legs just enough that she became uncomfortable and couldn't walk. Her back legs are so thin, that even adjusting the rubber back leg supports to their absolute tightest allowed her to tip the chair and get out of them. We could have really made this work if we physically altered the chair, but we decided to return it, in hopes that there is a better option for our rescue dog's oddly shaped body.The chair was not difficult to put together, but the photos in the instruction manual were different than our model, so it was a little confusing to determine which way was up/down. Other than that, the quality was fine, and the straps/covers seemed comfortable for her. They're a little bulky for such a small dog, but we could've altered it- we just didn't want to ruin the chances if the height was the real problem.

Amazing wheelchair for my 12 yr old boxer. He’s 75 lbs and has been having trouble walking. The wheelchair needed some adjustments to his height but it’s been serving him super well!

Although I had to return the product due to size issues but the material sent was of great value of the price paid. I will surely go for the purchase if it's available in the size I need.

Great chair. Unfortunately since the delivery took a bit, we were only able to enjoy our little dogs mobility before her passing. RIP Kendy. My little girl.

Sturdy but wheels could have more tread. Nuts lose tightness often and constantly need adjusting.light weight

The product looked reasonably constructed, but it could be greatly improved by putting quick release clips in the halter straps of the type used in dog halters. It is very fiddly to put on as it is.The real problem I had was with size. I wanted it for a pug with a large body and short legs. The measurements came out at the lower end of size S and at the upper end of size XS. I ordered S but found it fitted the body but was far too high. Then I tried XS which could be adjusted to the right height but the frame was too narrow and the halter too small. They could definitely give more detailed measurement information.