eddieswheels

WHY CHOOSE AN EDDIES WHEELS CART?

I became involved in carts for dogs when two of my GSD’s, father and son, were diagnosed with CDRM. Initially I was very much against the whole idea but finally decided it was for Prince to make the decision not me. I now have a wealth of experience with K9’s, Dogmobiles and Eddies Wheels carts. I owned several of each. To illustrate my experience with the various makes of cart I have reproduced an article published in Dogs Today in April 2000 entitled Chariots of Fire.

I had been given an American K9. Without trying it I was put off by the bulk and Heath Robinson construction method. Then I saw an advert for the Dogmobile with it’s promise of allowing the dog to lie down while in it. I fell for this and bought one. When it was finally needed we were fortunate in that Prince was by then 13 years old so lively but not boisterous and there were two of us men to put him into it at almost all times. On the odd days when we had to put him into it alone we noticed what a struggle this was. Awkward or not it gave Prince back his mobility and I sung it’s praises. The company would often tell me of people who were having problems and I would contact them to help. I collected unwanted ones and loaned them out, taking photo’s of the dogs without appreciating that we two, with our wealth of experience, could easily put the dog into it, once we had gone however the owner on their own could not manage so easily, if at all. It gradually dawned on me that they were not as good as I thought them to be in fact I would rate them as being one of the worst carts on the market. On reflection I wish I had known then of Eddies Wheels and how light they were. Prince may not have struggled so much in his last months to get around.

The K9, though cumbersome and bulky, was relatively easy to place the dog into and the design allowed the dog to still have some movement of it’s rear legs. The Dogmobile never allowed this and within 6 weeks of being in it Prince could not move his back legs at all. He never did lie down in it nor did the many dogs I subsequently loaned Dogmobiles to. I began to try to loan out only K9’s keeping the Dogmobiles for emergency only.

Via an internet e-mail community Eddie Grinnell, maker of Eddies Wheels, heard of my loaning a Dogmobile to a GSD in Birmingham owned by a seventy year old couple. Within days of this happening the husband had died. Eddie contacted me and asked if he could donate one of his carts to the wife who he felt would be unable to cope with a Dogmobile alone. I gratefully accepted and it duly arrived. I took one look at this lightweight piece of kit and immediately telephoned him to enthuse about it. I wanted this cart to be made in the UK thereby avoiding the air freight and customs duties. Eddie was as enthusiastic as I was he wanted his carts to be more widely available. I learnt to weld aluminium and Eddie investigated the possibilities of shipping them in parts form for assembly in the UK. In the spring of 2002 we began by me e-mailing the measurements to Eddie who in turn would prepare the parts and drawings required. On arrival we assembled the carts cutting the cost almost in half.

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Placing dogs into the various carts.

Heidi in a K9

K9.
For a large dog it is necessary for the owner bring the cart up behind the dog then to stand alongside the cart before placing their hands beneath the dogs stomach and doing a somewhat awkward side lift raising the dogs legs above the saddle before lowering the animal in. Once the legs pass through the loops of the saddle simply grasping the side of the cart and raising it is enough to drop the dog into it. Fastening the various straps is easy. The drawback being the size of the cart and the high back end which makes it impossible to stand over the cart while placing the dog into it. Steel construction makes it heavy. Difficult to fit into a car.

Doggon Wheels
I now own a Doggon Wheels and it is by far one of the shoddiest carts I have ever seen. The cart consists of a neoprene saddle suspended by four plastic buckles from a tubular aluminium frame. On this cart two of these have broken. It has a girth harness which goes over the dog’s back and around it’s chest. It is complex to put the dog into. The girth strap design tends to transmit shock to the dogs spine when it travels over bumps. The carts generally have a wider wheelbase than Eddies despite which they are unstable at speed especially over rough ground where the design allows the dogs body to swing from side to side. While the idea of leaving the rear harness on for moving the dog short distances appears attractive, the neoprene is not breathable, absorbs odours and can chafe if left on for long periods. Both Doggon and K9 support dogs on their soft tissue which can impede circulation to already impaired limbs.

Dax in a Doggon

Eddies carts support on the skeletal structure of the dogs, on the pubic bones and shoulders. This is the most orthopaedic design on the market allowing the back to stretch without stress. The weight of the cart is borne on the wheels and shoulders not on the spine. Eddies padding does not chafe or cause pressure sores. Our carts are easiest to get the dog in and out of. In the video watch this contraption as Dax chases a football. This one was given free to Mr & Mrs Summerfield by a distraught owner who had to have her GSD put to sleep through the inability to cope with the task of putting him into this cart. The Summerfield’s struggled with it, then saw an Eddies and immediately ordered one. I mentioned this to the worldwide CDRM e-mail community I belong to. It created a discussion. Here is an actual message from a Marcy Raunch in the USA.

“To that point, about a year ago, I met another person with a dog in a cart. She had a Doggon and I had an Edddies. She was curious about the Eddies as we were covering ground much more easily. So I suggested she try (as the dogs were the same size). Well, after she tried the Eddies cart, she started crying. She was amazed at how easy it was for her dog to use and also how easy it was for her to put the dog in. Her tears were because she could not afford to run out and get another cart.

Personally, I used to call the Eddies cart “the Porsche”. Please understand, I am not knocking any other carts since I have not used anything but the Eddies…but if I ever have to do it again…it will be an Eddies.”
Marcy, Woof and The Bandit trio

More recently Eddies Wheels in America received an order for Hope along with this appalling tale:-

This is an order for a 60 lb. pit bull (not even an oversize dog!)

"Hope had her 10th vertebrae broken when someone was very cruel to her and dropped her off a bridge. This happened in August of 2001, and Noahs Bark rescued her. Hope had surgery and Shelly of Noahs Bark fostered her until we adopted her in November of that same year. Hope does not have use of her back legs. Hope came with a cart that was donated by Doggon wheels, but because we take her for walks quite often, the cart gave out and she wouldn't walk in it anymore. Shelly with Noahs Bark was kind enough to pay for new cart from Dewey's carts, and that has since worn out also. I contacted Dewey about replacement parts, but he never got back to me, and now it is very hard for Hope to walk in her cart with all kinds of makeshift fasteners, and her saddle hangs so low, her knees almost drag on the ground. Shelly will once again be paying for Hope's new cart, and I have your name several times on the handicapped dogs website, along with a few other cart places that Shelly forwarded to me. I am sending Hope's measurements, and Shelly will pay once again. Thank you for your help, and we look forward to Hope being able to take long walks again. "
Cindy Olsen

It is stories like this that make me determined to make Eddies the first choice in carts. I AM knocking the others. I have them all and none come close to “the Porsche” which is an Eddies.

Prince (Psycho) trying to cope with a Dogmobile

Dogmobile. One has to release a lever on the side before pressing the seat against spring pressure to flatten it to the ground. Then lock the lever to hold it in the downposition. Then standing over the cart lift the dog and make it sit down on the seat while trying to guide it’s paws into bootees which are stitched to the straps holding the foam seat on. Holding the dog onto the seat one must then release the lever causing the cart to lift up as it does one must quickly fasten the chest strap before the dog moves off. And then fasten the other straps. In practice the dog will either try to walk away while the cart is being raised causing one to have to begin again, slip off backwards or slip a leg through so only one is on the platform. The other fun thing is when the shaft comes up on the inside of the dogs front leg. Either way one has to begin again. The dog is sitting flat on a platform making the cart very unstable if used by a lively dog on uneven ground. Solid small wheels make it very difficult for the dog to use on anything other than a paved surface. Of steel construction it is heavy, in some cases twice as heavy as an Eddies Wheels. I have known many many people who bought these only to have the dog refuse to walk in it. Watch Sadie in the video, she hardly moves while in it, eventually fell out of it five times and would not go near it afterwards The notion of the dog lying down in it is almost a fantasy so few of them do. I have had dogs lie down in an Eddies but we do not claim this to be a feature because few of them actually do so. Dogmobile will also advise that dogs can be left in their carts unsupervised all day long. This is reckless and dangerous advice and should be treated as meaningless sales patter with the potential to harm the animal.


Dogmobiles cart for a Dachshund. Dottie looks like Ben Hur in this contraption.	Eddies own Daisy in one of Eddie’s lightweight carts

I took one of these carts to Bingley in Yorkshire where the poor little Daxie had been using a Dogmobile walking frame which was three times bigger than he was and tilted him on such an acute and unnatural angle that the claws on his front paws were wearing down and bleeding.


Eddies own Daisy in an Eddies Wheels. Daisy was the star of a Vets convention at the University of Tennessee where on the final day many of the vets queued up to have their pictures taken with her plus Daisy again proving that you can lie down in an Eddies Wheels !!	Domino minutes after being put into an Eddies Wheels

Prince (Psycho) seconds away from chasing me in his Eddies Wheels

Eddies Wheels. No high rear obstruction allows the cart to be brought up behind the dog and for the owner to stand over the cart and do a straight lift just high enough to clear the saddle which is lying just inches from the ground. Lowering the legs through the saddle loops and raising the side shaft is enough to drop the dog into the cart. Closing the yoke, fastening the chest strap and the dog is off. The centre of gravity is good because the dogs legs hang naturally. Aluminium construction. Very light. Fits easily into a car.

I probably have more experience of placing dogs in various carts than anyone else in the world and of the many true verifiable stories there was an octogenarian couple in Wyndham. Loaned a K9 for their GSD Ruff they simply could not manage to put him into it. I loaned them an Eddies Wheels and Ruff lived for a further year with them putting him into it between them. The husband with arthritis could not manage the locking pins while his wife was partially sighted. He guided her hand to where the pins needed to go and Ruff was off.

Dave a strapping thirty year old had been told by Dogmobile that his seventy year old mother would cope with putting Prince into it alone. Prince was a lunatic of a GSD that I renamed Psycho. I loaned Dave a Dogmobile. Prince kept falling out of it and Dave could only just manage to put him into it alone. A K9 became available and Dave sung it’s praises over the Dogmobile then an Eddies came up and we placed Prince into it and ran because he chased me clear across the park! “Never seen him move like that before Jim. He almost caught you.” Shouted a delighted Dave who later compared them as “He started off with a lorry, switched to a car and now has an E Type Jaguar convertible.”

A middle aged woman in Northwood bought a Dogmobile for her GSD. She simply could not manage to put him into it. I felt so sorry for Hannibal that we used to drive 30 miles every day to put him into it and take him for a walk. How could he have a cart yet be unable to go out? A woman who is now a friend in Manchester phoned in tears “Does my Harry have to die because I cannot get him into this damned cart?” I drove up with a K9 and Joyce easily put Harry into it alone.

Sheba a GSD in Watford plodded on in a K9 but flew around the park once in an Eddies Wheels. Cairo a Newfoundland featured on BBC News could not use a Dogmobile walking frame at all. These are basically a pair of suede knickers hanging in a frame. I loaned him a K9 which he managed to use and then an Eddies which he loved to use.

Teddy a cross bull mastiff refused to move in a Dogmobile. He would not accept having to sit on his back legs. I returned with a K9 and he dragged his owner to the park when she intended going to the shops. Eventually, human nature being what it is I had to stop loaning carts out through losing many when the owners failed to return them once they were no longer needed.

History of the cartmakers
jimcola10

K9 were designed by a vet and are therefore correct for the well being of the dog. The limbs are allowed whatever movement they can achieve. They are however dated and cumbersome arriving in almost kit form. Dogmobile were invented by a farmer for his puppy border collie injured in a accident. The pup was paralysed and grew up in the cart. Lying down in it became natural. Dogmobile purchased the idea. They have no first hand ownership knowledge of paraplegic animals. Eddie is an engineer who has owned and still owns paraplegic animals. I have had two dogs with CDRM and have placed scores of dogs into carts as well as being a founder member of an e-mail community dedicated to CDRM. Eddies Wheels are guaranteed for the life of the dog. I have Eddies carts that have so far served a dozen dogs each and never needed anything replacing other than tyres.

For most people the decision to buy a cart is probably the first time they have ever purchased one. Most people are sceptical as to whether or not the pet will accept it. With no previous experience it is very easy to purchase the wrong type of cart. On arrival however this is all too often put down to the fact that it’s the pets fault. “There I knew he/she wouldn’t accept it” In fact most pets will accept the proper cart it’s the badly designed heavy carts that they will not accept. Following the publication of my article Chariots of Fire a woman ordered an Eddies Wheels. While awaiting it’s arrival she told a man in the park that she had ordered a cart for her GSD. He said she should cancel it. They were useless. He had bought a cart for his Labrador who refused to use it. The dog had been put to sleep. Weeks later she met him again. When he saw her dog dashing around in his Eddies Wheels the man started crying. “I can never let my wife see this. It will break her heart. We never knew carts like this existed.” It was this story that fired me up to get these carts made here. I want above all to know that when the anxiously awaited box arrives the cart is going to work, the animal is going to regain it’s ability to get around. I do not want to send something out that may or may not work or that the recipient may or may not be able to assemble and use. If for any reason the cart does not work then I am available to talk you through it on the phone or for the cost of fuel to come and get the animal going myself if necessary.

Our aim is to make what I consider to be the world’s best cart available at a price that does not include the crippling US airfreight and UK import duty and to give paralysed animals in the UK and Europe the best chance of prolonging their all too short lives. Before we colluded on making these here the imported price of an Eddies wheels or a K9 for a German Shepherd Dog was Exceeding £600 once airfreight and duty were added thereby allowing locally made inferior carts a market.

It is important to measure the dog with a straight edge. Place something solid either end of the area being measured and measure the gap in between. (see chart )

Using the measuring chart measure the animal using a straight edge rather than a tape measure at the points shown. The vital measurements are the thigh width and the chest or widest point (usually the chest). I find the best method to be having somebody help you then place a solid object, book, piece of wood etc either side of the point to be measured then measure the gap in between or bend a wire coathanger across the shoulders and down the side so it touches both front legs. Lift it away carefully and measure the gap. Fill out the measurements in the space below along with any additional information requested.

Name………………………………………………………………………………
Address…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Phone number…………………………………………………………………………..
Pets name………………………………………Breed…………………………………
Weight…………………………Age………………. M/F………..Neutered………….
Describe your pets
disability………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….

Measurements

All measurements must be taken with the pet held in a normal standing position, and should be taken with a ruler or yardstick. Have a friend assists you in doing this but please follow the lines on the diagram exactly we are NOT looking for measurements around the curve of the chest but more straight line across, same with the thigh.

A……………………………Height from floor to top of shoulder

B. ………………………….. Length from centre of shoulder to front of thigh

C……………………………. Length of thigh

D…………………………….Height from floor to groin

E Ribs…………….Chest width at widest point please state widest point.

You are urged to be as accurate as possible with the measurements. Placing a book either side of the chest and measuring the gap in between is one way.


Daisy and skin integrity	Daisy climbs the glacier in 4-leg drive

Daisy after 18 months in a cart
While it is always a joy to see a dog completely recover from profound disability, the vast majority of our business consists of building carts for dogs with permanent disabilities. For them, the carts provide a quality of life that would be impossible without a mobility cart. As the owners of such a dog, a young disabled dachshund named Daisy, who came to us with four herniated discs, incontinent, and no deep pain sensation, the cart has been the only form of physical therapy she has received. Eighteen months from the onset of her disability, she now tracks along in her cart, has reasonable nails on her back feet, and when the terrain calls for four leg drive, she uses her back legs fully to propel herself up hills and through tall grass or snow. She has a great quality of life, and we are pleased to report that despite being a relatively naked flat-coated dachshund, she has no decubital ulcers on her body after being in the cart for almost two years. Skin breakdown and open sores have been a problem with other cart designs that suspend the dogs on the soft tissue of their legs, either in a hard or soft harness. Properly used, our cart design does not cause chafing, pressure sores or decubital ulcers, no matter how long the dog is in the cart.

Front wheel carts
The front wheel carts are a challenge for both dog and owner. They work best for dogs who have no use of their front legs and are used to the concept of rear leg steering. We have tried them on single front leg amputees, and there is a huge demand in that population, but we have found that most front leg amputees would rather cope with their disability by resting often and limiting their exercise to what they can do comfortably. It is the owners, who wish to restore the dog’s endurance, who want the cart, but because it is a difficult learning curve, we find that most single amputees would rather not be bothered with the apparatus. However, for dogs with both legs missing, or malformed front legs, these carts have been very successful giving mobility and preserving normal posture in severely disabled dogs. Such is the case of Lovey, a pug born without front legs who was rescued and now scoots around expertly with the aid of her front wheel cart.

A tribute to the animals and their people
It has been an amazing journey these last five years. We have met thousands of incredible animals whose spirits refuse to be hobbled by their disabilities, and humane guardians who understand that is not necessary to give up their beloved pets in the face of a challenging disability. They are our inspiration. The wagging tails and wet kisses, the tearful eyes as their dogs take their first steps again, the loving bonds between animal and their people – these are the reasons we continue in this work that is stoked with everyday miracles.


	Ketra and her cart.

She's the dog whose owner is a hotel developer in Louisville Kentucky and who bought two carts for her - one for each of his homes. She was in another cart previously but as she's aged, her spine has fused into a more curved position. So Ron had his chauffeur drive the dog here for a weekend visit, and Eddie studied her shape and figured out the angle of her curve. Then she went home, he built the cart, and shipped it not sure whether or not it would work.

Since then, he's built a couple of other scoliosis carts, one for a 6 month old Greater Swiss, and this puppy we're hoping will be able to use the cart to correct his curvature. The padded side brace on that one is adjustable so that we can straighten the spine as she grows. He built another for a dog (Gon) in Japan that had a tipped pelvis as well as a scoliosis. It's curved in two directions - in the saddle and on the side.

BEN THE ALPACA

Text taken from an e-mail from Eddies Wife Leslie.
jimcola16

Ben the Alpaca was in a Doggon at first. Rene Gibson, his owner, called me up and told me she had this paralysed Alpaca in a Doggon and my immediate reaction was "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!" "They've been wonderful," she said defensively," why are you sorry?" "Well, it probably tips over a lot, and the saddle has stretched out and he's got pressure sores inside his legs..." I replied. And she said, "That's why I am calling you. How would yours be different?"

Eddie and I drove 2 hours to her farm, met and measured Ben, who had a wonderful stable with a hoist to keep him suspended when he wasn't in the field or lying down. Eddie's first attempt did not take sufficiently into account the "wing" effect of having his legs in spastic paresis next to his body, so he revised his design, and we went back with another cart a month or so later. This one worked. The fenders prevent his feet from getting tangled up in the wheels, and the specially flared saddle makes it easy to load him into the cart. Everything is basic dogcart design, built extra heavy duty to deal with his size and weight (about 150 lbs.). If you want more pictures of him out in the field, I took about 35 photos of him. Rene complains now that he spends 4 hours or more in the pasture and she can't catch him anymore. He truly has his independence and dignity back.

Rhum
Rhum is a Gordon Setter who lives in Monmouthshire. Here he quite adequately demonstrates all the things that can be done in an Eddies Wheels cart.


He is at first digging for field mice	Once finished he shows just how messed up you can get


Before cleaning off	See, much better now!!

And they wondered why the wheels were squeaking !!!

NOBODY SUGGESTED PUTTING GRANNY TO SLEEP
	Eddies Wheels, telephone 020 8964 4057 Fax 0870 133 3560 50 Barlby Road, London W10 6AP e-mail: jim.colla@lineone.net Mobile: 07880 854 265

Eddies Wheels

NOBODY SUGGESTED PUTTING GRANNY TO SLEEP

WHY CHOOSE AN EDDIES WHEELS CART?

Placing dogs into the various carts.

BEN THE ALPACA