T - L Disc Disease ( Back )
Surgery- If your pet has had a hemi-laminectomy, we recommend a cart after 2-3 weeks.
The cart will encourage your pet’s return to normal function, by supporting the back in a level position and taking stress off the back and hind legs.
Once your pet regains the ability to stand on its own and take a few shaky steps, then the walking option provided with the cart should be put on to encourage further rehabilitation.
Please note that use of a cart will NEVER prevent a pet from coming back to walking on its own again if it is going to do so.
On the contrary, use of a K-9 Cart will speed up the recovery process, while making Nursing Care easier,
helping prevent bladder infections and Decubital (pressure) sores that occur when a pet drags itself around on the floor.
A cart is not necessary after surgery when a pet continues to make steady uphill progress to return to full function.
However, if it plateaus off at a certain stage, then use of a cart will give it that extra push to enable it to return to independent walking.
No Surgery - If surgery is not indicated or possible, then once a pet has recovered from the initial shock of a ruptured disc, use of a K-9 Cart is recommended.
This will provide mobility, improve quality of life and help you with the Nursing Care needed to keep your pet in good physical condition.
Many pets do return to walking on their own with conservative care and it is extremely important to keep the spine and limbs in alignment, while preventing bladder infections and pressure sores.
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Cervical Disc Disease ( Neck )
Surgery- Post-surgery, after pain has receded and to aid with rehabilitation, we recommend a totally
supportive four wheeled cart if the fore limbs are either rigid or non-supportive. A four wheeled cart will give the total support necessary while allowing the feet to be in a
normal standing position allowing you to work with your pet towards rehabilitation. Keeping the pet up on all fours has the added benefit of keeping the pet off its side and
helping prevent pressure sores or added medical conditions. If you pet is strong in the rear legs and just needs temporary support in the front, a Walkabout front harness may be the answer.
Wobblers-This condition is usually associated with Dobermans and is caused by instability in the neck area.
Provided there is no pain present post-surgery, a four-wheeled cart is recommended to aid in rehabilitation and nursing care.
No Surgery- Cervical pain is very severe and usually surgery is recommended. We would suggest taking your pet to an Orthopedic Specialist.
Since pain is usually present, we do not recommend a cart.
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Fractured Backs
Surgery- If surgery has been performed by placing either a plate or pins in your pet’s back, you will have been instructed to keep your pet as
quiet and immobile as possible for 6-8 weeks to keep the spine aligned and allow the surgery to heal. Sometimes, especially with a younger dog or puppy, this is very difficult to accomplish as of course,
they want to drag around and they can be wild if confined in a cage or small area. They usually drag in a hunched back position with their legs either straight out underneath them or out back of them.
We have found that very often less damage is done to a fractured back, by placing the pet in a cart, keeping the back level and supported, while allowing the legs to be kept in alignment while healing occurs,
however, do check with your veterinary surgeon and allow him to make this decision.
No Surgery- If surgery is not recommended, then there is usually too much displacement, or the spinal cord itself is severed.
Once the pet is no longer in pain, we recommend a K-9 Cart as soon as possible. Use of a Cart will help keep the back in a normal position, allowing the legs to hang in alignment from the hips.
Use of the K-9 Cart will greatly increase your pet’s quality of life through mobility, nursing care, as well as help prevent problems associated with dragging around.
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Spinal Tumors
Provided the Tumor is not causing any pain and the pet is healthy other than this problem with strength in the front legs, then a K-9 Cart is indicated.
If the pet is not strong enough in the front legs, but is able to stagger around equally well on all four legs, then we recommend a Walkabelly for support.
If the pet is weaker in the rear legs, then a Walkabout Rear Harness is recommended.
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Embolism (Blood Clot in the Spine)
A K-9 Cart will aid in rehabilitation both for the totally paraplegic pet and the pet returning to mobility.
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Degenerative Myelopathy
There is no surgery for this problem at this time. Degenerative Myelopathy is characterized by the pet starting to drag its toes and knuckling over on one rear paw.
It then travels to the other rear paw and this leads to a stumbling, weaving gait. Eventually, this condition will travel up the spinal cord and start affecting the front legs;
however, especially in the younger pets, this can take some time. There is no pain associated with this condition and pets are bright and alert, other than their loss of mobility.
Provided your pet is still strong in the front legs (see our Pet Evaluation section), we recommend a K-9 Cart.
Carts give pets back their dignity, allowing them to go for walks and go back to their normal routines. Elimination is performed while running around in the carts, thus helping with cleanliness.
Strong in the Front Legs If your pet still has some use of the rear legs, you can use the Cart with the Walking option, which gives full rear support,
while allowing the stress and strain to be taken off the back and legs, allowing your pet to place the rear paws and walk.
If all use of the rear legs has gone, then the K-9 Cart comes with supportive slings allowing the legs to hang in alignment and still move and exercise if still able to do so.
Not Sure About Front Leg Strength If you are in doubt as to your pet’s fore limb strength, you may send us a video of your pet
supported by a sling or towels, under each hind leg. We shall be happy to evaluate it for you at no charge and based on our experience, make a recommendation.
Weak in the Front Legs If your pet is weak in the front legs but is still eager to move around, we would recommend a cart with front extensions which can be viewed on our
carts page.
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Hip Dysplasia
Surgery- There are many surgical procedures that can be performed for this problem depending on the age and severity of the problem.
A pet should recover with rehabilitation and if it is necessary, we do have a Walkabout Rear Harness to aid with mobility.
No Surgery- If surgery is not indicated or practical, then a K-9 Cart will help with mobility, provided the pet is strong in the front legs and is not in any pain.
The rear legs can either be down in the walking position, or up and protected.
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Arthritis
Care has to be taken in evaluating a pet with an arthritic condition, as pets adapt to their disabilities by sometimes walking with legs splayed out to the side and have
their own way of balancing themselves. Although, when we place them in a cart, we give them total support for their rear legs. We ask them to walk in a straight direction and this is sometimes hard for them to do,
but they can learn to adapt with time. We suggest placing slings under each leg to simulate the leg ring support afforded by the cart and see if they will walk along well with this help.
If in any doubt as to your pet’s adaptability to handle a cart, send us a video for evaluation by our experts.
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Fractured Limbs
Consult with your Veterinarian as under certain conditions, K-9 Carts will be beneficial in promoting weight bearing allowing healing to occur,
while taking stress off of the injured limb. Another alternative is the use of a Walkabout Rear Harness. If a front limb is affected, then consider a Walkabout Front Harness. Each case will be evaluated individually.
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Knees, Patellae & Cruciates
Surgery- A K-9 Cart with the walking option is often very helpful after surgery particularly, when it is suspected that the other leg may collapse,
while the surgical limb is repairing itself. If the limb has a splint on it or severe swelling is present, then you will need to consider a Walkabout Rear Harness as a temporary support aid.
No Surgery- If surgery is not an option then a K-9 Cart would give support to the rear limbs, while still allowing minimal weight bearing.
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Birth Defects
Each case is unique and needs to be individually evaluated. We will require a medical history and a video of your pet showing what it is
able to do on its own and with sling support. We consider every case a challenge and will do our utmost to provide your pet with mobility and an improved quality of life. Please consult us as we do have answers.
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Quadriplegics
Each case is reviewed carefully. We recommend you send us a video showing what your pet can do with front and rear sling support, so that
we can establish what cart design would work best for your pet’s specific condition. We have different designs for our 4-wheeled supportive carts and we shall be happy to evaluate your pet
and call you with our expert advice. We have made up carts for several pets with no front legs and front limb support carts, to name but a few.
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Neurological / Balance Problems
Each case is different and we request that you send us a video showing what your pet is able to do on its own and with sling support.
We have been dealing with problems such as this for over 30 years and we are eager to help bring a better quality of life to your pet.
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Amputees
Rear Limb - Surgery- Post-surgery a Walkabelly Harness is very helpful, balancing your pet until it accommodates without the limb.
If your pet lost a limb some time ago and is now having problems with the support in the remaining limb, then a K-9 Cart with the walking option will help with mobility,
while protecting the remaining limb from collapsing.
Front Limb - Surgery- Loss of a front limb is much harder on a pet, as most of its weight is carried on the front limbs.
Once the incision has healed, a custom Walkabout Front Harness will give support, while your pet is learning to balance on the one front leg.
For those pets that lost a leg some time ago, a Walkabout Front Harness is a temporary means of support taking some weight off the remaining leg.
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Front Limb Weakness
If you have a pet missing front limbs or with a front limb weakness, please see our carts page. If your pet does not fall under any of the
options discussed on our carts page, please contact K-9 Carts for a custom evaluation.
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Unknown
Your pet may not fit into any of the above conditions and yet it is having mobility problems.
Please call us or send a video and we shall do our best to suggest what form of mobility aid would work best for your pet's problem.
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Evaluating Your Pet
Breed Specific
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