Hey guys,

I'm in a wheelchair due to a horrible disease, I can walk short short time frames at home (think to the bathroom and back and then it feels like my feet are killing me). We live on this lovely island that has a LOT of hills/mountains, and can be a bit tricky to get up ramps for sidewalks or even just going around with my wheelchair.

I know huskies are natural pullers as they are used for sledding and things like that so I want to take advantage of that! I know she'll need a harness over a collar (no choking allowed!), but what do you suggest, either I a) hold the leash and help her pull me up or b) tie the leash to my chair and help her propel me up.

Either option I WILL be helping her because I'm not lazy lol, just some hills are hard as ever and I require a bit of a boost. I was thinking of attaching her leash to my chair in a couple of spots, so she doesn't yank me out of the chair and make me hit the ground. What do you think? Since she hasn't been doing this type of thin before we'd obviously start slowly and work our way up.

Also, would a back pack with small weight (like a water dish and bottle for her, some toys, treats, poop bags, etc) be too much? I know they're not dogs that can have things stacked on their back, they're NOT a horse, but I want to give her a job or sense of purpose so her life is more enriched, as I know working dogs LOVE to work! Any suggestions would be willing.

Info about my chair:

Its a rigid chair (no folds)
Made from titanium
Brand new and well maintained
Wheels are filled with foam so no puncture risk
I have a static foot rest so two bars in the front that NEVER move, and are very sturdy



This is my chair (excuse the mess on the floor). She wouldn't be pulling me everywhere, just when I needed that boost to get up, as there's some ramps on side walks where I get to a certain point and then I need either my wife or a kind stranger to give me a quick push. What say you?

It can absolutely work, but it's much more complicated than you think.

You can't just put a harness on them and hold the leash or attach it without hurting them.

It also takes some pretty significant training and there's lots to take into consideration. Some service dogs are trained with this as a task in mind, and only about 20% can do it successfully.

She would need training on basic pulling to start, and depending on her size (and yours, not to be too blunt), whether it's even feasible. Her age and hip development also plays a huge role.

I know you said you're not looking for her to do it all the time, but particularly up hills or ramps, that's tough for one dog.

You'll need a proper pulling harness or X-back harness; you're average harness sold at pet stores is not meant for weight pulling and can strain your dog's back and neck.

This site has some really great info:http://www.albrittain.com/service-dogs/training-service-dogs-pull-manual-wheelchairs/

I don't mean to be a debbie downer! I know it seems like it should be pretty straightforward. But dogs are so complicated.

Thank you for your insight not a dowber at all! I figured she would need a pulling harness so that she didnt get hurt. I am planning on training her to ve my service dog and Ill have to evaluate objectively her hips and ability to do this. If she cant thats fine she can help in many other ways =)

weight pulling is actually a sport. We have a member here who has a dog she does it with and he pulls insane weights as a lone dog. If you have a kennel club in your area or a husky club of some kind they may be able to introduce you to the harnesses used for this. They are built with better balance and quality than walking harnesses. After a thorough vet evaluation and much conditioning it is totally possible to use a dog in the manor you are wishing if she passes structure evaluation and is trained.

Kat, that web site you mention has a video at the bottom of it; once completed, you tube selects several more wheelchair / dog videos and (okay, I got side tracked) some of them are really interesting.

Thanks guys! Ill have to see what the vet says and if I can find a husky group as the BC husky club is lovated in vancouver a ferry ride over. I have a kennel club in town though so maybe they can point me to some working sibe breeders (not just conformation though that is fun and of course very very beautiful dogs). I wouldnt want to do anything that hurt her I'd feel so bad.

Oh! Also, since tick and flea season is almost year round (we actually don't get a lot of snow and it maybe gets to -5c on the coldest of days. We are very warm and rainy) what is a good flea tick preventer? We are in Canada so a lot of our products are the same to pur US neighbours

Lessa, I would suggest one of the topical ointments you put between their shoulderblades. Those seem to work very well for ticks and fleas. Frontline Plus is the one I typically use.

I know some here use Advantix and Trifexis. I have a cousin who uses Nexguard (chewable) and it has worked for her.

Back on the original topic, there is one one YouTube video (that I've seen) using a chair much like yours (I think) but that wasn't it! The reason I was looking for that particular video was that it shows several close ups (unintentional, albeit) of the way the lead is hooked to both the dog and the chair.

If I can find it again, I'll update this post....

Thanks Al!

TwisterII wrote:

I know some here use Advantix and Trifexis. I have a cousin who uses Nexguard (chewable) and it has worked for her.

whitehusky3 wrote:

Lessa, I would suggest one of the topical ointments you put between their shoulderblades. Those seem to work very well for ticks and fleas. Frontline Plus is the one I typically use.

Thanks guys! I haven't had to use the stuff in such a time (hairless indoor cats that we watch closely...hmmm) So excited. TODAY IS THE DAY!

LOOK WHO'S HOME! Meet Cara (Care-ah)

Help!! Let me out, I've been trapped by a horrible blue thing!!!

Hello Cara glad to meet you and don't chase the poor furless things too much!

Sweet looking, but maybe tired?, young thing you have there!

Haha my wheel spokes are blue! She would sit up and look out the windows, turn around (get stuck under the wheel chair a few times), lay down, let out the most SATISFIED sigh, and just lounge, then do it all over again. Through every town that we had to slow down for (so all of them) we opened the windows letting her smell the cool mountain air, which she loved!

She's given chase to the cats, but they're holding their own. We have a safe spot for the cats with their own water, food, and of course litter out of Cara's reach. We've given them plenty of love. Navi's already whapped Cara on the nose and made her cry out like she was DIEING (she's not, there's not even a scratch on her snout) and Cara is learning that cats have claws and don't like being over whelmed XD.

She's a puller, and has a bit of bone agression so we're immediately putting her on Nothing in life is free. She has used our yard and gives us clear signs when she wants out, super lovey. We're in love!!!!!

Gotta work on getting her not to pull, its tricky in a wheel chair. I think Imma just slam on the breaks and not move until she cuts it out. Looking at getting her a gentle leader/face halti thingy to help curb it. Off to play she's being demanding (I just got nose punched!!!)

Before you do the slamming on the brakes and not moving, make sure she is trained on recall and if she's using a harness, maybe connect a collar to it as well. Huskies are little houdini's and have gotten out many a harness and/or collars, especially when "stopped" but they wanna keep going. Chair or no chair, those situations can be scary!

Congrats as well, she is beautiful and it looks like you all are so happy to have each other, that is awesome

Thanks Jimmy! We are getting a harness soon. I've made sure to tighten the collar and usually she isn't SO far ahead of me (I shorten the leash mwhahaha! ) So when I stop I grab the collar or her 'scruff'. I talk to her and call her name. She's not the best at recall yet...Shocking? Not really lol. Its a work in progress but we're becoming a very smooth team!

Except for the first morning pee for her today...I didn't check and there was a bunny in the yard. Thankfully it got away but it took 15 mins for her to remember she had to pee.

Hey Lessa, try connecting her collar to her harness with some kind of tether. That's what what I do with my pup. We use a carabiner and it's saved Red several times when she slipped her harness. I absolutely agree with Jimmy on this especially if you plan on connecting the leash directly to the harness.

I most definitely will once I get a harness! I don't want to have to get my wife to drive around looking for Cara, that'd make me feel horrible!