How to Make a Dog Wheelchair out of a Regular Wheelchair

Give your large dog a "people" wheelchair when he can no longer follow you around

Making a wheelchair from scratch for your large dog can be challenging for the novice builder, and buying him a new one can eat a hole in your pocket book. The good news is that if you have a giant canine pal who can no longer go for long walks, you can adapt a human wheelchair so he can plant all four paws firmly on the ground once again.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Used manual wheelchair
• Drill
• Welder
• Dog harness
• 2 eye bolts with nuts 1/4-inch
• 2 carabiners
• 2 pins or nuts and bolts 1/4-inch
• 2 heavy metal bars
• 1 heavy metal brace

1. Discard the parts of the chair your canine companion won't need, according to the article entitled, "Building a Wheelchair" on the Harlequin Haven Great Dane Rescue website. Remove the foot rests, the cross brace (the X-shaped bars underneath the chair) and the canvas on the back, but store the back canvas to use as a replacement seat later.

2. Replace the cross brace with two heavy metal bars to form a square at the bottom to give the chair extra support for your large dog, says Harlequin Haven. Weld a heavy metal brace across the top of both handles, connecting them for added strength.

3. Adjust the seat so your dog will easily be able to slide into his new chair. Unscrew the canvas seat on one side and drill the holes large enough to replace two of the screws with eye bolts (screws with a round, looped top that looks like an eye), as demonstrated on the Great Dane rescue site. Insert the metal caribiners (loops than open on one side to "hook" onto something) through the holes in the seat, and attach them to the eye bolts to allow the seat to be "opened" on one side for easy entry. Raise or lower the seat to make your dog comfortable, and drill more holes if needed to create more height options.

4. Release the carabiners, allowing the dog to enter the chair from the back, underneath the bar you welded onto the handles, so that his head pops through the front, as the Harlequin Haven website shows. Refasten the carabiners in place, underneath your dog, and attach the harness on either side of the chair to keep him snugly in place.

References

• Harlequin Haven Great Dane Rescue: Building a Wheelchair