@kellyromanych I appreciate the suggestion, sadly I have not been able to find a dog stroller I can pull. (I am blind and use a white cane, so I need the stroller behind me.)
Also the last stroller didn’t have mesh as strong as his (now previous) carrier.
@Turtlecatpurrz I hear you. Most of the pull behind wagons I've researched aren't fully enclosed. They do have leash anchor points. We were considering a pull behind wagon for our elder dog. Never could find one large enough that was safe with his mobility challenges. Even our plastic carrier gets heavy to carry with a three pound bunny inside! I hope you find what you need for your elder pup!
@kellyromanych Thanks! I get it. For all that he’s 13 you wouldn’t know it. I adopted him as my first dog in January. He’s escaped 2 harnesses and the carrier, We’ve been to the Vet ER for 4 eating incidents, and I’ve had to buy all new locking lid trash cans.
Before him I had cats for 20 years… it’s not that I don’t know something about caring for pets…
Bob is endlessly surprising.
@Turtlecatpurrz go Bob!! He picked the right home :) Geo our blue heeler is deaf, and we opted for an extended harness. Took away a lot of the stress we had over him escaping when outside. As we've been building trust and clear comms with Geo, he has settled more and more. Many pets to Bob!
This is one of the harnesses we use:
https://www.chewy.com/ruffwear-flagline-front-clip-dog/dp/1248750
@kellyromanych He’s got a very similar one that he escaped. It’s truly impressive. He’s great, and terrible. I love him and have learned more from him than I can begin to explain. I’ll compare and contrast his harness with that one… I mostly need the carrier/kennel when I take him visiting someone with other animals, or when he goes to visit the sitter, so I still need to find him a portable crate but these are great options.
@Turtlecatpurrz these have been challenging months for you 🫂 If I hear of any more durable and portable crates, I'll let you know. What also reduced our escape stress was to use a Martingale collar (designed for greyhounds). We also use a double ended clip leash. One clip goes on the front chest loop, the other clip on the top of the harness along Geo's back. I've heard of others who also use a short clip from the collar onto the front chest loop as added security.
@kellyromanych Thank you. He is mostly prone to escaping only if he thinks we are being separated. It’s been hard because leaving him is always a challenge. He did that with a healing hip. It dislocated on Sunday, his first old man injury with me. I dosed him with his meds and put him in crate just to run my ballot to the drop box. Was gone for an hour was hoping he’d sleep. Wanted him to stay still while I was gone. He had other ideas.
Just hoping his hip keeps healing now, I don’t know what his story was, but clearly he bonded hard to me and I want to do right by him.
@Turtlecatpurrz oh my your hands are full for sure. I'm happy to share what I've learned, or resources I've found, for dogs who have big emotions. I've always had dogs, and Geo has needed me to learn new things for sure.
@kellyromanych I really appreciate that. I am ready for cats again but I think that Bob may have decided this is a one Bob household for now, so I’ll love on him and do what I can to help him trust. I thought getting a senior would be easier… not health wise of course, but behaviorally.
I guess not.
@Turtlecatpurrz here's a podcast episode from the late Sarah Fisher. She was an early advocate for behavioral based positive training. This episode is long, but has many wisdom nuggets in it. What I really appreciated was Sarah's kindness, curiosity, and patience. When things got hard with Geo, this episode helped ground me.
@kellyromanych Thank you! I’ll definately be checking it out. The trainer and pet sitter both said to go with a hard side style carrier so I got him one of those. He’s easy to love, and challenging to live with, but they are all always worth it.
@Turtlecatpurrz plastic is a safe option. Glad your trainer & sitter recommended that. I did a bit of poking around. There are airline approved plastic crates that have wheels and handles that could work as pull behind ( not telescoping ). Also, there are some plastic cat carriers with wheels and telescoping handles for pull behind. They have been able to accomodate small dogs, too. Maybe the trainer or sitter has had experience with these travel carriers.
@kellyromanych It’s a good thought. The one I ended up with is just a basic crate but it has top and front entry. The folks who work phones at chewy are godsends. I get so overwhelmed looking at this stuff. I might get him a roll behind later if I need but for most trips he’s either just on harness or going from apartment directly to car so roll behind doesn’t matter as much.
@Turtlecatpurrz I'm glad to hear Chewy was able to help. They are one of my top go tos for supplies.
@kellyromanych He also did totally pick me too.
We have a senior dog rescue that works like a cat cafe and lets you just sit and hang out with old dogs.
Went with friends shortly after losing my 19 year old cat, Livvy, and finding I was not ready to rescue more cats.
Bob howled at me, the volunteer said she thought he wanted me to sit with him, so I sat on couch and he crawled up and buried his head in my thigh for an hour.
How could I say no to that?
So yeah, he picked, I just agreed.
@Turtlecatpurrz Livvy trained you well 💜 I would not have been able to say no either. I appreciate you sharing a special moment like that. The patience and respect cats teach us will help you and Bob 💚
@kellyromanych Thank you. Livvy and her sister, Abby will always be in my heart, and Bob has definately benefitted from the lessons I learned from them.
Abby was the tabby, livvy the tuxedo.
I lost Abby about a year before I lost Livvy. Adopted Bob about a month and a half after Livvy’s loss.
@Turtlecatpurrz Abby and Livvy were beautiful cats 💜 I've heard in several ways, from people I respect, that we love the dog in front of us and grieve the one in our imagination. I've found comfort in that. You've been through a lot of change. It's a good season to let go while keeping the love close.
@Turtlecatpurrz one other thing came to mind is a forward facing backpack. I've seen several in use for dogs your pup's size ✌️
@kellyromanych Thanks! That’s a great idea to consider!