# Anyone have experiencing training a dog to walk with a wheelchair bound person?



## itisdieter (May 16, 2010)

My dad gets his rescue GSD Friday. He can walk, but has serious rheumatoid arthritis in his knees.

We have a really nice powered wheelchair he plans on using to walk the dog with.

Anyone on the board have any experience with doing that? Any tricks you can share. I'll lag behind them the first few days to make sure all goes well, but I have no experience with dogs and wheelchair bound handlers.

Thanks for any tips you can share.

Cheers.


----------



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

No personal experience, but have you seen this video?


----------



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Someone on the board has posted a video of someone in a wheelchair competing in a Schutzhund trial with their GSD, and it was amazing! If I can find it I'll post it, but hopefully someone else will beat me to it.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Prodogz Schutzhund Equipment
Jason Lake. I bet he would be very helpful with your questions.
Cassidy's mom that was a great video!


----------



## itisdieter (May 16, 2010)

Cool movie, thanks *Cassidy's Mom!

Thanks for the link, *onyx'girl, we get his rescue Friday @ 7, hope she does well with dad.


----------



## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Is the dog trained to walk alongside a person walking on a loose leash without pulling? Tessa had that down perfectly before I ever introduced her to walking next to a wheelchair or power scooter. I treated it the same as if I was upright and walking.

The dog really needs to know not to pull. I think more so with him being in a power chair. With a manual one if the dog got ahead it would just pull the chair but I don't know what that would do to a power chair. Spend a lot of time with the dog learning how to adapt his pace in response to your dad, and your dad should never adapt his pace to the dog because that will be teaching him to pull or lag behind.


----------



## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

When I did Levels Classes with Abby, there was a lady in my class who used a powered wheelchair. The training was the same with her dog as it was with all the other dogs - teaching the dog to walk nicely on a loose leash, using treats and the clicker. She used a head halter for a while during the training process. But it was basically approached the same way as teaching a dog to walk nicely next to a person walking.


----------



## momsgoingaited (May 21, 2010)

Have him pick up a copy of "Teamwork I & II" - tons of training techiniques for those of us with physical limitations, like myself.
Also TONS of ovedience training as mentioned by the others - you MUST have a dog that doesn't pull before you can teach it to pull.


----------



## itisdieter (May 16, 2010)

Dad got the dog last night (Friday), and Gretta did great with him in the wheelchair.

He didn't do so good, and went too fast, drove off the sidewalk, and got stuck in the mud.

They went again tonight for a good long walk, and the animal and human both performed admirably.

Thanks for the tip on the books momsgoingaited, dad loves to read and I'm sure he will pick them up.

Cheers!


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

my GF's 88 yr. old mother used a walker
and wheel chair. our dog would heel when walking
beside her.

i taught my dog to heel on or off
leash. he wasn't taught to heel
with the wheel chair or walker. when
our dog was around my GF's mother
he heeled for her. he heeled with
the walker or wheel chair.

i think once you teach your dog to
heel he's going to do it with the wheel chair.


----------



## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

What a great thread thank you Itisdieter! My partner is confined to a manual wheelchair (he's a low functioning paraplegic) and I have been interested in this question! He doesn't have much to do with my girl yet as it was a fairly recent accident so he is in bed most of the time. I am STILL trying to teach Molly how to heel properly so I guess I need to do that before he tries.


----------



## Hunther's Dad (Mar 13, 2010)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Someone on the board has posted a video of someone in a wheelchair competing in a Schutzhund trial with their GSD, and it was amazing! If I can find it I'll post it, but hopefully someone else will beat me to it.


Here it is (for his SchH III):

YouTube - Jason Lake & Dante earn their Schutzhund 3


----------



## itisdieter (May 16, 2010)

bianca said:


> What a great thread thank you Itisdieter! My partner is confined to a manual wheelchair (he's a low functioning paraplegic) and I have been interested in this question! He doesn't have much to do with my girl yet as it was a fairly recent accident so he is in bed most of the time. I am STILL trying to teach Molly how to heel properly so I guess I need to do that before he tries.


Do it! bianca. walking the dog is great for a person's mental well being, and it is good for a confined person to get out of the house.



Hunther's Dad said:


> Here it is (for his SchH III):
> 
> YouTube - Jason Lake & Dante earn their Schutzhund 3


Great link, thanks Hunther's Dad


----------



## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

itisdieter said:


> Do it! bianca. walking the dog is great for a person's mental well being, and it is good for a confined person to get out of the house.
> 
> 
> 
> Great link, thanks Hunther's Dad


 Thank you! I want him to come with me at times (when I don't take her to the beach) but to date he is not interested  However in the last couple of days he has thrown the tennis ball for her.....that's progress!!!!  She is definitely great for my mental health.


----------



## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Once Molly is 2 you can also teach her to pull him in the wheelchair  I've been working on this with my girl Tessa.


----------



## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

Lin said:


> Once Molly is 2 you can also teach her to pull him in the wheelchair  I've been working on this with my girl Tessa.


Thanks Lin, I would love them both to get to that stage!


----------

