Five Reasons to Use a Dog Stroller

I've always thought that pet strollers were for spoiled dogs, and crazy owners who refuse to let their small dog walk. Then I bought one for $5 at a thrift store. It turns out, there are more reasons to use a stroller than because you want your dog to be fat. Here are the ones I've discovered so far:

1. Your Dog Can't Walk 

Spoiled, spoiled dogs.

A stroller is a fantastic way to include a dog with mobility issues on your adventures. Whether it's a senior dog that gets tired easily, or a young dog recovering from knee surgery, a pet stroller is a comfortable way to bring them along without overdoing it.

2. The Pavement is Hot

Summer is upon us, and so are all the warnings about the dangers of walking your dog on hot surfaces. How do you keep your pup's feet safe while you walk to the nice grassy park? Shoes are one option, a dog stroller is another.

3. It's Crowded

It's really easy to step on a tiny dog. While I hold a deep and abiding loathing for people who insist on wheeling any sort of human or dog stroller through serious crowds, I do see the value of using one of these things on visits to bustling downtown areas.

4. You Have a Baby Puppy

It's important to get puppies out and about to see the world before they finish their immunization schedule at 16 weeks, but you can't put them on the ground because pathogens like parvo can hang out down there for years. A stroller lets you take your pup around in a way that's comfortable for you both.

5. It's a Dog Crate on Wheels

This was my revelation, moments after sticking Ru in our thrift store stroller for the first time. I expected him to find it foreign and weird, but he just settled down immediately like it was a perfectly normal place for a chihuahua to be. The materials and construction are very similar to my fabric dog crates, it's just a different shape. With that discovery, I suddenly realized how convenient it could be to have a safe and secure mobile dog crate. I guess dog strollers aren't for crazy people after all!

Product Review: Ruffwear Doubleback Harness

Ruffwear's Doubleback Harness is literally the dog-lifting harness to end all harnesses. Often purchased as a mobility aid, this thing is actually built for hoisting your dog up cliffs. "Strong, safe, and secure" are understatements. Modeled after serious human climbing harnesses, it features doubleback fasteners, secure attachment points, and is strength rated to 2,000 lbs of force. The Doubleback Harness is available in four sizes to fit dogs with chests 17-42" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

Photo by Erin Koski

Let me start by saying that this harness is way to big for Brisbane. It's a L/XL, for dogs with chests 32-42" around, on my 26" dog. It's actually covering his bits so he would definitely pee all over it. Ruffwear's fitting video specifically states that the bottom pad on the harness should not go further back than the ribcage. Brisbane would wear a size small Doubleback harness, we happen to have this one because I snagged it on ebay for $45, listed as a Front Range.


The specialized Doubleback differs from other harnesses in a number of different ways. First, there's no leash ring at all. I'm assuming this is to prevent climbing accidents. The small tie-in loops at the front and back of the harness work decently with a regular leash, and Ruffwear's Knot-a-Leash has a big carabiner that works beautifully with the main handle. I think the lack of leash ring really drives home the point that this is a purpose-built piece of gear and not just a redesigned walking harness.

The doubleback fasteners are another climbing safety feature that a lot of people complain about when they purchase this for other uses. Plastic buckles have no place on a strength-rated harness, and the last thing you want halfway up a rock face is anything quick-release. Instead, the straps must be carefully laced through the buckles in a specific pattern for maximum security.

Photo by Erin Koski

The rear leg loops are the most obvious unique feature on this harness. These attach with the same doubleback fasteners, and can be stowed in a little pouch at the rear of the back plate when not in use. There is a handle that sits on top of the hips and allows for two-handed lifts that support the entire spine.

Ruffwear released a new 2016 updated version of the Doubleback harness earlier this year. Ours is the older style. The main difference is that the top and bottom pads on the newer harness enclose most of the straps that are sewn on top on the older style. The updated version also got rid of the red stabilizer pads on the rear leg loops, making the whole rear assembly significantly less bulky.

Pros: Strongest and most secure dog harness on the market. Actually escape-proof. The only purpose-built climbing harness for dogs. Allows for a comfortable lift that supports the entire spine.

Cons: Basically everything that counts as a con has either been fixed in the 2016 version or is related to off-label use of the Doubleback harness. The super-secure buckles mean the harness takes longer to put on than one with quick-release buckles. The back leg loop assembly on my harness is a bit bulky, but has been slimmed down in the new version along with the entire design.

Bottom Line: Even in a way-too-big Doubleback, Brisbane is totally cool with being lifted. I think the Help 'Em Up makes a better mobility harness, but this is definitely the safest piece of gear for adventuring.

Product Review: Kurgo Up and About Dog Lifter

The Kurgo Up & About Dog Lifter is a mobility aid for helping larger dogs navigate daily obstacles like stairs. It velcroes across the back and can be left on the dog for short periods of time. This product is only available in one color and size, intended for dogs in the 50-90 lb range. It fits chests up to 35" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

Yes, I found this at a thrift store. I spotted it from across the building and immediately thought the fabric looked like dog gear. Found the Kurgo label and decided to buy it for a few dollars. Brought it home and then had to figure out what in the world it was. This is not the first product I have done this with.

Somewhat like the Help 'Em Up Harness, this is a mobility aid for elderly, injured, and disabled dogs. There are a lot of mobility slings out there, but this one if unique for a number of reasons.

Once upon a time, we used to just use a towel as a mobility sling. It  was great for quick lifts but kind of annoying for everyday use. It tended to bunch up and wasn't very good at distributing pressure along the dog's body. Hanging onto the towel ends was never very comfortable or ergonomic. Plus you had to lift the dog to get the towel under them in the first place. Most of the dog lifting aids I've seen are basically like having handles on a slightly sturdier towel.

Photo by Erin Koski

Kurgo has neatly solved all of the problems with the old DIY towel sling, and created a product that is convenient and reasonable for daily use.

This is a wide and sturdy sling that resists bunching, so it distributes pressure very nicely. It velcroes across the back, so it can be left on the dog during a car trip or when they need to be helped up frequently. It's easy to put on, and does not require any sort flexibility on the part of the dog.

My Kurgo Dog Lifter has a strap on the handle that clips to the dog's collar, but the current iteration just has a strap that run around the front to keep the dog from sliding forward too far.

Pros: Very wide and supportive for large and also long dogs. Can be used to help support either the front end, the back end, or both. Easy to put on, and can be left on for a while because the dog is strapped into it. Machine washable. Longer handles make it easier to support shorter dogs while walking. Awesome for helping dogs in and out of the car, or onto the bed.

Cons: Doesn't stay on active dogs that well, tends to slide around and get in the way. Front strap may make it difficult for the dog to walk. Only comes in one size.

Bottom Line: I feel that this mobility sling supports more of the dog's spine than most similar products. It would be a very good mobility aid for a corgi, dachshund, or other long-backed breed.

Product Review: Blue Dog Help 'Em Up Harness

The Help 'Em Up Harness by Blue Dog Designs is a uniquely-designed mobility harness for dogs. It has an ergonomic two-piece design that includes a patented Hip Lift for the back end. An assortment of handles and rings make it possible to help a dog stand up, climb stairs, or just walk. This harness has two different designs for the back piece, and comes in four sizes to fit dogs 10-220lbs.

Photo by Erin Koski

I had seen this harness online before, and even visited the company website when I had Josie the German shepherd dog. It is easily the best mobility harness on the market, and physical therapy centers like HydroPaws use them almost exclusively.

I've owned several harnesses with handles on them, and this one is easily the most supportive. There is really nothing else like the Help 'Em Up harness, even the Ruffwear Webmaster is only a distant second choice. Most harnesses only lift the front of the dog, leaving them to support their entire hindquarters with only their back and core muscles. The Webmaster has an extra strap to help provide support for those muscles, which works pretty well for dogs with relatively short backs.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Ruffwear Webmaster has a handle situated toward the center of the back to help lift the hindquarters, but it is really intended to provide a helping hand and not for lifting the entire dog. The Help 'Em Up harness is designed for comfortably lifting a dog in a supportive and ergonomic way. It was developed for geriatric dogs, but it also extremely useful for injured and disabled dogs.

A lot of thought went into this design, and it really shows. There are buckles and adjustment points all over the place. Why so many? So that the harness can but comfortably placed on a dog that is laying down, injured, or otherwise unable to perform the movements required to get into some harnesses.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Help 'Em Up Harness is padded and comfortable. It can be worn for an extended period of time. It is machine washable. Though the harnesses are sold in front-back sets, the pieces may be purchased in different sizes for those really weird-shaped dogs. Blue Dog Designs also sells a variety of leashes that can be attached to the harness in different ways to help give a dog greater mobility.

All this quality doesn't come cheap. The price tag on this harness is $100 new, and it's not easy to find a used one. I found ours at the thrift store, in pieces. The first part I picked up was the Hip Lift rear section. Not recognizing the Blue Dog Designs logo, I had nearly convinced myself it was some weird sort of child product before I peeled up a corner of the price tag on the handle and saw the Help 'Em Up logo. It was $5. The front piece was on a different shelf, but I found it a few minutes later. It was $6. The harness appears to be brand new without so much as a dog hair stuck in the velcro.

Photo by Erin Koski

Naturally Brisbane hates it. I still had foster puppy Darla when I found it. She didn't mind wearing it at all. A friend has a disabled dog and had been considering buying a Help 'Em Up Harness for him, but wanted to actually see one in person beforehand. I was able to demonstrate how incredibly awesome this product it by picking Darla up and swinging her around in it. Naturally, Darla thought this was spectacular.

Pros: Comfortable and supportive.  Highly adjustable. Range of sizes and Hip Lift options allow the Help 'Em Up Harness to fit a wide range of body shapes. Easy to put on a non-flexible dog. Recommended for elderly dogs who have trouble getting up, for disabled dogs who do not have full use of their bodies, and for injured dogs who need extra support on the road to recovery.

Cons: Expensive for a dog harness. Large number of straps and buckles can be confusing for some users.

Bottom Line: Brisbane doesn't need this level of support yet, but it is fantastic to have this harness on hand as he ages.

Product Review: Ruffwear Web Master Harness

The Ruffwear Webmaster is a harness designed to help safely lift a dog in a variety of situations. It features a handle placed at the back of the harness to help lift the entire dog and not just the front end. It comes in two colors and five sizes to fit dogs 13-42" around the chest.

Photo by Erin Koski

I love the Webmaster harness because it has so many different uses. It's original intention is for hiking, and it works great for helping Brisbane get up and over obstacles. Unlike every other harness I have ever seen, the Webmaster has a second belly strap well behind the first one. The handle is also well behind the shoulders, allowing me to lift Brisbane and carry him like a suitcase. When I try that maneuver with a typical short harness, like the Kurgo Go-Tech Adventure Harness, it only lifts the front of the dog and slides forward immediately.

Photo by Pawz in Action

The handle and lifting ability of the Webmaster also make it a fantastic mobility harness. Josie wore it for a while before I got her Go-Tech. I have also used it for helping Briz when he has a foot injury. It is ridiculously comfortable for the dog, padded all over the place so it doesn't rub or chafe at all. I also use it to tote Brisbane around when he is sedated, or too excited to walk. It is his preferred attire for lure coursing.

Pros: Comfy, well-padded. Supportive enough to lift the entire dog. Makes steering and aiding geriatric dogs very easy. Provides a good fit even on my oddly-shaped dog. Ours has been through the washing machine several times. Also durable enough to put on my friend's enormous Asian water monitor lizard and drag him around on pavement. Seriously, we've had this thing for at least five years and have done some ridiculous things with it and it still looks brand new.

Cons: At ~$60 this is a pretty expensive harness. I paid a lot more for this one because it came with the Ruffwear Palisades backpack. Tired Dog Good Dog Lure Coursing informs me that dogs can get their feet caught in the back strap when running all-out, though Brisbane doesn't have this problem because he has a long back and a short stride.

Bottom Line: This is an amazing harness that has seen some pretty serious use, and it still looks great. It was well worth the price and I expect it to last through multiple dogs. I used to loan it out, but ours has extra clips for attaching the backpack on top, and I worry about having to replace the entire $130 set if anything happened to the harness. I wish other companies made such functional and durable products.

Product Review: Neo-Paws Summer Reinforced Energy Orthopaedic Shoes

Neo-Paws Summer Reinforced Energy Orthopaedic Shoes are protective dog boots designed for active dogs in hot weather. These are used for police and military dogs, search and rescue, agility, hiking, and anything involving water.

Photo by Erin Koski

These are unlike any dog boots I have seen before, and they are sure to perform better as well. Neo-Paws makes a number of different types of boots, and these are their top-of-the-line summer model. Made from breathable fabric, the boots dry quickly and help keep the dog from overheating. They are reinforced with leather in the most vulnerable parts of the uppers, and have reinforced toe caps as well. These shoes are made from the same materials as human running shoes.

Neo-Paws boots go on a little differently from other boots I've tried. Most have a zipper, velcro strap, or both. The Neo-Paws have a long, skinny strip of velcro that acts almost like a shoelace. The result is a custom fit for every dog. These boots can be fitted to avoid the carpal pads, to keep pressure off a sore spot, and to conform to the exact shape of the dog's foot and leg. Other dog shoes don't have this option, if the strap is too low or too high it can put pressure on the dewclaw, cause sores, or just slip off easily.



Brisbane tears up his carpal pads whenever he plays ball on grass. He likes to catch the ball and then skid to an abrupt stop, shredding the pads on the backs of his front legs in the process. I ended up buying him some skid boots to protect his legs from the grass, because his Ruffwear boots and Epiks wouldn't stay on. These are the first boots I've seen that look like they would protect that part of his legs and maybe stay on through his crazed ball-catching antics.

I actually bought these at a thrift store for $5 in brand new condition. They are a size XL, and I was hoping to use them for Josie because she drags both back feet and also one of her front paws. Unfortunately they are too big, so I passed them along to a coworker for her dog Guinness. He paces a lot, and his front pads can't handle the wear and tear. After reading the instructions on how to put them on just right, the Neo-Paws stayed on just fine.

The trick is to pull the inside of the flap up and tight against the dog's leg, and then pull the outside flap down and around the first flap. After that the velcro can be wrapped however works best for the individual dog.

Guiness didn't do any damage to his feet while wearing the Neo-Paws boots. Of course, he was also much less active in them. Something about wearing shoes makes a lot of dogs mopey.



Pros: Custom fitting with unique velcro wrap design, Tall boot design protects more of the leg. Breathable mesh dries quickly. Sold in pairs to allow for different sizes to be ordered for front and back feet.

Cons: These are only sold in pairs, so they are among the most expensive dog shoes out there. Putting them on is slightly more complicated than boots of a simpler design.

Bottom Line: These are pretty amazing, and I will probably get Brisbane a pair for his front feet instead of replacing his holey skid boots.

Product Review: Kurgo Go-Tech Adventure Harness

The Go-Tech Adventure Harness by Kurgo is a nylon harness with back leash ring, a front leash ring, and a handle on the back. It comes in three colors and has a unique style of buckle. Each harness comes with a car tether strap.

This is intended to be a safety harness for active dogs, but I primarily use it as a mobility harness for Josie due to that convenient handle on the back. It's not quite as effective as the Ruffwear Webmaster harness at lifting the entire dog, but it's a lot cheaper. I found it in the clearance bin at Petco for $15.

The harness helps me hoist Josie's front end into the car, lets me haul her up to join me on the furniture, and works a lot better at steering her than grabbing her collar. It seems to be very comfortable for her to wear 24/7, and doesn't bother her fur or rub marks on her anywhere. The part of the harness that goes down her chest between her front legs is very wide, so it distributes the weight well. All three of my dogs have very long backs though, and if I could change this harness design slightly I would make it longer with the handle further back.

Something I particularly like about this harness is the metal nesting buckles. I've had several plastic buckles fail and ruin an otherwise beloved piece of equipment. These are elegant in their simplicity, just slide the small plate through the slot in the big plate, and then the small plate just rotates and sits flat on top of the big plate. It sounds too simple, but Josie has been wearing it nonstop for weeks, rolling around on the ground, wrestling with other dogs, and it has yet to come undone. Buckling and unbuckling doesn't require squeezing anything, which is really nice when my hands hurt. Josie has a large harness, and Brisbane has a medium that has slightly smaller buckles. The medium fits Briz well, and he has an unusually wide chest that can make him difficult to fit with harnesses that have few adjustment options.

I like that this is a quiet harness, even though the buckles are metal-on-metal, they don't jingle. There is a front ring where I could attach tags, or a leash if I had a dog that needed a front-clip harness. (Little-known fact: You can clip a leash to any harness with a front ring, most standard Roman harnesses had that option way before front-clip harnesses were a thing.) It's also worth mentioning that I've seen a dog wearing one of these with the front ring ripped out. I don't know the exact circumstances behind the damage, whether it was chewed or broke under strain, but it gives me some slight nagging doubts about the attachment of that particular piece of hardware.

Kurgo advertises this as a vehicle-safety harness, but it's important to know that it only prevents driver distraction by keeping your dog tethered. The Go-Tech Adventure Harness it NOT a crash-protection harness. Check out the Center for Pet Safety's harness testing to see what happens to distraction-prevention harnesses during a collision. Most seat belt harnesses on the market would fail miserably in an actual crash, and some can do more harm than good. If you're looking for something to use as a crash-protection device, this isn't it.

Pros: Sturdy, easy to put on, all metal hardware, possibly arthritis-friendly buckles. Nice big rings for easy leash attachment. Comes in three colors and five sizes, and has a handle on the back. Comfortable for extended wear, and fits my weird-shaped dog ok. Makes a decent mobility harness for a large elderly dog.

Cons: Hardware may be tricky for those who aren't familiar with the nesting buckles, or have squirmy dogs. Only adjustment is around the chest strap which could cause fitting issues for some dogs. The wide chest area could rub the insides of a dog's legs if the fit was bad. Does not provide crash protection but claims to be a vehicle safety harness.

Bottom Line: It's sturdy enough and different enough to be worth trying even if you have other styles of harness. If your dog has a long back, it's only good for lifting the front end of them.