04/05/2026
This is for anyone who needs a buggy for their dog for health reasons or just due to old age, and put their dog in it once, took them on a walk, and said their dog 'didn't like it' and gave up. 😞
Expecting your dog to just be 'ok' with it, is asking a lot!
As with any new experience, ie, introducing a muzzle, head collar, harness, noisy environments, busy town centres, basically anything your dog isn't used to, careful introduction is so important!
So this is day 2 of introducing Mouse to her buggy ready for our holiday. She has bent legs, and now has a sore paw due to this, so she will have to spend some time in here in order for us not to have to leave her at the caravan too much.
So firstly and most importantly, make sure your new buggy is chocked so it doesn't move! Or take the wheels off. Any movement when they get in or out will add to your dogs stress levels.
DO NOT move your buggy while your dog is getting used to it!
Lure your dog in with tasty treats. Even two paws in is worth a reward to start.
This can take days to get your dog used to it, but repeating over and over will normalise the experience. If you have a brave dog, this won't take as long of course.
If your dog really won't go in at first. Pop a collar or harness on and put them in. Have two people, one to hold the buggy still and help out.
Sometimes we need to be able to show our dog that something is 'ok', and it won't hurt them, and we obviously can't do that if they won't get in, so a little short term discomfort will pay off in the long term. None of us would get anywhere if we didn't do things we didn't want to do occasionally.
Hold your dog there gently with lots of praise, just for a few seconds. Then allow them to jump out, or lift them out.
Repeat this 5 or 6 times, giving your dog a tasty treat whilst inside the buggy if they'll take it, and lots of praise, and also praise immediately after they get out.
Do this 4 or 5 times a day for as many days as it takes for them to happily get in on their own if they are able. If they aren't, use the same procedure, just lifting them in and out. Then start increasing the amount of time in the buggy by 5 or 10 seconds. (Baby steps).
Keep the buggy in the room where your dog lives if possible, and if big enough, feed them in it.
I'll be posting our next stage in a day or two...
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