9 DIY Dog Wheelchairs That You Can Build Today! (With Instructions)
Like us, our furry four-legged friends can suffer from health issues. Unfortunately, some of these health issues could rob them of mobility. It’s heartbreaking to see our pups unable to move around as they once could, but if your dog can no longer walk as they used to, dog wheelchairs are available. However, if you buy a manufactured doggie wheelchair, it may be incredibly expensive. So, why not build one instead?
How do you build a wheelchair for a dog? There are several ways to accomplish this, though it will take some time (and patience!). Below, we’re sharing a few DIY dog wheelchair plans to help you out so your beloved pup can return to mobility sooner rather than later. Keep reading to find out how to build a wheelchair for a dog!
The 9 DIY Dog Wheelchairs
1. 2-Wheel Saddle Dog Wheelchair
| Materials: | Piping, fabric, dog harness, wheels |
| Tools: | Saw, measuring tape, cable ties |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you’re looking for a fairly easy dog wheelchair to make, then this 2-wheel dog wheelchair might just be the thing for you. It’s only moderately difficult to make, as it involves some sawing to get the PVC piping to the correct sizes, and you’ll be doing some design work.
To begin, you’ll have to measure your dog to ensure you get the wheelchair to the correct length and height. This plan doesn’t give you exact instructions on creating the shape of the wheelchair, though; instead, it’s more conceptual and leaves it up to you as to how you want the wheelchair to look. However, once you’ve turned the PVC piping into the design you want, you can add the wheels to the back of the piece. Then, you’ll use your fabric to make a saddle for your pup and use the dog harness to ensure they’re always connected to the wheelchair.
Overall, this dog wheelchair is pretty simple, but it will take some time to design and create!
2. 2-Wheel Dog Wheelchair
| Materials: | PVC, fabric, 3” wheels |
| Tools: | Pliers, PVC cutter, measuring tape, knife, drill, 3” nut & bolt, cable ties, PVC glue |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This 2-wheel doggie wheelchair is quite similar to the last one, but it does require more tools to create. And, in this case, there’s a YouTube video that walks you through each step of creating this dog wheelchair rather than leaving things up to you. In fact, the video is pretty detailed, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with this wheelchair (provided you can use the required tools).
For this one, you’ll begin by measuring your canine companion, then will cut the needed PVC to the proper length and height. Next, connect all the pieces using PVC glue to help ensure sturdiness, then attach the wheels. Finally, you’ll use the fabric to make a sort of seat for your pup and connect it with cable ties.
This canine wheelchair looks comfy, so hopefully, your pup will be quite pleased with it!
3. Pool Noodle Wheelchair
| Materials: | 10-ft PVC pipe, 4 PVC elbows, a pool noodle, ace bandages, 2 PVC standard Ts, wheels, C-clips, wheel axle |
| Tools: | Miter saw, adhesive, drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you’d rather not have a dog wheelchair with a seat or saddle, you might want to try this Pool Noodle Wheelchair, as it goes over the head and neck instead. The lack of a seat or saddle also makes this doggie wheelchair just a bit simpler to make than the prior two. For this one, you again start by measuring your pup, then cut the PVC to size. Once you’ve fit everything together as needed (though be warned, there aren’t exact instructions for this; however, an excellent picture shows how it all fits together), you can add the wheels. Where does the pool noodle come in? The pool noodle is used on the parts that go alongside the neck to prevent a dog from getting chafed from the PVC. The ace bandages are wrapped around the pool noodle for more buffering.
All in all, this wheelchair shouldn’t take too long to create and should be easy for any dog to use.
4. HoneyBadger Woodworks Doggie Wheelchair
| Materials: | Harness, tie-down clips, pneumatic hollow wheels, 3/4 EMT conduit, side release buckle and webbing, foam tubing, single socket tee connectors |
| Tools: | Knife, pliers, duct tape, measuring tape, pipe cutter, pipe bender, drill, nuts & bolts, Velcro, epoxy |
| Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
Are you super handy? Then, you might enjoy the challenge of making this dog wheelchair by HoneyBadger Woodworks. It’s based on a doggie wheelchair sold on the market and is pretty involved, so it’ll take some time to assemble. Plus, because it uses conduit, it’s a bit more stable and durable than those wheelchairs made from PVC. You’ll definitely need tools and a workshop for this one, though. After you measure your pet, you’re going to bend that conduit into a U-shape and drill lots of holes. After attaching wheels, you’ll use the foam tubing and clips to create a portion where your dog’s legs should go.
Overall, this dog wheelchair is impressive, but it definitely takes some work!
5. Aluminum and Rubber Dog Wheelchair
| Materials: | Aluminum tube, sponge tube, bike flashlight mount, wheels, plastic cap for AL tube, Velcro |
| Tools: | Measuring tape, drill, screws, pipe cutter, pipe bender |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This aluminum and rubber dog wheelchair looks fantastic and isn’t too challenging. You can find the instructions for it on Instructables, which take you through the process step-by-step and include many pictures as you go. This wheelchair is a bit similar to the last one but definitely simpler to put together. After measuring your pup, you’ll want to take your aluminum tube and cut it to where you need it to be, as well as bend it into shape. Once that’s completed, it’s just a matter of getting the wheels onto it and making a harness for your dog’s legs out of the sponge tube. That’s it!
For as fancy as this dog wheelchair looks, putting it together shouldn’t take a ton of time.
6. $25 Dog Wheelchair
| Materials: | 3/8” threaded rod, lawn mower wheels, nylon insert lock nuts, PVC piping, PVC elbows, PVC Ts |
| Tools: | PVC cement, duct tape, handsaw or hacksaw |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you’re looking for something easy, it doesn’t get any easier than this! This $25 dog wheelchair is simple to put together and incredibly cheap. The YouTube video with the instructions for this gives you exact measurements for the piping (although the measurements are for a small breed, so if you have a medium or large breed pup, you’ll need to figure that out for yourself) and walks you through each step. After you put the piping together (which takes about 2 minutes), use the duct tape to make a seat for your dog (you could also use fabric for this if you prefer), then attach the wheels, and you’re finished!
This doggie wheelchair is highly affordable and a breeze to make.
7. Makezine Doggie Wheelchair
| Materials: | Aluminum or acrylic tubing, 3D-printed pieces, wheels, straps |
| Tools: | 3D printer, measuring tape, Gorilla Glue, screws, acorn nuts, wrench or screwdriver, scissors, hole puncher |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
The Makezine Doggie Wheelchair looks really neat, so if you want a more unique wheelchair for your pup, you might want to give this a shot. However, it does require the use of a 3D printer, so if you don’t have access to one of those, you’ll have to go with another plan. If you have access, though, the instructions for this plan include renderings for the standard pieces and a spreadsheet that helps calculate what size wheelchair you’ll need for your pet. All in all, these instructions are quite handy! Putting the wheelchair together isn’t terrifically difficult; doing the straps for the wheelchair may be the most challenging part.
If unique is your dog’s middle name, check this one out!
8. French Bulldog PVC Wheelchair
| Materials: | Lawn mower wheels, PVC elbows, PVC Ts, PVC pipe caps, 12 pieces PVC piping, Velcro |
| Tools: | Nuts & bolts, clear PVC cement, saw, rubber mallet, drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you have a French Bulldog (or other small breed pup), this PVC dog wheelchair is simple to assemble and doesn’t require many materials. It’s similar to other PVC pipe wheelchairs on this list but uses Velcro straps to hold a dog’s legs where they should be and attach the canine to the wheelchair. Altogether, this is one of the easiest dog wheelchairs to put together on this list. Best of all, the YouTube video with the instructions for this wheelchair shows a dog using it, so you can see exactly how it works.
If you’re looking for a dog wheelchair for a smaller breed that doesn’t require a lot of time and effort, this is the plan for you.
9. Medium-Sized Breed Doggie Wheelchair
| Materials: | Cold-rolled steel tubing, sand, wheels, harness, snap hook, pipe insulation, fabric |
| Tools: | Pipe bender, nuts & bolts or caps, mallet, threaded cores, adhesive, rasp file, drill, Velcro |
| Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
This was designed for a medium-sized breed dog, but you can certainly tweak it for a dog of a differing size if needed. It’s a bit more difficult than most doggie wheelchairs on this list, as you need to utilize some tools and put in more work. But the end result looks fantastic, and this dog wheelchair seems exceptionally sturdy. There are also a few tweaks you can make in the materials of this wheelchair, such as using denim from a pair of jeans for the fabric or not using sand when bending the pipe.
This one may require some work and plenty of patience, but it should hold up well once it’s completed!
Final Thoughts
It’s heartbreaking when something happens with our pups’ health that leaves them unable to move around as they once did. Luckily, doggie wheelchairs exist to help them out! However, purchasing an already-made dog wheelchair means shelling out quite a bit of money. The solution? Make a dog wheelchair yourself. Putting together a canine wheelchair is simpler (in most cases) than you might think, so one of the plans on this list should work out well for you. Soon, your pup will be moving around much better than before!
Featured Image Credit: TetiBond, Shutterstock
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Misty Layne lives out in the woods in small-town Alabama with her two Siamese - Serafina & Jasper. She also has an array of stray cats, raccoons, and opossums who like to call her front porch home. When she’s not writing about animals, you’ll find her writing poetry, stories, and film reviews (the animals are, by far, her favorite writing topic, though!). In her free time, Misty enjoys chilling with her cats, playing piano, watching indie and foreign films, photographing abandoned places, and catching up on her never-ending TBR list.
