How Stupid am I?

After my second puncture in two weeks I decided to have solid tyres put on my scooter. I’m paranoid about ending up stranded miles from anywhere, just me, the dog and an immobile scooter. Anyhow to cut a long story short the guy fitted the tyres yesterday.

I went to take the dog out this morning half asleep as usual. The wind was blowing the shed doors shut but I set off for the ramp anyway intending to push the doors open with the rear of the scooter. I seemed to be meeting a bit of resistance so I applied extra power.

Ummmmmm the engineer had moved the scooter from its normal central position and the resistance was coming not from the door but the shed wall. I now have a bent shed and a nice rip in the foam on the scooter handle bars but the tyres are great!

Jane

Oh dear, oops!

Luisa x

I’m interested in how you manage the dog with your scooter. I also have a dog that I don’t want to give up, but I’m finding it very difficult to walk him, esp in these winds we’ve been having. He’s a large Irish Setter and only 2 years old (complete gype), but he is very good on the lead and is trained to walk on my left, so I imagine that if I had a scooter, he’d be ok. What kind of dog do you have, and what are the logistics of walking a dog when you have a scooter, are you restricted to paved surfaces?

Thanks

Luisa x

Sorry in advance Jane. LMAO! This is exactly the sort of thing I can see myself doing! I hope the shed survives! Karen x

No problem at all Louisa. He’s only a little shih tzu but he trots along perfectly. I imagined that it would take a lot of training but he just took to scooter walking straight away. Like yours he walked perfectly on the lead so I suppose that’s what made it easy.
Left turns were difficult at first because you are turning into the dog but he soon recognized a tug on the lead meant that he should get out of the way. I find that I sometimes go too far for his little legs but in that case he just jumps on the footboard and away we go.

It depends on the scooter of course where you can go. I know that Francis (campion) goes in the fields on her Tramper but mine is not off road capable so I stick to footpaths and the park. I would love something that would cope with mud and ruts but we do a 2 -3 miles every day with an off lead spell in the park.

My dog is very friendly with other dogs but he turns into a monster if other dogs try to get on the scooter. (Which they do – I’ve had a very muddy black Lab on my knee before now)

Walking the dog every day is sometimes the only thing I do when my fatigue is bad – it’s my reason for getting dressed.

Jane

[quote=“lals02”]

I’m interested in how you manage the dog with your scooter. I also have a dog that I don’t want to give up, but I’m finding it very difficult to walk him, esp in these winds we’ve been having. He’s a large Irish Setter and only 2 years old (complete gype), but he is very good on the lead and is trained to walk on my left, so I imagine that if I had a scooter, he’d be ok. What kind of dog do you have, and what are the logistics of walking a dog when you have a scooter, are you restricted to paved surfaces?

Thanks

Luisa x

[/quote] l have a Tramper scooter which is almost all-terrain. The top speed is 8ph. -So l do not go on footpaths as anything over 4mph has to be on the road.

l take my dogs [2Rotties+daughters Bull Terrier. l clip them onto the scooter - it is heavy enough not to be pulled over. The dogs love the scooter - if l have a puppy l start them out riding on the scooter - then let them loose once in the fields. l do keep them on the left. l always carry ‘poo-bags’ - but it is very rarely a problem as the dogs hardly ever stop to toilet when on the lead. My scooter tyres have a green gunk squirted in them to stop them going down if punctured. lts very rare that l have a flat tyre. l do carry a phone - always. At about 6mph - the dogs can stride out well without breaking into a run. This pace certainly keeps them fit.

F.

Thanks for your advice, Frances, your Tramper must be a solid machine before it copes with 3 dogs being attached to it! My setter is probably about the same height as a rottweiler, but he’s much less solidly built. I’m in the habit of carrying my mobile phone everywhere already (my friends give me into trouble if I forget and they find out). It’s good to know that it is possible to walk a dog whilst using a scooter.

Luisa x