The Hike & Hound Lay-Flat Carrier System
Meet the Creators
Fulfilling two crucial roles is, Luna, not only is she the Lead Designer she is also the inspiration behind this project.
Luna
Lead Designer |
Lexi
Quality Control |
Robin & Kerry
Treat & Tummy Rub Coordinators |
The why.
In October 2020 we took the plunge and adopted our second dog from Romania, a process we playfully nicknamed a 'pot-luck-pup' due to the fact that you're never totally sure what the breed or size of the dog is that you're going to get. We're lovers of the outdoors and enjoy trekking, especially through Scotland. When you go off piste the terrain can be challenging even for those with long legs.
When we chose Luna we (and the rescue) thought she was going to be a medium to large dog, to our surprise it turns out that our 3 month old cross pup Luna was definitely on the small side. This didn't stop her from stealing our hearts the moment we laid eyes on her and the following morning we set about making the comfy parts of the house more accessible.
We decided to have a DNA test done to confirm our suspicions. As we hadn't considered a small crossbreed as a likely candidate to join our family we set out to learn all we could about the different breeds that make up Luna. We did the same for Lexi so that we could identify potential health issues, plan and be prepared for the future.
What we learned:
One of Luna's DNA elements was Dachshund which gave us particular pause for thought as they can suffer from a number of health issues associated with their long bodies and short legs not least of all from IVDD (Intervertebral Disk Disease). As a result Dachshunds spines should be kept straight as much as possible. This extends to how you pick them up.
Luna also has what we're calling a "floppy wrist", it is slightly turned outward and isn't as strong as her other one. This could be from a number of reason but we suspect it's a result of malnutrition as a pup. She displays no signs of discomfort and can walk perfectly fine on it however we had to consider how walking long distances could effect her.
With just these few points in mind we set about figuring out how Luna would fare on a long walk in the future. We decided the safest route would be to carry her intermittently throughout the walk so she can rest, when she tires or over particularly difficult terrain.
There was one problem... we couldn't find a carrier on the market that fulfilled our requirements.
So we decided to create one...
When we chose Luna we (and the rescue) thought she was going to be a medium to large dog, to our surprise it turns out that our 3 month old cross pup Luna was definitely on the small side. This didn't stop her from stealing our hearts the moment we laid eyes on her and the following morning we set about making the comfy parts of the house more accessible.
We decided to have a DNA test done to confirm our suspicions. As we hadn't considered a small crossbreed as a likely candidate to join our family we set out to learn all we could about the different breeds that make up Luna. We did the same for Lexi so that we could identify potential health issues, plan and be prepared for the future.
What we learned:
One of Luna's DNA elements was Dachshund which gave us particular pause for thought as they can suffer from a number of health issues associated with their long bodies and short legs not least of all from IVDD (Intervertebral Disk Disease). As a result Dachshunds spines should be kept straight as much as possible. This extends to how you pick them up.
Luna also has what we're calling a "floppy wrist", it is slightly turned outward and isn't as strong as her other one. This could be from a number of reason but we suspect it's a result of malnutrition as a pup. She displays no signs of discomfort and can walk perfectly fine on it however we had to consider how walking long distances could effect her.
With just these few points in mind we set about figuring out how Luna would fare on a long walk in the future. We decided the safest route would be to carry her intermittently throughout the walk so she can rest, when she tires or over particularly difficult terrain.
There was one problem... we couldn't find a carrier on the market that fulfilled our requirements.
So we decided to create one...
