Printing Puppy Prosthetics

When [aimzzz] met this puppy born without arms, the need for some assistive hardware was obvious. We love it that rapid prototyping techniques have become so accessible that something like building a wheelchair for a puppy is not just affordable, but a lot of fun too!

The main part of the projects is a cradle which will be comfortable for the dog. 3D printing is a great choice here because it can be customized to suit the needs of a particular dog. We remember seeing another dog named Derby who has 3D printed legs that make room for the biological legs that aren’t functioning correctly. In the case of this wheelchair, the cradle could be altered make room for legs.

The rest of the build is purely mechanical. Aluminum tubing, tubing connectors, and wheels combine with the printed cradle (and some padding material) to make for one sweet ride. It takes a bit of training to get used to, but as you can see after the break this makes mobility quite easy and intuitive for the pup.

[Thanks PuceBaboon]

13 thoughts on “Printing Puppy Prosthetics

    1. There is another video on the channel of Luisa (the puppy) playing with another dog. Looks to be perfectly happy and was by no means immobile before the wheels.

      Having two legs or four doesn’t limit an animals ability to love or be loved.

      Troll.

  1. Nice job! It’s a bit bulky, but the puppy will get stronger and I’m assuming it’s not full-grown yet. Another solution is to put the big wheels further back and the little wheel in front but up a little higher. With two wheels, drag is minimized and the front wheel will only be needed if the puppy leans forward too much.

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