We've been using this stroller on a daily basis for a good month now, so I thought it might be useful to share something of our experience, in case it helps others when choosing which stroller to buy. The Doggy Ride feature with other strollers in the Tripawds Gear blog http://gear.tri.....l-get-out/ This is just an attempt to complement that very useful information with our personal experience.

I chose the DoggyRide Novel (we have the stroller/jogger model http://www.inne.....ogger.html) after extensive research because it seemed to me that if any stroller would be suitable for our specific needs then this was perhaps the most likely. When I say 'specific needs', this was my checklist.

• It had to be big enough for Meg to lie down in. Meg is not a large dog (15kg/33lbs), but she is unusually long, and she likes to stretch out. Ideally, I would like it to be big enough to fit my other dog, Elsie (12kg/26lbs) in at the same time.
• It needed to be good off-road. In Norfolk, we live in deep countryside. Our regular walks involve ditches, ploughed fields, fallen tree trunks blocking the path (when there is a path...) and so on. 
• It needed to be relatively quick and easy to assemble, as I would be assembling/disassembling it two or three times every day, and we are none of us known for our patience.
• It needed to fit in the car. Until earlier this year, I was driving a VW Lupo, and I think I would have struggled to fit the stroller plus both dogs in the back of this car (with the back seat down). As luck would have it, the Lupo conked out at 5am one extremely  foggy morning on a country lane with the dogs. I replaced it with a seventh hand VW Golf, which cost little more than the stroller (the DoggyRide is certainly not cheap)...,  but fits the stroller (minus handle and wheels) and both dogs very well (in the back, with the seats down). 

Of these criteria, the off-roadability was the one that concerned me the most. Though I thought the DoggyRide probably stood the best chance of the ones I considered (which is why I thought it was worth the extra cost), I found it hard to believe that any stroller would be able to cope with this sort of terrain (or that any dog would be prepared to sit/lie in it as it did so). I am pleased to report that it has been a total triumph.

The stroller is very light and strong with an easy, fluid movement. Its handle is of an adjustable height (crucial for me, as I am 6ft tall), and the wheels are large with good traction and pneumatic tyres. It also has a brake, which is great for lifting Meg in and out. It comes equipped with a good quality orthopaedic mattress, which helps to cushion Meg from bumps and jolts as I manoeuvre it across fields, in and out of ditches and so on. Different dogs will, of course, respond differently, but Meg adjusted to the stroller instantaneously. She appears entirely unconcerned as I haul it over fallen tree trunks etc. (there is a very useful seatbelt, which clips onto her harness, allowing her to move, but keeping her safe and secure) At times the stroller is almost vertical, but Meg just lies there enjoying the smells and the scenery, quite impervious to the struggles of her charioteer. The more uneven the ground, then obviously, the more effort is required, ditto the heavier the dog, but for us, certainly, it is perfectly do-able. At times, a degree of bloody-mindedness is needed, especially when it comes to stiles and fences, but thankfully we are none of us lacking in that particular respect. The stroller is light enough (without Meg in it) to be lifted over a fence (the fence was close to 5ft, on one occasion - the dogs and I could wriggle through, the stroller had to go over) by one person (I'm reasonably strong, I guess, but by no means Super Woman).

With regard to the other criteria: the stroller is large and would fit both my dogs should the need arise. I'm not sure how easy this would be in practice, as Meg clearly considers the DoggyRide to be hers.

Assembling it the first time was an UNHOLY NIGHTMARE. It comes flat, and you need to erect the frame with a bar that goes across the top, but the fit was EXTREMELY tight. After an hour or more of sweating and cursing, I finally climbed inside it, and used my body to push the sides apart while I pushed the bar into place. It was then that I discovered that it was too large to get out through the door of my London flat, so I had climb back inside, remove the bar and fold it again. I think you can imagine my language. I then took it outside and went through the whole thing again on the pavement... However, once assembled (a second time), I have never had cause to remove the bar again – merely the wheels and handle to fit it in my car (where I keep it when not in use). The side wheels are quick release. The front one takes a moment longer, and the handle is a bit of a faff, but nothing too terrible. With practice (and I get plenty of it), I can assemble/disassemble the stroller in just under three minutes. I have friends who take longer than that to put on their boots...

So, depending on your particular needs, and especially if you are looking for off-roadability, I would heartily recommend this stroller. If you walk mostly on pavements or well-made paths then it would perhaps be overkill – there are certainly cheaper alternatives which may fit the bill perfectly well. But for an off-road, all-terrain stroller, the DoggyRide Novel would seem to me pretty hard to beat.

A Meg's Eye View