New invention for hips & elbow dysplasia, CDRM, old age, arthritis

Hi everyone. I need help as I have just invented a new type of special harness which I cannot go much into at this stage. The product will go to manufacturing next week and basically It helps just about every dog ranging from dogs suffering from Hip dysplasia, Arthritis, CDRM, old age, elbow dysplasia, bowed legs in giant breeds and generally covers most walking and spinal issues.

Now the question is:

1. I have yet to choose a name for my company – I thought about calling it “Little Chief” but now I’m not too sure.
2. I also have to name this product – I was thinking of “The full support harness” or “Walking Aid full support harness” or “bottoms up full support harness”
3. I would love to break into the American and UK markets - How do I sell this product in America and the UK.

I must confess, this is the first time I have ever done something like this. I currently work in the UK (London area) as a dog hydrotherapist so all of this is quite scary.

I have tried to post on various other forums to get ideas but nothing yet. All your comments and help would be very appreciated. Thank you.

Can't help you on marketing, although you might want to see www.handicappedpets.net, there are also several other websites that market products for dogs with disableties
If you want a tester tho Altho my dog isn't a giant breed
but a 9 kilo collie with a peripheral neuropathy affecting all 4 limbs.

could you go on dragons den. Do they even still make that show?

How about "joint aid harness"

sorry im not much help

Hmmm if you have got to the manufacturing stage surely you have chosen the packaging, RRP, outlets and name along with your advertising strategy, etc etc????????????

Never done this before. So the answer is no. Spoke to a company today in china who are prepared to work on the project based on a minimum order.

I got the idea 3 weeks ago and so far, I have managed to get the prototype from the uk. Started agreeing a deal with china based on a minimum order. Will send them the prototype next week to start production. They will help with the packaging.

Hopefully will start dog shows and approaching vets in three weeks time.

Just decided that I don't like little cheif name anymore.

I have a marketing strategy in place and an rrp price of £150. I was hoping to keep the manufacturing at a low cost however due to the design, it's impossible to keep the prices low. Introductory prices will be £100 for the first few months and show exhibitions.

What do you guys think of 'evolution'. Let me explain why the name:

Having spent the past eight to nine years swimming dogs, I have treated dogs of all ages, sizes and conditions. In June 2011, I had nine swims booked in for the day. Four of these dogs were German shepherd dogs all suffering from CDRM.

One of the GSD’s I was swimming on the day was named Kiezer. When I first met Kiezer, five weeks prior, I had measured his back legs. His measurements were 51 cm on one leg and 47 cm on the other. 10 swims later begin today, I again measured him at the start of his session and his measurements had increased to 57cm on each leg. All the same, his back was still swaying whilst walking as you see from dogs suffering from CDRM. Kiezer is a dog that is full of life and to take his life away would just be wrong. Fortunately this is exactly how the owner felt.

I felt there was something I had to do to help this dog. I thought about supplements, but, unfortunately know nothing about this.

That’s when it came to me. A special type of harness that would help support him and allow him to carry on his daily activities. I researched the Internet for days to see if anything existed. There were some basic ones, which would help support him, however as with evolution – things grow and improve with time. In evolution terms, this harness is the equelivent to jumping from the fish straight to the human.

The harness is designed to help dogs suffering from:

· Hips dysplasia,
· Arthritis,
· Helping to avoid bowed legs in the giant breed dogs
· Elbow dysplasia,
· CDRM in German shepherd dogs,
· Mobility in old age,
· Curiate ligament injuries,
· Lifting in and out of cars,
· Helping up and down the stairs
· And lots more uses……

Currently, there are 19 million dogs in the UK and 77 million in America of which I believe 96 million could use my new invention at some stage in their lifetime.

If you think of innovative new products, this product in my opinion is a breakthrough.

Hence the name 'Evolution'. I have had some great ideas on various forums and would like to everyone who has helped contribute.

If you only had the idea 3 weeks ago then you will need to do an awful lot more testing of the product before going into production. You need to have a contract signed by people testing your product to ensure they don't reveal it to anyone, you need to sort out getting it patented so no-one can copy it so you are protected.
Contact The British Inventors Society as they were set up specifically for people such as yourself.
Good Luck but don't run before you can walk or you could end up with losing everything!!
Becky

I think you need to make a prototype and test on real dogs first.

Thanks for the posts.

I have a prototype that was made and have used this on various dogs. The good news is it works – actually better then I expected. I also made certain that the non-disclosure forms were signed for the UK company that made the prototypes and now am waiting for China to sign theirs (although from what I have heard – its probably not worth much in China).

To be honest, I wanted to keep it all within the UK, so as to help the UK companies grow, help the economy, etc…, Nice idea, but the problem is the UK just do not have the technology, manpower and the margins in profit that someone like China can offer. Unfortunately the retail shops that have shown interest are also looking for profit margins. In fact ‘Pucci’ said that they don’t normally buy off new people because the pricing is not correct. Therefore I have to deal with China. I do now understand why countries such as China and India are booming.

Making sure the patent is there is a good idea and that is all currently being sorted out by a firm that specialises in this. However, all it takes is for someone to alter seven items on a design and apparently I cant do much about it. I have therefore decided to go all out and sell my item which the patent is still being sorted.

Agree with others that you may need to look into this a bit as 3 weeks is not very long at all.

I had a newfoundland dog that had cruciate surgery and we had to manage the walk to the garden for her wee's every day in the early stages. Don't mean to be negative, just some imput really but we placed a towel under her belly to support her and it worked fine.

If i could have bought something for say £20 i probabley would have but i couldn't have afforded £150 and would have continued to use the towel or blanket even if your product may have done that job.

Have you looked into getting vets to market this after surgery etc. that might be an option once all checks have been made. Anyway just my personal experience, good luck with your new project.