Another halfbaker (cheeselikesubstance) suggested a doggie umbrella, but noted it would not work on windy days.
My idea is a kite that straps to a dog's back so that the dog and owner can both have fun when the owner takes the dog out for a "walk" on windy days. Sort of like those big kites that allow a water skier to fly while being towed by a boat.
This would be especially useful for seeing-eye dogs because they'd get a better view of obstacles and threats in the area.-- beauxeault, Aug 01 2001 Cheeselikesubstance's idea http://www.halfbake...a/Doggie_20Umbrella [beauxeault, Aug 01 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004] the image this brings to mind is just incredible! a beautiful windy spring day, just a little nippy, and all sorts of dogs hanging in mid air wondering what to do next. just watch out for the inevitable bombs that will get dropped by the scared ones.-- mihali, Aug 01 2001 My dog weighs 70 lbs...need a big kite... :-(-- Dog Ed, Aug 01 2001 ...or a couple of African Swallows.-- beauxeault, Aug 01 2001 REAL DOGS DON'T FLY. (bumper sticker I saw WTF?)-- futurebird, Aug 01 2001 Hey.-- cheeselikesubstance, Aug 02 2001 My friend's spaniel likes to stick his head out of the car window at 50 mph, so I reckon he would go for this. (When the window's closed, he sniffs the air vent instead.)-- angel, Aug 02 2001 I think the problem would be landing. Kites that I fly are know to crash to the gound in the final stages of bringing them down. That's OK for a flexible kit but not so good for a dog with breakable bones.
I think that this would be more suitable for cats as they probably can land better.-- Aristotle, Aug 06 2001 Aristotle: Easy - have an RC release mechanism that detaches the pooch from the kite and deploys a 'chute to soft-land them. Also the drag of the collapsed chute would stop them running off so they would be easy to catch. Attach a smoke canister to leave a graceful smoke trail on the way down and mark the landing point. I have seen film of a guy who does freefall para jumps with his dog - a small JR terrier - in a harness on his chest.
Our dog loves going up in the 'plane and tries to stick his head out of the window, but at 120 knots that's not so smart. He would try to wing-walk if we would let him...-- 8th of 7, Jun 13 2002 Unabubba, think breathmints...-- RayfordSteele, Aug 15 2002 Not seen this one before, probably never would if it wasn't for the self-flying kite. Brilliant!-- silverstormer, Feb 01 2004 Flying dogs are entertaining, but watching a cat in flight would be much more satisfying... (as suggested by Aristotle)
Maybe some flying pigs...-- KLRico, Feb 01 2004 random, halfbakery