I love dogs.
As a toddler, I'd run up to stray dogs without fear, determined to pet every "good boy." After trying every pet imaginable — hamsters, fish, even a duck — my parents finally gave in and let me adopt my first dog, Doggie. My first adult pup, Violet, adored my kids but despised everyone else. In 2024, my husband and I adopted two chiweenies so our children could grow up with dogs, just like we did.
Then Tino, our 1.5-year-old black dog, got injured and was unable to walk. A colleague asked me if I wanted to try the Tavo pet stroller and car seat system, and I said something I'd never imagine saying, "I'd love to!"
This car seat and stroller system from Tavo is a convenient option for pet parents who want seamless transportation options for their small dog.
What we like
What we don't like
I never thought I'd get a stroller for a dog
I'll be frank and admit that in the past, I rolled my eyes at the sight of dogs in strollers. I guess karma wanted to show me how wrong I was about them and how useful they can be, especially for little dogs.
In August 2025, Tino suddenly couldn't move his back legs. Panicked, I rushed him to the ER, fearing he'd eaten something toxic. After costly tests, a neurologist diagnosed him with intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). Surgery was over $10,000, so we opted for strict crate rest — eight weeks of short potty breaks and constant care in our living room.
My dog was sad, unable to be outside
At first, Tino seemed fine resting. But the more days went by, the more he tried to make his walks longer — something we knew we couldn't do. He was used to spending so much time outside, sniffing around, chasing squirrels, and sunbathing. He was getting depressed spending all day inside; he was listless, stopped wagging his tail in excitement, and only wanted to eat treats.
So I decided to do something unexpected: I accepted a Tavo pet car seat and stroller sample so we could take him out on walks without risking his health.
Tino is 13 pounds and pretty small overall. When he got injured, I had just had surgery and had a lift restriction, so I couldn't really pick him up at all. Both the small and medium car seats can hold dogs up to 25 pounds, which was perfect for what we needed.
The car seat alone weighs a little under 10 pounds, which meant I needed my husband's help to transfer it in and out of the car. That said, the wheels of the stroller are so smooth that it didn't feel like I was pushing nearly 20 pounds when we were walking around.
While we don't do a lot of commuting without a car, I can see how the Tavo might also be useful as a pet carrier. It's definitely sturdier than the travel carriers we use with our dogs and has a solid, removable handle, but I found it too heavy to carry just from the car to the house with Tino in it.
We both loved it
I know it sounds ridiculous, but all my skepticism flew out the window when I plopped Tino in the stroller. I secured him to one of the attached leashes to make sure he wouldn't jump out, and we stepped outside into the sunshine. His tail was wagging, and his nose was sniffing.
The Tavo pet stroller looks very much like a kids' stroller, and it didn't take long before my neighbors started stopping me to ask who was in the stroller. Many laughed when I told them it was Tino. My kids loved pushing it around, pretending we had a new baby in the family.
When I told this to my husband, he pointed out that it's from the same parent company as Nuna, the company that manufactures kids' strollers and car seats. We'd used the brand's strollers with our own kids, and suddenly, everything made more sense — no wonder the stroller had such attention to detail, like a cup holder, adjustable handlebars, brakes, a removable cover in case of accidents, and a retractable canopy that opens from both ends.
The price point is steep, but it does triple duty as a car seat and carrier
The Tavo can also be used as a car seat, something we had never used with any of our pets before. It came in handy with Tino since he kept trying to jump out of his travel bag, often knocking it sideways.
The car seat's base is so easy to install, and the carrier itself can be clipped and unclipped with one hand. I have a lot of experience folding up kids' strollers, and the Tavo pet stroller has got to be one of the easiest I've ever folded. I was able to do it with one hand, just by pressing a button and folding it.
With the car seat attached to my car, I could safely take him on his regular vet visits. That said, because we have three kids, if we were all going somewhere together, we either went in two cars (which was not ideal) or I had Tino on my lap (which he loved but wasn't very safe). The car seat's interior is soft and comfortable. The canopy can be closed and locked on either side, just one side, or left open on both sides. There's also the option of just leaving a mesh closed so your dog can look out while being fully enclosed. Tino loves sitting in it and looking out the window.
The car seat and stroller bundle retails for $500 for the small and comes in five different fabric colors. The larger car seat is $600. The price point is comparable to a kids' stroller and more than I had spent on a single item for my dogs before. But with Tino and Churro, we have been splurging a bit more and getting them quality products that solve our problems. While the stroller system is pricey, it was much cheaper than surgery, which would've also come with weeks of crate rest for Tino. There are other pet strollers available for less, but they are not as dynamic as the Tavo, and most don't double as a car seat.
I'm a dog stroller mom now
Tino finished his eight weeks of crate rest and can now walk small distances at a time. In his head, he is ready to start running after squirrels again, but we still can't let him since IVDD has a high chance of reinjury. Because of that, we are sticking to using the stroller longer than I first anticipated.
Now we walk around our neighborhood watching the leaves change colors around us — something I never imagined doing.
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