Giant dog-Where would they ride?

[greywolf]

Here's how it's done in the south, wife and kids ride in the back of the truck, dogs ride in cab. No seriously, you'll like having a cap. Some can come with window screens as well, might want to keep some extra screen material on hand incase they chew them out or something. I liked having a cap on my truck because I could secure my gear beter and keep it dry in cse of rain. You may have stated already if not if you have a sliding rear window or not, if so, some caps aer made with them as well so you can open up your truck to the back, helps with air flow as well.

[azflycaster]

Giant dogs...

[codybear]

Az, I've never seen dogs that big!..I can only guess the people are only about 5' tall????

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by juel

In the truck, in a crate for safety. Larger dogs need to be in crates to keep them safe in case of an accident or sudden problem on the road. They will feel more secure too. Ask your breeder for her suggestions on the type and size of crate you will need. Kennel-Air is probably the safest in a crash, but there are others. Both your dogs should be in crates as they become projectiles in sudden stops or accidents. You keep the human kids restrained, keep the hairy kids safe too.

Our first dog rode free in the back of our old Blazer, after getting

bounced around during an accident,(no serious injury) he would never again

get into the truck on his own. Ever since that incident the crate is secured

in the truck and our critters have never been loose while traveling.

[DPeakMD]

We just got back from a short trip with our Airstream doing some winter camping. Despite temps in the 20's, our boxer and mastiff were comfortable inside their crates in the truck bed underneath the truck cap. A couple of considerations...you can get carpeting installed on the truck cap. That adds a little insulation. The metal bed gets quite cold. We add a couple of layers of cardboard to insulate the bottom of their crates from the cold. Also, our cap has a window that opens to the truck and we seal the space between with an inflatable cushion made for that purpose. We turn the heat up in the truck and use a fan to it circulate back to the dogs.

If it's really hot outside, that's more of a problem. The AC will only do so much coming all the way from the cab. Then it's better to ventilate them as much as possible, or just put them in the back seat of the crew cab, which we've had to do.

Good luck!

[Fyrzowt]

Is stated earlier, dogs feel secure in crates.

Under a cap, they have the advantage of shade - they'll be fine with adequate ventilation. The consideration of carpet and possibly a fan are good ideas.
As a young person, we rode to Tx/OK from Calif in the back of an un-airconditioned P.U./Camper combo. What did we all do before A/C?
Dave

[jacarape]

I was towing a Ford F-150 and the dog rode in the cab of the PU, the cat also, that little thief liked to ride (sleep, thats the only thing he did when he wasn't filching hamburgers, that little bum was also loved a bit of the cat nip...) on the dash.

Any, I pulled into a service station (back when they had attendants with a rag in their hand, and a greeting), and the guy came up to me looking dumbfounded. He said "I thought that truck was following you kind of close, then looked and saw a dog driving, I thought I was losing my mind".

Looking back the pooch was sitting behind the wheel with a big smile on her face, that cat was asleep and probably stoned, again, on the dash. We both busted up laughing, it was a funny sight.

[Crusty]

... get two pair of rollerblades and a really good leash to fasten to the bumper ...

[jimbriscoe@a]

I agree with cap, I have a 220lb English Mastiff & he needs ALL of the pickup bed when traveling

[JulianneJ]

Riding in the trailer would be way to dangerous!
I travel with a Great Dane, Rott/Lab mix & a Shiba Inu. They love camping and the road trip is so much a part of the fun. I don't have children other than the 4 legged type, so there is plenty of room in my rig. I put dog beds in the back of my Tahoe and they ride comfortably back there. Also always have a water bowl handy as well as a huge bottle of water.
Happy travels~

[exthemius]

For those of us who have danes -- question for you? We just took our A/S out for the first time this weekend, and had both dogs in crates attached in the back of our P/U. How do you guys collectively handle the getting out for a break? At least in our situation, we wouldn't be able to lower the tailgate to get the dogs out without unhitching the A/S -- is this really what everyone does?

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by exthemius

For those of us who have danes -- question for you? We just took our A/S out for the first time this weekend, and had both dogs in crates attached in the back of our P/U. How do you guys collectively handle the getting out for a break? At least in our situation, we wouldn't be able to lower the tailgate to get the dogs out without unhitching the A/S -- is this really what everyone does?

Hello Shawn,

Here's a recent thread about traveling with a Great Dane that may help you out.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f239...hem-66497.html

Good luck,

Kevin

[exthemius]

Thanks -- that's actually my wife's thread, but I don't know that anyone actually addresses this specific question.

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by exthemius

Thanks -- that's actually my wife's thread, but I don't know that anyone actually addresses this specific question.

Gotcha

Good luck.

[gogebic3508]

We pull a 26-foot trailer and we have a Newfoundland --- also a large dog. You must be careful with placing a dog in a trailer. Check the laws in your area. I have heard that it is illegal for a person to ride in the trailer as you pull it, but I am unsure about the dog. The real problem is that you cannot see the dog and there is no air flow. Dogs die when from being left in vehicles in hot weather.

We tried using a bubble connector between the cab and the cap of our pickup truck, but it was useless in hot weather. Air leaks around the tailgate are common and defeated the purpose altogether. The term "hot dog" is not an exaggeration.

We used a crate when the dog was under a year old. With training, the dog learned to lie down, yet in cold weather he was able to move around without being crated. You can find portable air conditioning units, so that arrangement might be an option. However, the dog would have to be completely trustworthy to be left alone in the back of the truck with the machine running.

I'm not acquainted with the Mastiff breed, but Newfies prefer to be with their "people". Large dogs and crowded vehicles are not compatible. We travel as a couple and Bear has the back seat of a crew cab to himself. The seats fold up, so he also has the option of the entire floor area. Just ask yourself if you would want to travel in the dog's place. That may make your decision easier.

We plan to order a new Airstream in the spring. If If you know of anyone with a Classic 31, I would like to know how they like it. We are getting ready to order a new one and excited doesn't approach our mood.

gogebic3508Happy travels!

gogebic3508

[rebelstand]

Our Great Dane & Australian Cattle Dog currently ride in the bed of the pickup in their Airline Travel Crates. The aussie suffers from motion sickness when she is enclosed in the cab but can do excessively long trips (with breaks every 3-4 hours) with the wind blowing thru her crate. The Dane is a safety hazard to my kids if in the cab. We are talking about getting a cap for the truck.

[kcbwil]

I don't know about Canada laws, but I believe in the US it's illegal to have people and/or animals traveling in the trailer as it's moving.

[JulianneJ]

Cap the truck! The trailer is too dangerous for pets when in motion. Haven't we all opened the door at some point and things have been tossed about? If you can't tell I am very passionate on this subject, if you don't have room the dog in your vehicle, don't get the dog.

[exthemius]

The original point of my comment actually had nothing to do with putting our dogs in the trailer -- we'd never even think about that -- it was about trying to figure out how best to accommodate a large dog with a truck. We intend on getting a cap for the truck, but we certainly don't allow the dogs to roam freely in the back of our truck, they are both strapped into travel crates. The issue that we're facing is that in our configuration, we are unable to open the tailgate of our truck (regardless of cap) when the trailer is connected. When we go on longer trips, we would need to stop and let the dogs out. To accomplish this, we would literally have to unhitch, pull forward 2 inches, open the tailgate, let the dogs out, load them back up, backup, re-hitch and then proceed. Although I know that this could be solved with a different TV, that's just not going to happen since it's a fairly new vehicle, and I was curious if others have this same problem and any solutions.

Again, we're not planning or have ever planned on letting the dogs either ride in the trailer or free in the bed of the truck.

[JulianneJ]

Shawn~ I wasn't responding to your post, sorry for the misunderstanding.