Dog Gone, Camping

[K9LTW]

My wife is a retired veterinarian and she has had to work on, and in extreme cases euthanize dogs because they were in the front seat during an accident, even a small one, when the passenger airbag went off injuring the dog. Please either turn off the passenger side airbag or back seat only your friend.
I only camp where I can take my dog.

If anyone is unfortunate enough to watch a dog escape from a wrecked vehicle only to get smashed on the road, as I have, they'll probably reevaluate how they transport their pup(s). Watching dogs loose in a vehicle, in a driver's LAP , or bouncing around in the bed of a pick-up...or with their heads and unprotected eyes hanging out the window...just spins me up. We use a Variocage in the back of our Forester (only big enough for one, so if we have both, the other is harnessed in a hammock in the backseat). Our RAM has a full K9 insert in lieu of the backseat. While there's room to bounce around, there's nothing to hit, no way to get up front other than the emergency access door, and grill guards behind the windows which are awesome for leaving windows down! Our departed Sequoia had custom crates from TNC bolted in.

And, just no to wire crates. I've seen more than my fair share of dogs impaled on those things.

 

[Outdoordog]

My wife is a retired veterinarian and she has had to work on, and in extreme cases euthanize dogs because they were in the front seat during an accident, even a small one, when the passenger airbag went off injuring the dog. Please either turn off the passenger side airbag or back seat only your friend.
I only camp where I can take my dog.

That's good advice.
My dogs are always backseat with a harness tied to something.
I was rear ended and my jeep got totalled, but dogs are fine.

 

[freak4life]

If anyone is unfortunate enough to watch a dog escape from a wrecked vehicle only to get smashed on the road, as I have, they'll probably reevaluate how they transport their pup(s). Watching dogs loose in a vehicle, in a driver's LAP , or bouncing around in the bed of a pick-up...or with their heads and unprotected eyes hanging out the window...just spins me up. We use a Variocage in the back of our Forester (only big enough for one, so if we have both, the other is harnessed in a hammock in the backseat). Our RAM has a full K9 insert in lieu of the backseat. While there's room to bounce around, there's nothing to hit, no way to get up front other than the emergency access door, and grill guards behind the windows which are awesome for leaving windows down! Our departed Sequoia had custom crates from TNC bolted in.

And, just no to wire crates. I've seen more than my fair share of dogs impaled on those things.

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Amen and amen!

 

[freak4life]

Sam found his way into my life in April. He's turned out to be a great travel buddy!

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Beautiful dog.

 

[Tommys]

Hello all, I was inspired by the pet photos, and I wanted to offer more.
What about when pets get sick out on the trail? Well, that just happened to me.
So, I am going to podcast the story and what happened. Also, I want to share Tidbits about what I wish I knew!

Join the conversation: Podcast

 

[Tommys]

Hello all, I was inspired by the pet photos, and I wanted to offer more.
What about when pets get sick out on the trail? Well, that just happened to me.
So, I am going to podcast the story and what happened. Also, I want to share Tidbits about what I wish I knew!

Join the conversation: Podcast

Sorry for the audio problems. Here is the new link:
Peaky Pets

 

[hey_poolboy]

Oliver likes camping, but rides aren't his favorite.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I love dogs but I feel like taking them on trips is like taking small children. They can't feed themselves, they require constant looking after to make sure they don't wind up somewhere they shouldn't be or lost, and it kind of sucks the fun out of traveling for me. However, if you bring a dog I will probably spend more time interacting with it than people, lol.

My friends dog from this past weekend in the Ouachitas. Every time we stopped for some reason, he would sit in the driver's seat and stare out the windshield.

He's picking out his lines ahead of time, scanning the horizon for critters and playing the "what if..." game in his head. If ONLY he could get his paws on the owner's manual for this thing, he might learn how to drive and head out on his own

 

[ThundahBeagle]

My wife is a retired veterinarian and she has had to work on, and in extreme cases euthanize dogs because they were in the front seat during an accident, even a small one, when the passenger airbag went off injuring the dog. Please either turn off the passenger side airbag or back seat only your friend.
I only camp where I can take my dog.

I have a Kurgo Tru-Fit harness for Scout, and a back seat bench cover. The harness can either connect around the seatbelt itself or click into the seatbelt receiver, depending which tether you have. I got both so I can do either.

As you said, the front seat is no place for a dog when the vehicle is in motion.

I also only camp where I can take my dog.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

You're not wrong. We go evvvvvvvvvvvvverywhere with our 11.5-yo Malinois, and 4.5-yo Dutch Shepherd. And, for the next 8-10 years, likely won't be traveling outside of North America...limited to driving. Our Dutchy (the all-to-aptly named Havoc) had a troubled youth that produced a neurotic jackwagon with severe separation anxiety. The mere thought of kenneling him makes ME break out in hives and a nervous sweat. So we're adjusting. Greenland, Iceland, and lands far away will just have to wait. While I love our dogs more than but a few beings on this planet (and even then it depends on the day), I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a tinge of resentment at times. Sure my wife or I can bounce and leave the dogs with the other, but I'd kinda like to experience things with my girl of 30 years. National Parks? Have fun driving through them (with rare exception you can't hike with dogs) or running to go take a quick look at Devil's Tower while the AC is blasting away. Difficult trails with a lot of climbing/difficult scrambling/exposure? Nope...not worth the risk. Being able to jump out and spend hours at a roadside museum/attraction? Not unless the weather is conducive. There's also the social issues. When meeting new folks, you'll be "welcome" into the circle in short order, but if there are other dogs involved? Nope. Hard nope.

I've ALWAYS had dogs since birth. Always said I'd never be without one. But...yeah...once Alexa leaves us (hopefully not for a few years), Havoc will be a loaner. After he's gone? We're taking a break for a year or two. Maybe we'll be that cliche in our mid-50s and vanlife it for a year to see all the parks. But New Zealand, Oz, Greenland (hopefully it's not, literally, green by then), Iceland, Ireland, and African safaris await.

Yet at the same time there's the comic relief and "excuse" to stop at lakes and rivers to let Havoc swim...and swim...and swim...puke up some water...and swim... Sure would be nice if THEY made ME breakfast once and a while, though. Ungrateful punks.

Routt NF south of Steamboat. Havoc prefers squishing up against a tire (if he doesn't burrow under the truck). It's all well and good...until the tires are covered in mud.
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Amazing spot on the Flathead River north of Polebridge, MT looking into Glacier NP.
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"Ball iz lyf!" Lunch stop....uhhhhhhhhh...somewhere on our way to Devil's Tower (too lazy to break out GAIA and look).
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"Scooz me. I likez pancakez wif bacon."
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Pre-warming my wife's sleeping bag in the RTT on a chilly night in Vermont on the way home from Maine two years ago.
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I'm of a similar mind. Always had dogs as a kid. There was a long stretch after my parents divorce I had to move to the city and did not have a dog. Finally got a dog again and eventually moved away from the city. If I cant take my dog, i dont want to go. And I've been to many national parks between Boston and Big Sky. If you are able to go with another couple/family, preferably one with a dog of their own, you can rotate out so someone is always with the dogs while others adventure a while.

How many 4 thousand footers has Scout pulled me up on the leash? A lot. More, too, I hope.

We have family who was a vet tech and loves animals so she is super with the pup(s), so the few times we went someplace the dogs could not go, they were in excellent hands.

We lost Mrs Beagles two Yorkies over the last 2 years, and only my Beagle is left. Who knows how I will feel, but having suffered without a dog for so long, I cant see myself without one.

France? Meh. How about the Badlands and Deadwood instead?

Whe. We DO take that trip to Iceland, we have that family member to rely on.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

If anyone is unfortunate enough to watch a dog escape from a wrecked vehicle only to get smashed on the road, as I have, they'll probably reevaluate how they transport their pup(s). Watching dogs loose in a vehicle, in a driver's LAP , or bouncing around in the bed of a pick-up...or with their heads and unprotected eyes hanging out the window...just spins me up. We use a Variocage in the back of our Forester (only big enough for one, so if we have both, the other is harnessed in a hammock in the backseat). Our RAM has a full K9 insert in lieu of the backseat. While there's room to bounce around, there's nothing to hit, no way to get up front other than the emergency access door, and grill guards behind the windows which are awesome for leaving windows down! Our departed Sequoia had custom crates from TNC bolted in.

And, just no to wire crates. I've seen more than my fair share of dogs impaled on those things.

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That's pretty cool. Dont take this the wrong way but not everyone wants to be like a K9 officer. I sometimes have my dog with me, and other times just human passengers, so I'm not putting a professional K9 officer style cage in the back seat, but I have seen something similar for hunting dogs in the back of pickups. The harness that snaps into the seatbelt receiver (kurgo tru-fit is crash tested) seems like a pretty good, inexpensive but safe alternative for smaller dogs

 

[K9LTW]

If anyone is unfortunate enough to watch a dog escape from a wrecked vehicle only to get smashed on the road, as I have, they'll probably reevaluate how they transport their pup(s). Watching dogs loose in a vehicle, in a driver's LAP , or bouncing around in the bed of a pick-up...or with their heads and unprotected eyes hanging out the window...just spins me up. We use a Variocage in the back of our Forester (only big enough for one, so if we have both, the other is harnessed in a hammock in the backseat). Our RAM has a full K9 insert in lieu of the backseat. While there's room to bounce around, there's nothing to hit, no way to get up front other than the emergency access door, and grill guards behind the windows which are awesome for leaving windows down! Our departed Sequoia had custom crates from TNC bolted in.

And, just no to wire crates. I've seen more than my fair share of dogs impaled on those things.

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That's pretty cool. Dont take this the wrong way but not everyone wants to be like a K9 officer. I sometimes have my dog with me, and other times just human passengers, so I'm not putting a professional K9 officer style cage in the back seat, but I have seen something similar for hunting dogs in the back of pickups. The harness that snaps into the seatbelt receiver (kurgo tru-fit is crash tested) seems like a pretty good, inexpensive but safe alternative for smaller dogs

I mean…never claimed it’s the best solution for others. Nothing to do with wanting to be like a handler (though I was one). Best solution for what suits us. No passengers and no seats to get messed up when we throw gear in it once at camp.

I used to use a Kurgo strap onto my Mal’s harness when we’d go play in the Subaru, just her and me. Doesn’t solve the leaving windows down in populated areas, though, or keeping the knuckleheads’ heads in the windows

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I mean…never claimed it’s the best solution for others. Nothing to do with wanting to be like a handler (though I was one). Best solution for what suits us. No passengers and no seats to get messed up when we throw gear in it once at camp.

I used to use a Kurgo strap onto my Mal’s harness when we’d go play in the Subaru, just her and me. Doesn’t solve the leaving windows down in populated areas, though, or keeping the knuckleheads’ heads in the windows

Didn't mean that in a purjoritive sense. Every solution here may or may not work for some or others. If I were a long distance traveler with just me and the dog, a lot, I probably would do exactly as you have. K9 does it for a reason.

 

[K9LTW]

I mean…never claimed it’s the best solution for others. Nothing to do with wanting to be like a handler (though I was one). Best solution for what suits us. No passengers and no seats to get messed up when we throw gear in it once at camp.

I used to use a Kurgo strap onto my Mal’s harness when we’d go play in the Subaru, just her and me. Doesn’t solve the leaving windows down in populated areas, though, or keeping the knuckleheads’ heads in the windows

Didn't mean that in a purjoritive sense. Every solution here may or may not work for some or others. If I were a long distance traveler with just me and the dog, a lot, I probably would do exactly as you have. K9 does it for a reason.

No offense taken…sorry if it seemed I had. Our rigs are all a compromise, for sure. If anything, I just hope these posts shipped folks the myriad options out there to keep their dogs safe!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

 

[Tommys]

Ah, the adventurer is in that guy!

 

[David_561cfd]

Everywhere I go!

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What breed , good lookin dog

 

[Ethan N]

What breed , good lookin dog

Pretty sure he's mostly Lab / GSD but I suspect his parents were also mixed. I've had many Belgian Mal owners tell me he looks Mal.

 

[David_561cfd]

What breed , good lookin dog

Pretty sure he's mostly Lab / GSD but I suspect his parents were also mixed. I've had many Belgian Mal owners tell me he looks Mal.

I have a mal/shepard mix and that’s what I was thinking

 

[Ethan N]

I have a mal/shepard mix and that’s what I was thinking

He's got something in him, that's for sure! He's also got a purple spotted tongue, but I know that can happen across a lot of breeds.