Overlanding with the pups

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Before I begin; I would like to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Louisiana and Texas who have had their lives turned upside down by Hurricane Laura.

Overlanding with the Pups;

I must be getting old then I look back to the simple day's of a pop up tent from Walmart, a sleeping bag, a Cardboard Sleeping Mat, a Walmart cooler, and a 20lb bag of Kingsford Charcoal for the camp fire.
Now as I look forward too new adventures, and a new overland rig build for 2021 there's 3 simple facts that I have to accept:


1. RTT's are out of the question, I need to be on the ground with the kids at all times, and since my 3 pups average over 100lbs I just feel more safe being at an arms distance from them when off the grid. So the simple days of a pop up tent are what I have in mind. My top choice for 2021 will be the Oz tent RV5 and Fox-wing setup, and for winter camping the Oz Tent looks like a great option for a camp stove setup. My other selections was Kodiak Canvas Tents, Whiteduck's Bell Tent, and Cabellas series of off the grid options.

2. Keeping one eye on my two 18 month pups at all times; this would be my biggest concern. I picked up TKStars GPS collars, and I would like to say that they are trained to stay on command. The reality - my two pups - black mouth curs have a mind of their own when it comes to putting the nose to the ground. I have to pick up an Easy-Setup dog run, and two Large Impact or Gunner Crates for the camp site.
My oldest boy (10 years old) - Bear has been with me on road trips from AZ to FL, AZ to NY, and Idaho, with well over 20k miles on the road in the last 10 years he's seen it all.

3. Wildlife - as I see some of my favorite YouTube creators let their dogs run along side their rigs, I don't see this as an option when I'm overlanding in the big country. I just can't take the risk of my pups thinking that they can go on a hunt after some bear or elk.

Now for my pups safety, besides the GPS collars, Dog Run, and Impact Crates I have two PET first aid kits; a snake bite kit, their boots for the winter and insane summer heat I was thinking about an Invisible Fence Option. So as I covered the RTT option is out the door, I'm going with the OZ Tent. Safety is my biggest concern. Well it's late and I'm sorry if I jumped around a bit here. I would love to hear back from you if you travel with your pets, and any tips or tricks that you might have.

Thank you for your time, and most of all stay safe.

 

[Outdoordog]

My dogs are the reason I got my jeep instead of a truck, also they have a shorter wheelbase.

But yeah, RTT is out of the question for me, I do not want to haul my 2 dogs up there, also its top heavy.

My dogs are not allowed to be off their cables when I overland, they are hunting dogs and will instinctively take off into the woods and be gone for hours or days.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Love the pics; and I'm right there with you when it comes to keeping them tied up. I just can't see me letting them run along side the trails as you know all too well that when that hunting drive kicks in overdrive they will take right off. My two rug rats are also hunting dogs; I had never heard of Black Mouth Curs before I adopted my two pups. For my boy Bear, he always stays at my side, but it's not worth the risk.
I think you might have actually sold me on trading in my Ram for another Jeep, right now the CJ5 won't work for my 3 pups and after watching BleepingJeep traverse the Black Bear Pass there is no way my truck would make some of those turns, or even 3 point turns. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Munga Brown]

... after watching BleepingJeep traverse the Black Bear Pass ...

Wasn't that nuts??

I had considered a 4 door Wrangler, but, and I know this is just me, I could not stand the way they drove, and visibility was awful (to me). Plus, I was looking at spending $40K before any improvements/mods, and that's way beyond my pay grade.

 

[The Captain]

We take our dogs camping with us, the younger one knows not to leave the campsite, the older one just doesn't care.
On arrival we just set the boundaries by telling her to "wait" at points within the campsite, to her the wait command means sit and stay. This doesn't mean that we don't need to be vigilant with her, alway keep her within sight, she usually only want to be close when outside her own surroundings. By comparison, if she is at home on a walk in the local park she does her own thing, all care but no responsibility, selective hearing!

Having said that I would be hesitant to take her into the remote outback, there are so many 1080 baits out there (poison for control of feral pests) that get moved by birds and feral dogs. No disrespect as I appreciate the connection with our fur babies but if I have to keep her on a tether I personally think she's better at home with a baby sitter.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I dont want to go anywhere I cant take my Beagle. Being outdoors and in the woods or mountains just means less if Scout is not there, too.

My preference is for trucks or wagon style SUV's. To that end, I have a gently modified 99 Grand, but lately prefer my 14 GMC Sierra.

Here's Scout on top of Mount Washington, NH

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Gotta keep him on leash, tied out or on a run. Otherwise the Beagle in him takes him hunting, and I MIGHT see him by dinner time, maybe

 

[ThundahBeagle]

One thing you really want to do though, is just make sure that nothing is going to roll or slide around and potentially fall on a dog while traveling (applies equally to people too), and to make doubly sure that nothing you are carrying is going to harm the dog if it gets into things.

Very good point. My Beagle's got a Kurgo harness, which clicks into the seatbelt receiver or wraps around the seatbelt. Nice and secure. FWIW, the Kurgo Tru-Fit harness is probably the best on the market as far as I'm concerned. Stainless, nesting connectors like on old linesman harnesses. So he is in the back seat of my GMC Sierra double cab while the lady and I are on front. All of our gear is in the covered bed of the truck, so we are in good shape there. I'm sure it's not quite as simple in a Tahoe where everything is inside with you.

But to your point of making sure nothing you carry will harm the dog...once on site I tie him out and anything not "in use" remains in the bed. One of the biggest things to be careful of is making sure there are no coolant leaks from your truck's radiator or hoses, as it smells and tastes sweet to a dog but it kills them if they drink it.

Also, making sure your dog is tied out far enough away from the truck so they aren't in the way as you unload. About a week ago, we tied Scout out to a tree, but he was able to get close enough to my buddy's tent and took a leak on the side where his wife sleeps. And then on her shoes. I guess he wants to own her or something.

 

[trikebubble]

We used to have an Xterra with rooftop tent, and I bought carpet runner and laid it up the hood, windshield and up onto the roof. One of our dogs could jump up on the hood then simply walk up the carpet runner and into the open window of the rtt. My other dog, I lifted her onto the hood...then she followed the same route. We now have a Tundra and Four Wheel Camper, where we are all a lot more comfortable, and it's easier for our one older dog to get in and out. But, the carpet runner trick on the Xterra worked like a charm.

We have one deaf dog (Molly), so in the wilderness she always wears a bell ... in case she wanders it makes her easy to find. Out other dog (Ichabod) is a Catahoula, with an extremely high prey drive. Fortunately we have trained him over they years ot focus his energy on looking after his deaf sister. It is his primary job in life, and he excels at it. He keeps an eye on her, we have taught him to "go get Molly" and he will retrieve her, and going on 5 years with him , he is at the point where he won't chase deer or large prey (rabbits, marmots, and squirrels are off the no-chase list though.....) We will leash them up when camping near other people, or if their are particularly dangerous surroundings, but aside from that they pretty much live off-leash whenever possible. My Wife also spent considerable time with a professional trainer learning how to correctly use an E-Collar. Again, after 4 -odd years we find the training has stuck and we rarely ever use the E-Collar anymore.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Beautiful dogs!

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Wasn't that nuts??

I had considered a 4 door Wrangler, but, and I know this is just me, I could not stand the way they drove, and visibility was awful (to me). Plus, I was looking at spending $40K before any improvements/mods, and that's way beyond my pay grade.

It was insane, watching those 3 point turns as the Hail was coming down. The CJ5 would be sweet on solo trips if I swap out my rebuilt AMC 360 for a R2.8 crate engine. Well since Fall is right around the corner, I have some time to look around as I don't expect to hit any trails until after May 2021.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Beautiful dogs!

Thank you

We used to have an Xterra with rooftop tent, and I bought carpet runner and laid it up the hood, windshield and up onto the roof. One of our dogs could jump up on the hood then simply walk up the carpet runner and into the open window of the rtt. My other dog, I lifted her onto the hood...then she followed the same route. We now have a Tundra and Four Wheel Camper, where we are all a lot more comfortable, and it's easier for our one older dog to get in and out. But, the carpet runner trick on the Xterra worked like a charm.

We have one deaf dog (Molly), so in the wilderness she always wears a bell ... in case she wanders it makes her easy to find. Out other dog (Ichabod) is a Catahoula, with an extremely high prey drive. Fortunately we have trained him over they years ot focus his energy on looking after his deaf sister. It is his primary job in life, and he excels at it. He keeps an eye on her, we have taught him to "go get Molly" and he will retrieve her, and going on 5 years with him , he is at the point where he won't chase deer or large prey (rabbits, marmots, and squirrels are off the no-chase list though.....) We will leash them up when camping near other people, or if their are particularly dangerous surroundings, but aside from that they pretty much live off-leash whenever possible. My Wife also spent considerable time with a professional trainer learning how to correctly use an E-Collar. Again, after 4 -odd years we find the training has stuck and we rarely ever use the E-Collar anymore.

View attachment 169244

Love the pups, and thank you for the reply. With my two rug rats Wanda and Wilson the key is to keep one on leash at all times. The 'W' pups are from the same litter and they won't leave each other.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

We take our dogs camping with us, the younger one knows not to leave the campsite, the older one just doesn't care.
On arrival we just set the boundaries by telling her to "wait" at points within the campsite, to her the wait command means sit and stay. This doesn't mean that we don't need to be vigilant with her, alway keep her within sight, she usually only want to be close when outside her own surroundings. By comparison, if she is at home on a walk in the local park she does her own thing, all care but no responsibility, selective hearing!

Having said that I would be hesitant to take her into the remote outback, there are so many 1080 baits out there (poison for control of feral pests) that get moved by birds and feral dogs. No disrespect as I appreciate the connection with our fur babies but if I have to keep her on a tether I personally think she's better at home with a baby sitter.

Thank you so much for your reply; for some reason I let my IT GIG take over my life these past few years that when I look back I did the same - I set the boundaries at all camp sites in Northern AZ and Idaho. The very first thing I did was to set up the cables before the tent so that I could let my pups out after a long drive. After the campsite was set up I took my old-girls for a walk around the campgrounds so that they could put their noses to work. On day trips to dog beaches I would make sure that the area was clear of any distractions before letting them swim and even then I always kept an eye out for any new arrivals so that I could real them in if needed. I guess my biggest fear is when I take road trips to the Big Country, and you have a great point about the pet/baby sitter.

Here's some pics of my old girls (Lily passed in April of 2019 to Cancer at 14 years old, and Jasmine passed in 2012 at 14.5 years old) the original OG's when it came to road trips with Dad.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Very good point. My Beagle's got a Kurgo harness, which clicks into the seatbelt receiver or wraps around the seatbelt. Nice and secure. FWIW, the Kurgo Tru-Fit harness is probably the best on the market as far as I'm concerned. Stainless, nesting connectors like on old linesman harnesses. So he is in the back seat of my GMC Sierra double cab while the lady and I are on front. All of our gear is in the covered bed of the truck, so we are in good shape there. I'm sure it's not quite as simple in a Tahoe where everything is inside with you.

But to your point of making sure nothing you carry will harm the dog...once on site I tie him out and anything not "in use" remains in the bed. One of the biggest things to be careful of is making sure there are no coolant leaks from your truck's radiator or hoses, as it smells and tastes sweet to a dog but it kills them if they drink it.

Also, making sure your dog is tied out far enough away from the truck so they aren't in the way as you unload. About a week ago, we tied Scout out to a tree, but he was able to get close enough to my buddy's tent and took a leak on the side where his wife sleeps. And then on her shoes. I guess he wants to own her or something.

Oh my, this reply brings back memories of my Boy Bear in Miami, walking up people on the beach and marking on the back of their beach chairs. I would switch from the east coast to the west coast of FL each weekend in search of the best dog beaches; i had finally settled on Bonita Springs and Yes the first thing Bear did was to mark on someone's chair.
Thank you so much for the tips, especially the coolant leaks.. that had never even crossed my mind... and for my two young pups they would have to sniff and taste everything they find interesting.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

One thing you really want to do though, is just make sure that nothing is going to roll or slide around and potentially fall on a dog while traveling (applies equally to people too), and to make doubly sure that nothing you are carrying is going to harm the dog if it gets into things.





snaptube vidmate word to pdf

Absolutely, with the pups they will travel inside the truck to the final destination of choice. Bear gets the front seat and Wanda and Wilson will have the back seat to themselves. When I get the camp site I plan on setting up the cables and the impact dog crates. I might even pick up an OZTent RV 2 or 3 just for the pups.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

I dont want to go anywhere I cant take my Beagle. Being outdoors and in the woods or mountains just means less if Scout is not there, too.

My preference is for trucks or wagon style SUV's. To that end, I have a gently modified 99 Grand, but lately prefer my 14 GMC Sierra.

Here's Scout on top of Mount Washington, NH

View attachment 169199

Right on, great pic

 

[Iceman.Actual]

They haven’t been on too many of my excursions due to the Navy keeping me away from home, but they (mainly Tala) love the outings.

Tala is a Miniature Siberian Husky at 3yo and Weldon is a Red Lab at 2yo. They’ve gone everywhere from Pennsylvania, Western Virginia, North Carolina camping to our road trip and move to Florida.
I agree strongly on the safety aspect being the number one priority while we’re out because Tala has to get into literally every bush or river. Luckily Weldon is the timid yet protecting type so he tends to give us a solid warning of wildlife around. They’re my world outside of the wife, so I’d probably lose my mind if anything happened to them on the trail.

 

[MOAK]

Wasn't that nuts??

I had considered a 4 door Wrangler, but, and I know this is just me, I could not stand the way they drove, and visibility was awful (to me).

"the way they drove" ? not sure what you mean by that as the entire video production was all a bit enhanced for dramatic effect. Some one actually suggested they call in a rescue team for the hikers? Really? One thing for certain though, adverse weather can happen any time any where. Be prepared, physically, mechanically and mentally. Apologies to the OP. We have decided not to get another dog since our Maggie and Sasha passed on several years ago. Once we are finished with our back country and inter-national travels then it will be time for another dog to join our family.

 

[Things]

My whole jeep XJ build was centered around my dog, he's a 75lbs Belgian Sheepdog. Front passenger seat delete along with the rear, made for me and him. Neoprene floor so he has comfort and traction, every thing is tied down and netted across for his safety (and mine). We just did Black Bear Pass and all the others around there last week and he loved it, I remove the rear view mirror on trails so he has a uninterrupted view on the trail. He always see the elk, dear and bighorn before I do and lets me know. Been my co-polit for the last 9 years.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

They haven’t been on too many of my excursions due to the Navy keeping me away from home, but they (mainly Tala) love the outings.

Tala is a Miniature Siberian Husky at 3yo and Weldon is a Red Lab at 2yo. They’ve gone everywhere from Pennsylvania, Western Virginia, North Carolina camping to our road trip and move to Florida.
I agree strongly on the safety aspect being the number one priority while we’re out because Tala has to get into literally every bush or river. Luckily Weldon is the timid yet protecting type so he tends to give us a solid warning of wildlife around. They’re my world outside of the wife, so I’d probably lose my mind if anything happened to them on the trail.

I absolutely love the pups here; but most of all I would like to take this time to thank you for your service. Great pics...