# Dogs and motorhomes



## Jodi1

We are new to motorhomes and have two (elderly) Golden Retrievers We have yet to travel with them in the motorhome and I am wondering where the best place for them to be when we are on the move. I'm inclined to put them in the toilet/shower compartment which is pretty roomy rather then have them loose within the van. Having two large dog crates will take up too much room. What do other (large) dog owners do?


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## DTPCHEMICALS

We put a barrier between th ecab seats.
Collie lays up to it.

dave p


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## rayrecrok

Hi.

We put a rug on the L shape bench seat behind me and Evie lays on this while travelling, she cant shoot forward if we pull up sharp as the woodwork behind the drivers seat keeps her secure.

If she wants to have a nosey she can rest her chin on the woodwork and look over at where we are going, must fascinate her travelling all over and somehow we end up back at home!.

Its all done with mirrors.. :lol: ..

2 dogs well, good luck.


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## Ian-rapido

When we started motorhoming we were concerned how our 2 would travel so bought a folding fabric crate from Pets at home, the only times we have used it is when on a ferry trip as they have both learnt the skill of wriggling out of the collars and jumping up on the bed :lol: 

There is a handle by the habitation door that we tie both leads to and put their bed by the doorway, the leads are long enough to allow them to walk around a bit but not long enough for them to walk into the cab and if I need to brake hard they wont fly through the windscreen. 

Maybe you could find somewhere to attach their leads say in the end lounge so they can walk around a little but not get at the cab and secure if you need an emergency stop.

Ian


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## Jented

Woof.
My names Sassy,and i travel in state on whichever side settee i wish,after all they are covered for me.

Hi.
Our mates Dolly and Phil,have the same motor as you,and two Alsations,( They call them GSD). The dogs are BIG and livelyso they have a double crate for them,this they mount on two planks across the isle onto the settees, and put the D/crate,North to South,or Front to Back,( NOT, Port to Starboard Lol) They are like all of us dog lovers,the dogs welfare is paramount and the dogs love it . We will never have two dogs,we were to old to have a puppy,thats why we rescued,so our last dog,(Forth time been said!),is spoilt rotten.They will love new "Walkies" areas,go on,have a ball.
Jented


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## CPW2007

Our rather large GSD (some people call them Alsations!) 8O 8O lies very comfortably on the nearside bench seat (has a cover on it especially for her when we travel). She lies there, occasionally pops her head up when we slow down and loves it. I haven't quite got round to securing her lead to anything yet as I'm not convinced that an emergency stop (should we ever have to make one) would not cause her just as much discomfort as not being secured?? :? There is a barrier in place between her and the driving area (it's an old MFO box lid from my army days) and it works perfectly.

Before anyone might want to suggest that I (we) don't take our dogs well-being seriously, I can assure you we do! She is our 3rd GSD, the first one was bought as a pup in Germany, finally passed away when he was 14 years old; our second GSD was a rescue dog from Dogs Trust, aged 2, she passed away January 2009 aged 12 years and our current GSD is also a rescue dog (approx 3 years old) and hopefully will also have a long and prosperous life with us!   

Regards

Chris


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## Tezmcd

Wow a motorhome with a dog - you must be kidding!

I thought all motorhomes were sold on with a guarantee that they had never been lived in - let alone have had dog / children or smokers in!

Our black lab started out as being blocked in at the back next to the shower room, after a while we relaxed and let her lie on the sofa - after two trips we got an awning, she loved that sofa so much we couldn't get her off it


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## travelingirl

Hi our very large and hairy GSD lies on the covered sofa whilst we are travelling or sometimes on the floor on his duvet, we keep him free but if we want to tether him we would put on his very large harness which has a clip on the top of his back, and we would attach that to a long training lead (they have metal hoops and 2 clips so can vary length) then to the passenger seat. We havn`t had to do that up to now, but as we travel in Spain a lot and intheory dogs should not be free in transit, we keep it at the ready. Just get them in there and have a great time.
Kim :lol:


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## OwnedbyCollies

We have 2 border collies. 

Jack has always preferred to ride backwards (he does it in the back of the Discovery) and he lies on a dog duvet on the floor in the aisle just behind the cab seats with his bum to the front. 

Jess has a duvet folded up under the table which turns the space into a lovely, cosy hidey-hole behind the passenger seat. 

They just like to be as close to us as possible and prefer to be wedged up against something. When we stop they jump onto the seats to see what's going on. 

We did think they would make a bee-line for the fixed bed as they could look out of the windows but they don't seem to like traveling on it (although Jess thinks its hers when we stop!!) 8O


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## peribro

Our Schnauser goes in his bed under the side facing seats immediately behind the cab. He is very happy there and if we ever have the habitation door open when the van is in our drive, he will hop in and put himself to bed!


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## Jented

Hi.
I don't wish to offend ANY Alsatian dog owners, it's just that i cannot spell G.D.S. Sorry. We had an Alsatian in the 60's,Smokey Joe,long haired,black as a gorillas bottom at midnight,beautifull dog,whats the expression "Junk yard dog",spot on.
Tde


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## Tklybeard

Hi Scruffy and Skye here we travel in the back of Steve self build on our mat and look through the little opening when he stops. If we need to be secured he puts us on harnesses and leads attached to a fixed point but we can still get up and look.


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## Freddiebooks

Roof Rack....... it's that simple. 

Thread Stops Here !!!!

Freddiebooks


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## patp

As I have had the misfortune to be in an accident with two dogs in the back of the car I always put a harness on and secure it to the passenger lap belt in the forward facing seat of the dinette.

When the dogs were involved in the car accident, one dog cannoned into the other and hurt him so much he screamed. It was an estate car and they bent the rear seat when they hit it. As I was already pretty shocked myself, having to deal with an injured dog, and an injured other driver, it was not a pleasant experience. All ok in the end but could have been much worse. Especially if I had been doing any more than the 30mph I was doing at the time8O


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## adonisito

*dog space*

We thought about this too with Bramble (lab retriever). In front of the loo door is no good for the night. If you have an overcab bed then the ladder will provide a natural barrier between cab and habitation area. There is no way he's getting on the upholstery! He sleeps in the cab area, on the floor, although I know he creeps into the driver's seat when he knows we are asleep. Dog in cab area is also brilliant for security.


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## Burneyinn

We used to travel with two elderly Golden Retrievers, one sat on the settee the other under the table. They used to find somewhere safe where they could wedge themselves in.

Now we have just one young retriever who has also found her own niche.
We did use a soft crate for her when she was a puppy, but not now. 

You have to do what you feel happy with.


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## greenasthegrass

Ours travel in the shower room with a bowl of water in the shower tray. They have a big cushion and it shuts the racket of barking up before it starts!

Also occasional woof from something hitting them from the cupboard which we have now cured with a bit of velcro. 

Its actually trained the noisy mutt to travel in the car sans woofing! Never known a dog woof so much when travelling other one just looks at him with her paws over her ears am sure!

When woofy pops off Vicky will have a harness on the side bench or travel in the shower room. We never go more than 2 hours with them in it just in case.

Greenie


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## Hezbez

So what's the difference between an alsation and a G.S.D?
I honestly don't know :? 

Sorry if this is a bit off topic :lol:


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## CPW2007

Hezbez said:


> So what's the difference between an alsation and a G.S.D?
> I honestly don't know :?
> 
> Sorry if this is a bit off topic :lol:


Have a look here It explains it clearer than I can!! (There is no difference but I prefer GSD - personal preference   )

Regards

Chris


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## Jented

Hi Hezbez.
It seems they have Three names. Alsace and Lorraine?,changed hands between France and Germany several times,so it would appear Alsatian,( AlsatiOn being a common mistake) ,denotes an area where the dog came from,pinpoints the area,(Border Collie,Welsh/English/Scottish borders). The term German Shepherd Dog,was dropped after WW1,because of peoples feelings at the time,and this was in the dogs best interests,it is also allowed to call it Shaffen>>>>>hund? (Look it up please),GSD<in german,and its to be noted,that it is one of only a few dogs,that has" DOG",included in its name. Why I call them Alsatians,is because my Grandpappy did and probably because i was born in 1939,so as you can imagine,German,was not a word to be bandied about lightly. Hope this helps,i think at least 80% is right.
Jented and "Irish" Border collie,lol.


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## Jodi1

Thank you for all the replies, so far. You have been very helpful. Our two GR's are now so old and ancient (12 and 13) that they can't get up onto settees and chairs, so will be on the floor - know where they would rather be. We have a van with an end lounge so making a 'nest' under the table at the front of a van is out for them and I'm not sure without having a good look round, where a good anchor point would be for leads. We will try them in the loo compartment and see what happens - I like Greenasgrass's description of his dogs in that area :lol: One of the dogs immediately lies down when a vehicle starts to move, but the other likes to look out of the windows, so it will be a big disappointment for her. When we are down to one dog, which may well be sooner rather then later, we will reconsider.


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## Losos

Jodi1 said:


> We are new to motorhomes and have two (elderly) Golden Retrievers We have yet to travel with them in the motorhome and I am wondering where the best place for them to be when we are on the move. *I'm inclined to put them in the toilet/shower compartment which is pretty roomy rather then have them loose within the van.* Having two large dog crates will take up too much room. What do other (large) dog owners do?


Pease, PLEASE. *don't put them in the shower room*, they will not be able to see out, no matter how big you think it is it won't be large eough, they will be stressed and panicky, they won't know what is going on, I can't beleive you even thought about that.

What is wrong with having them in the main part of the MH :?: :?: Open a window so they can look out and have some air and they will probably just lay down and go to sleep while you're on the move.

Dogs need to know what's going on, they need to have human company if they are in a MH and above all they need to be treated with respect which putting them in the shower room is patently not doing.


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## greenasthegrass

If I separate mine Woofy howls so in the shower room they go! Vicky actually doesn't mind as she goes in quite willingly obviously if she didn't she wouldn't - but have you tried travelling with a dog that woofs at 110 decibels every minute of the travelling?

Sitting him on his own seat with harness produced a right din and made our travels impossible - shower room sorts this out - so they are staying in there.

If it works for some it won't for others.

Greenie


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## dawnwynne

We have a collie X rescue and he nestles himself between the drivers and passenger seat very comfortably and never moves. Our little one is a king charles cavalier. As mentioned on here a while ago we put a eyebolt? in the area where the rear table leg would be so we can put a chain on her and give her access to all areas of the mh but it stops just short of the cab. Can't say todate she loves travelling this way and makes it well known...but each trip she gets a bit better and actually settles herself down on a bench seat.


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## Steamdrivenandy

Our first van was a Horizons Unlimited Innovation 1 //www.horizons-unlimited.co.uk/innovation/innovation_1.html which we bought specifically because it had a 2ft deep rear 'garage' which could be fitted out with a specially built removable crate. 

The crate had a removable central divider and a door into the van's interior as well as doors to the outside via the lifthatch opening. Our beardies (at one time three of them) loved it in there, regarding the crate as their dens. We used to leave the interior door open at night and the dogs went in and out to stretch their legs or sleep between our single beds at will.

When we had the third beardie we used to use a harness which clipped into one of the rear seat belt catches for travel. The other two were safely tucked up the back in the crate. The Innovation was brilliant because you could stack a folded crate (for use in the awning) plus folding chairs and a folded grooming trolley on top of the crate and still have space for EHU cable, hose, wheel ramps etc above the wheel arches either side of the crate. 

I've heard it said that if you worry about dog (or rear seat passenger) safety then it's better to get a panel van conversion like the Innovation or one of the others on the market, as they're built more strongly than coachbuilts which are all glassfibre/aluminium/wooden battens and really very flimsy.

Despite that we found we were getting stir crazy living for up to three weeks at a time in a short wheelbase Tranny with up to three fairly good size dogs.

So we ended up going for an Adria Compact with a massive rear garage (for aforesaid grooming trolley, awning, puppy pen, silver screens etc), a shower (luxury), but still four belted seats plus a good size transverse rear double bed. 

By that time we were down to two beardies and to accomodate them we bought a canvas crate which fits almost exactly in the dinette space behind the cab seats. The dinette table travels folded up in the rear garage. It's a snug fit for the beardies in there but they seem happy and voluntarily climb in when asked. The crate can't shift on heavy braking as it's hard up against our seat backs and the co-pilot can keep an eye on the dogs by looking down between the seats. 

True we've lost the ability to walk through the van to the loo/tea making facilities but we just have to go round by the hab. door. 

One interesting result of the change of van was that both dogs adopted the large cupboard in the bulkhead between habitation and garage (under the bed) as a substitute for their lost rear crates from the Innovation. When we pitch up they both head for it but there's only room for one in there and the loser spends the night under the dinette table, rather than snuggled in the 'cave'.

I must admit the safety issue bugs me, although at least where we keep them they're almost in the cab area which is the strongest part of the body. I once read of the damage a dog (even one in a harness) can do under severe deceleration and I wouldn't want that sort of risk or on my conscience if possible.

SDA


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## Jodi1

I wouldn't be forcing the dogs to go into the loo compartment, which is actually quite roomy. The older dog voluntarily slept in the shower area of our caravan and is more then happy to go into the motorhomes shower area which is slightly larger. Younger dog is more attached to us and prefers to sleep on the floor beside us at night, but so long as she is with the older dog when we are on the move she will be fine. My concern is that the dogs could be injured due to sharp breaking, especially the younger dog who does not sleep when traveling and is more likely to wander around. I think in the future a dog crate will be the way to go. We will always have a dog so a crate will be more then useful for a young pup.
We used to have a pick up with a hard cover on the pay load area so it looked like a big estate car. The dogs were separate from us then and were not stressed or panicky in any way. They loved being in there and treated it as there mobile kennel. I have owned dogs for most of life and know my dogs extremely well. I would not treat them badly in any way.


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## Ian-rapido

Losos said:


> Jodi1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> We are new to motorhomes and have two (elderly) Golden Retrievers We have yet to travel with them in the motorhome and I am wondering where the best place for them to be when we are on the move. *I'm inclined to put them in the toilet/shower compartment which is pretty roomy rather then have them loose within the van.* Having two large dog crates will take up too much room. What do other (large) dog owners do?
> 
> 
> 
> Pease, PLEASE. *don't put them in the shower room*, they will not be able to see out, no matter how big you think it is it won't be large eough, they will be stressed and panicky, they won't know what is going on, I can't beleive you even thought about that.
> 
> What is wrong with having them in the main part of the MH :?: :?: Open a window so they can look out and have some air and they will probably just lay down and go to sleep while you're on the move.
> 
> Dogs need to know what's going on, they need to have human company if they are in a MH and above all they need to be treated with respect which putting them in the shower room is patently not doing.
Click to expand...

Im sorry Losos but I think your out of order. We love our 2 dogs and dont go anywhere without them but if we gave them the opportunity to sleep in the shower while travelling they would probably jump at it. They sleep in the shower compartment at night and love it, as soon as one of us open the bathroom door they both run along the van and straight into the shower (rectangle shaped and plenty of room), this is probably because its nice and warm in there and they feel secure in there. Both dogs are rescued and we find that if we put their bed in the lounge area they wont settle and scratch on the bathroom door. When we bought the van we tried to encourage them to sleep in the kitchen but as soon as they had the chance they would both go into the shower cubicle.

The only reason we dont allow them to travel in there is because there is nowhere to attach the harnesses.

We got friendly with a couple from Ireland last summer and their dogs will only settle in a crate in the motorhome garage (no windows in there!) Their dogs sleep in there overnight and whenever travelling they sleep in there. Both were spaniels and they were both very happy.

Our 2 dogs aren't bothered to see whats happening outside when travelling and we often close all the van blinds in the summer to try and keep the van cooler for them when travelling as the air conditioning only really cools the cab area.

ETTO I guess!!

:roll:

Ian


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## Jodi1

Thanks Ian  


We had a week in the motorhome at Poston Mill and have booked a long weekend at Blackmore CC site, Great Malvern in June and Bransgore, New Forest in July. Mikes job getting in the way of trips at the moment :lol: . You going anywhere interesting?


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## greenasthegrass

If anyone would like to provide me with a gag and earmuffs then feel free to contact me.

Even better anyone want woofy (longhaired, ginger, dachshund) again feel free to contact me - although am sure you would bring in back within 10 mins of being in the car going down the road.

Obviously I jest and would not part with the little dears for all tea in China - now anyone wanting a 17 year old slightly used teenager and a 12 year old that knows more than then 17 year old then that is a different story.

Greenie :lol:


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## Ian-rapido

Hi Gill,

Glad you are enjoying the motorhome, 

we were away for a week around Easter, just down to St Davids but it was nice just to relax. Not sure when we are away next, probably for a week around end of May.

Best wishes
Ian


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