5th Wheel Travel with Large Dogs

If your dog has a problem jumping into the truck you can get a ramp at petsmart to put up so they can climb into the truck. That is what I used to get my English mastiff into the vehicle.

Cherry

We travel with our two girls. Macy is 45 pounds and Sandi is 12 pounds. Macy used to get car sick after riding for as little as 30 minutes.

I was wondering around Pet Smart (a dangerous thing for me :-) ) I found a seat cover that attaches to the Front and rear head rests. It has a zipper in the middle so you can drop one side when loading up. Both of the girls really like being in the truck now and Macy has not got sick since I put it in, I guess she feels safer now that she can no longer fall off of the seat.

Here is a link for the seat cover.

Seat Cover

Awesome feedback everyone...simply awesome! I had no idea so many folks make extended travels in a 5th wheel with a large dog...let alone 4, or a Bull Mastiff...that's a hoot. Most are simply making a bed in the truck cab, which was what I figured we'd do. Only a couple are letting them ride in the camper (my wife doesn't like that idea -- concerned it is too loud and bumpy). With younger, agile dogs, I would presume it fairly easy for them to jump up into a truck and, like we did when our GR's got older, use bi-fold ramp to let them walk in/out. Based on what I'm hearing, I'm inclined to stay with our 5th wheel plans...as opposed to a smaller diesel pusher with a tow.

Still love hearing all the dog loving travel mate stories... so please keep them coming. Or, if you had a 5vr and changed to a class A partially because of pets, love to hear about that too.

Thanks and safe travels!

Artemus Gordon wrote:

Campinghoss@51 wrote:
We have a rot/chow mix and a ****ese. 75 and 17 lbs respectively. They ride in the super cab with a large blanket covering the entire area. We have the spill proof water bowl and they love to travel. We have travelled so much with them they let us know when they need to stretch. Generally as I have become more mature I need to stop more than than they do. As others have posted make sure they are trained both to behave while riding and especially at campgrounds.

Curious have you ever been denied to a park for the Chow /rot dog. Have seen pretty hard nosed park managers about either dog ? We get looked at twice because of Mt Dog! It fortunately is not on any lists.

No we never have had any problems thus far. We did have one campground that questioned us twice about it but never did throw any red flags towards us. I am sure it is just a matter of time though.

My son travels with a 200# English mastiff in my 5er. He rides in the back seat of the truck. Never had a problem at any CG with him. He rarely barks and is well trained.

My 9# toy poodle that I have now have (my last 235# mastiff has gone to the Rainbow Bridge)rides in her car seat.

Cherry

We have a 100 lb spayed female German Shephard - Rosie. Rosie is 11 and has bad hips and arthritis. But she is a real sweetheart of a companion. We have spent some bucks to keep her safe and comfortable. We have a extendable ramp for both truck and camper access - only way she can get in and out. We have a "hammock" that goes over the back seat in the crew cab and a seat extender to fill the gap between the seat and the back of the front seat. The hammock has straps that let it hang from the back and front head rests. Got all our equipment online from Orvis.

Had two campground hosts tell us that they don't normally allow German Shephards (??), but after meeting Rosie they said "come on in". Every GS I've ever encountered were very docile and friendly. I guess it is their reps as police dogs and military dogs that cause the caution.

Artemus Gordon wrote:

Campinghoss@51 wrote:
We have a rot/chow mix and a ****ese. 75 and 17 lbs respectively. They ride in the super cab with a large blanket covering the entire area. We have the spill proof water bowl and they love to travel. We have travelled so much with them they let us know when they need to stretch. Generally as I have become more mature I need to stop more than than they do. As others have posted make sure they are trained both to behave while riding and especially at campgrounds.

Curious have you ever been denied to a park for the Chow /rot dog. Have seen pretty hard nosed park managers about either dog ? We get looked at twice because of Mt Dog! It fortunately is not on any lists.

I had an issue at the Flagstaff KOA on our 2nd trip with the FW. Fortunately, we have a nephew who lives up there and allowed us to leave our 11 y.o. Rottie at his place for the weekend so we wouldn't be forced to leave. At that time, 2004, there were no rules posted about dog breeds. FWIW, I've been around a whole lot more vicious 10 lb dogs than 110 lb dogs. Biggest danger that boy posed was hyper-extending your knees when he leaned against you while being scratched. :-)

Lyle

dennisgt60 wrote:
Great ideas here, thanks. We plan to buy our first 5er next spring, retire, and hit the road with two smaller dogs along. We bought a crew cab truck in anticipation of travel arrangements with the dogs. Or, we could just do the Mitt Romney thing and tie them down on the roof..hee, hee.

Choose your breed carefully, "loudmouthed" yappers can be an issue in a campground. We did travel with two wiener dogs whose favorite activity was barking. Had to sedate them with RX "doggie valium" if we wanted to leave them in the trailer. My little female "Sabrett" went to the Rainbow Bridge last year while we were on a trip in Arkansas. We're down to our 14 year old male and a recently acquired cat who will probably make a better traveler. How loud can a meow be? :B

Campinghoss@51 wrote:
We have a rot/chow mix and a ****ese. 75 and 17 lbs respectively. They ride in the super cab with a large blanket covering the entire area. We have the spill proof water bowl and they love to travel. We have travelled so much with them they let us know when they need to stretch. Generally as I have become more mature I need to stop more than than they do. As others have posted make sure they are trained both to behave while riding and especially at campgrounds.

Curious have you ever been denied to a park for the Chow /rot dog. Have seen pretty hard nosed park managers about either dog ? We get looked at twice because of Mt Dog! It fortunately is not on any lists.

I just wanted to say that everyone's dogs are adorable!