Dog's travel in car on top of car hauler

[rockhillmanor]

I just got back from helping a friend of a friend's relative unload from a move from out of state. They asked me to help because they needed someone to drive the 26 ft moving truck back to the rental place.

Here's the scenario:

Brother agrees to drive unhaul truck down for sister.
Sister in her own car.
Brother driving uhaul.
Brother's car on top of car hauler pulled behind uhaul.(so he could drive back)

I know the lady has pets so when I arrived on the scene and she got out of her car, I ask where are your dogs?

They were in the car on top of the car hauler being pulled by the Uhaul! Poor dogs over 12 hours bouncing on top of a car hauler.:S

I asked why she did not put them in HER car with her?
The answer my car was packed full with my stuff no room.

Can you tell what is wrong with this picture and what the real simple answer to the problem 'should' have been?

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I personally think if we could ask our dogs "I need to move you with me, but the trip won't be easy or comfy. Or I could re-home you. Which would you prefer?"

I know every dog I've ever owned would answer "Do whatever it takes - I HAVE to be with you". Even my own dogs, this past week, were forced to ride for an hour in pretty cramped conditions while we moved some furniture. They survived 😉

[rockhillmanor]

Like I said I did not know any of these people just offered my help as an Rv driver to get the uhaul truck back since the driver of it left in his car and was not involved in unloading.

I have to state here, although my shock of standing there and being told the dogs were on the hauler, is still a vivid feeling........
these 2 dogs looked no worse for the ware. They were not panting nor did they have that look of 'oh my god' in their eyes. They calmly got out of the car as is to say Hi, how you'all doin?

We walked them and then they went into the back seat of another car driven by a stranger to them and they just jumped in and calmly laid down and went to sleep for the ride to the storage lockers.

I personally crate for safety period. No animal rides in any of my vehicles without being crated. That is simply 'my' rules.

The only really unsafe thing IMHO about this trip was these dogs were not crated so if an incident would have arisen on the road they could have been thrown around and/or out the window.

NOT ALL DOGS would have been capable of a ride like this. For me I was just VERY thankful to see that these 2 dogs were very capable of handling the situation.

We all know there are dogs that just go with the flow and of course there are the dogs that just the slightest bit of change throws them into insane frenzy. Again I am so very glad that was not the case with these two dogs. :C

[Dog_Folks]

Lots of speculation.

Not enough information.

[Happytraveler]

Oh my, I wouldn't do that to my dogs. Talk about trauma, I know for sure they would never ride in a car again.
When I read this it reminded me of National Lampoon's Vacation, Aunt Edna Passes

[BCSnob]

toedtoes wrote:
The dogs should have been the first consideration when figuring out where to put things, not the last.

I agree

[toedtoes]

BCSnob wrote:
I have no issues with the attitude of wanting to be with ones animals during transportation (that is our preference); however, I find no fault in transporting pets in other spaces than where I am traveling because I KNOW (as do humane societies, rescue organizations, etc) it can be done safely. Pets are safely transported in trailers all the time. The car on the car hauler provided better rollover protection than most mobile adoption trailers used by humane societies. My biggest issue would be if the pets were in secured crates. The rest of it will be personal preference, attitudes on pets, and the temperaments of individual pets (some have rock stable temperaments others are more sensitive).

I agree it can be done safely. But again this was not an "I need to find a way to get the dogs from here to there in the safest manner possible". There apparently wasn't a thought about the welfare of the animals, just a "oh, I filled up my car with stuff, let's put the dogs in the car on the trailer". The dogs should have been the first consideration when figuring out where to put things, not the last.

[BCSnob]

Someone claimed that she could have put her stuff in the car on the hauler and her pets in her car. How do you know? Do you know the weight of the her stuff (compared to her pets) and how close the load in the truck, trailer, and car were to the GVWR of the UHaul truck?

[fla-gypsy]

All of this just confirms my preconceived notions.

[BCSnob]

I have no issues with the attitude of wanting to be with ones animals during transportation (that is our preference); however, I find no fault in transporting pets in other spaces than where I am traveling because I KNOW (as do humane societies, rescue organizations, etc) it can be done safely. Pets are safely transported in trailers all the time. The car on the car hauler provided better rollover protection than most mobile adoption trailers used by humane societies. My biggest issue would be if the pets were in secured crates. The rest of it will be personal preference, attitudes on pets, and the temperaments of individual pets (some have rock stable temperaments others are more sensitive).

[toedtoes]

BCSnob - I have been in a vehicle with multiple dog crates. But I was also IN the vehicle with multiple dog crates. I was there to provide comfort to the animals during the ride. I was there to observe the dogs for signs of distress. I was there to make sure nothing bad happened to the dogs.

That is my biggest issue here. The dogs were placed in a situation which was not their familiar "ride in the car" AND which there was no one to observe how they were handling the situation, to help keep them calm, etc.

I would never put my dogs in an unfamiliar situation on their own like that. Had it been an emergency situation for a short duration, it would be one thing. But for a long distance trip like that - NO WAY.

I will also add that the time my dog had to ride in the back of a truck, I rode in the back of the truck with her. And years ago, I broke my tailbone riding in the back of a truck - so trust me, I know what it's like to ride back there.

[BCSnob]

toedtoes wrote:
I work with car haulers. I have seen how rough the ride is on them. I have heard the creaking, squeaking, rattling, etc. It has no comparison to being inside a passenger vehicle.

It sounds like you have not been in a vehicle with multiple dog crates. Besides the noise from a car hauler inside a vehicle on top would be similar to in the back of a TV hauling a car hauler.

Everyone really needs to try riding on the floor of their TV or in the back of a PU (like a pet in a secured crate) before they start talking how the ride is someplace else. Everyone seems to be comparing the ride to what they feel on their nice foam car seat.

[toedtoes]

BCSnob wrote:
I wonder how the ride in the car on a car hauler compares to ride in the back of a TV when it is porpoising?

All vehicles that transport pets & owners are free of rattling personal contents, squeeks, loud radios, rattling pet crates doors, rattling pet bowls, etc?

Someone who is traveling distances and letting their TV porpoise continuously needs to rethink something regardless of whether there are pets.

I work with car haulers. I have seen how rough the ride is on them. I have heard the creaking, squeaking, rattling, etc. It has no comparison to being inside a passenger vehicle.

As for the noises, my Moose-dog gets very nervous with strange noises. When I am with him, I can calm him down, stop the car and let him out for a bit, move the items so that the noises stopped, etc. Putting him in a car on a car hauler where not only could I not calm him down, but where I could not observe whether he was distressed or not, is wrong on so many levels.

I'd also point out that this is not about someone who was in a "there's nothing else I can do" situation. She COULD have transported her dogs in her car. She CHOSE to put her dogs on the car hauler rather than her inanimate belongings.

[BCSnob]

I wonder how the ride in the car on a car hauler compares to ride in the back of a TV when it is porpoising?

All vehicles that transport pets & owners are free of rattling personal contents, squeeks, loud radios, rattling pet crates doors, rattling pet bowls, etc?

[vic46]

toedtoes wrote:
the bear II - how are you understanding the dogs to be in pet carriers? The OP made no mention of carriers at all, he just said the dogs were in the car.

Car haulers do not have a smooth ride. A car's suspension system is designed to reduce jolting, jarring, etc. WHILE it is moving down the road. It is not designed to reduce jolting, jarring, etc. in a stationary position while on another moving vehicle. The movements the car would make on top of the car hauler are not the same type of movements the car would make driving on the road. In addition, the sounds of the chains, joints, etc. on the car hauler would add to the distress of the dogs.

Vic46 - I thought about "on the roof" also as I read this.

It would appear that it slipped past some!