Sometimes crates just won't fit in the vehicle you have with the dogs you have. You have to do the best you can.
One other thing that this brings up for me is the sleep issue. For those who haven't yet figured this out, having somewhere you want to go does NOT give you superhuman powers. You need to plan your trips so that you aren't driving in a state that is going to create a situation like this. There's no way to eliminate all risk, but you can certainly reduce it by planning trips to give you adequate rest and stopping for a nap or a walk if you start to feel less than alert.
susan
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a wabbit, Fuzzy Wuzzy had a dandelion habit! RIP little Wuz... don't go far.
In a motorhome, the sofa, bed, and dinette are great places for crates while you are in transit. When you arrive, simply put the crates outside, or fold and stow
Samantha (the poster)
Tim, spouse and driver of the Corgi-Bus
Buddy, Diva, and Pippin - Pembroke Welsh Corgis
Best thing the dog trainer I contracted with when we got Bella (our Standard poodle) did was to demand that we arrive for the second class with our two dogs in safety harness tether to the back seat anchor points.
Any restraint is better than none. I was in a bad accident and the dog riding in a wire crate, secured in the back of a Taurus SW was not hurt in the impact - car totalled but the dog only had broken glass sprinkled over him. I've always wondered about air line crates versus wire crates. I have both.
A friend of my mother's was in a bad accident on her way to Florida along a stretch of I-95, a year or so ago. One of her tires blew and she lost control. The car rolled over an embankment and burst into flames. A family in an RV stopped and helped her - the woman actually gave her coat up, as mom's friend lost everything in the crash.
Her dog was in an airline crate. Apparently when the car was rolling, the airline crate broke open and the dog was thrown from the vehicle. A group of bikers found her dog a few miles down the road, figured where it came from and took her back to the woman. If the carrier hadn't broken open, the dog would have burned.
I tried the canvas closed in kennels in the MH when traveling. We stopped and went for breakfast - not gone very long - and I was amazed at how hot the inside of those canvas crates were. The generator and a/c was running the entire time. I never used those again.
Reason I use the open wire crates in the MH is that they are open so the dogs can see out more, and there is more ventilation.
As I said, depending on circumstances - one may be better than the other, but any restraint has got to be better than nothing.
Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.
I've tried to figure out how to restrain my GSD, Sig, in the motorhome while travelling. He is usually on his bed which is behind the passenger seat. There is no way we can get him into the airline crate we have and the only two seat belts in the RV are the driver's seat and passenger's seat. I have the harness for him to use in the cars with seatbelts, but don't know what to do about the RV. Maybe we could fix some type of a belt around the base of the passenger seat.
Darrell & Madonna
Furkid, GSD Sigfried
2001 Patriot Thunder by Beaver
Jeep Grand Cherokee
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