Introducing Our Puppy to Motorhoming?? (1 Viewer)

[Cavendish]

Merry christmas everyone.

Cavendish is now 16 weeks old and we haven't been away in the van since we got him. :Sad: We've got a crate [which he sleeps in at home] and can use that for transporting him but we haven't the floor space for him to sleep in it when the ladders are in use. We're worried he may chew on something he shouldn't plus the girls get pretty excited when we go away and we don't think it'll help him. Oh and presently he'll only wee and poo in our garden, never whilst out on walks (despite using commands hurry up, wee wees, poo poos).

We've thought about asking my Mum and Dad to look after the girls for a night and take him somewhere local for a trial run. We've already had to pull out of the New Year rally and don't want to miss anymore. What else can we do other than buy a bigger van?

 

[bazfergy]

Hi guys as long as the dog is house trained he should behave the same in the van as home.i never had any problems introducing nero to the motorhome at 8 weeks,just took him out for regular pee breaks and he was fine.don't worry just take him and keep your eyes on him.Merry xmas and all the best for 2010:thumb:

 

[trophychap]

Just a thought - and bearing in mind I don't actually know this for a fact as I rely on Pete for superior doggy info - take him to a site with a dedicated doggy area - when he niffs all the other doggy odours, would not his instinct take over and cause him to wish to mark the territory with his own scent?

Then go somewhere else - he will get used to using alternative sites and obtaining your approval when he does?

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[hilldweller]

but we haven't the floor space for him to sleep in it
buy a bigger van?

We overtook a MH towing a 4 wheeled dog home on the M6 'tother day. It was big enough for a big wolfhound.

Or you could get a roof rack.

 

[smifee]

How big is the crate?

Your van looks big enough for a lion's cage.

A crate is essential and should be one the dog is used to. That way they get used to the van with their place of safety.

Lulu, a cocker spaniel, prefers to be in the van's garage in her crate especially when the van is moving but I don't like her being in there for too long. She happily sleeps in there, on our drive, for several hours if the boss is on nights and I have to go somewhere I can't take the dog.

When she was a puppy we got a crate smaller than she needs as a fully grown dog and now she sleeps on one of the beds. An everlasting hot water bottle.:thumb:

 

[Nojazz]

Our two dogs sit on the seats with a seatbelt harness (you can buy them in pet shops.) They love travelling and holidays in the motorhome. We always choose dog friendly sites near plenty of walks. At night they choose where they sleep. Sometimes on the floor of the van and sometimes they get onto the bed with their dog sleeping bags!!!!.

They have learnt to knock the door of the van if they wish to go outside for a wee, but this is rare as they sleep all night usually. The sooner you take your dog the easier it will be - I'm sure you will enjoy it (and the dog)


Nojazz

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[purdo4]

Pets in Motorhomes

Hi we have a 12 year old American Cocker Spaneil called Brett and he has travelled so many times in our Motohome without any problems.We have now got an 18 week puppy she is an Akita called Kiesha,we have had her since 7 weeks old.Due to the bad weather we have not taken her away with us yet.She has a large Crate she sleeps in so hoping to get it in to our MH and she will be ok. We are sure she will be fine as long as she goes out for wee walks i will let you know how we get on with her.Hope the other puppy gets on ok too

Maureen


Your van looks big enough for a lion's cage.

A crate is essential and should be one the dog is used to. That way they get used to the van with their place of safety.

Lulu, a cocker spaniel, prefers to be in the van's garage in her crate especially when the van is moving but I don't like her being in there for too long. She happily sleeps in there, on our drive, for several hours if the boss is on nights and I have to go somewhere I can't take the dog.

When she was a puppy we got a crate smaller than she needs as a fully grown dog and now she sleeps on one of the beds. An everlasting hot water bottle.:thumb:[/QUOTE]

 

[dragabed]

introducing our puppy to motorhoming

at 12 weeks introduced charlie our border collie bitch to motorhome then had no broblems going away all that year in england ,we then spent the winter in portugal for 3 months and france 3 months problem now after 5 years she will not sleep in the house she wants to live in the hymer all year even at home she thinks its a large kennel.

 

[Cavendish]

How big is the crate?

Your van looks big enough for a lion's cage.

A crate is essential and should be one the dog is used to. That way they get used to the van with their place of safety.

Lulu, a cocker spaniel, prefers to be in the van's garage in her crate especially when the van is moving but I don't like her being in there for too long. She happily sleeps in there, on our drive, for several hours if the boss is on nights and I have to go somewhere I can't take the dog.

When she was a puppy we got a crate smaller than she needs as a fully grown dog and now she sleeps on one of the beds. An everlasting hot water bottle.:thumb:

The crate measures 61x46x53cm, we got one that was suitable for smaller dogs. The garage is large and there would be plenty of space but there is no internal door. Would this work?

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[Losos]

As a general rule 'chewing' is most often as a result of 'separation anxiety' so if your lovely young puppy is going to be with you all the time when you're out and about in the van then I don't think you need to worry.

Frome our somewhat limited experience I support this theory since many moons ago we had a dog and at that time we both worked and dear pet chewed lots of things when we were out. Now we have two dogs who are never left alone and they never chew anything ever.

Get him in the van asap and as mentioned above he'll want to be in there all day long

 

[Losos]

The garage is large and there would be plenty of space but there is no internal door. Would this work?

Could you not make a small internal door ??? or get a chippy to make one for you. With him in the back and not able to see you would be very stressful for him and IMO not to be recommended.

 

[GregM]

Our dog was 18 months when we got our Motor home, travelling was no problem the dog was in the laid on the floor in the back near the kids but now and again did wander up to the wife sat in the passenger seat and then went back to lay down.

She normally sleeps under of one of the beds at night with no problems.

The only time we had problems was when the kids ran off to play, although she was 'chained' to the van, she went into the van, jumped on the sofa and then jumped through the window to chase the kids. Fortunately her collar snapped otherwise she would have hung herself.

Now the kids know to sneak off while she is not watching. She has also got used to them going off to play without her.

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[smifee]

Hi Cavendish

That is the size of the first crate we bought and it was a problem to have it in the van during the day but was OK at night. We just put it under the table and although it stuck out a bit we could squeeze by.

The larger one we got as she grew is 77 x 58 x 54 and that's too big for inside the van.

No door from garage to van interior on my Hymer. I looked at putting one in and by the time I had decided it was not an option Lulu had decided she prefers the garage.

I think it's to do with her not being a good traveller. She's not sick or over stressed but you can see she's not happy. She just lies on the floor quietly which is great on buses & trains where people don't realise she's there until we get off. I think she just feels comfortable in the crate and sleeps easier there than on the van floor. The crate doesn't get chosen when it's bedtime in the van though.

When the van stops moving she switches to FUN mode and is her usual self.:thumb:

On long journeys I tend to alternate van interior & garage at each rest stop. Every time we have a rest stop she goes to the garage door when we get back to the van.

 

[Cavendish]

We'll take the crate upto the van storage and see if it'll squash under the table. Looking at booking a weekend away next month. :thumb:

 

[Loujess]

Hi. I hope you've managed to get away now. Ellie, our cavalier, has been travelling with us since she was a year old and loves it. She is a pain and always sits on my knee when we are travelling unless I get really fed up and make her stay off. I do find that she gets very tired when we are away. It seems to be the driving that tires her.

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[Terry and Nicola]

dog in van

HI Claire
we have a german shepard he is 2 year old now we got him a year ago from rspca he was miss treated but he loves the motorhome .When we got our 2nd motorhome 6 months ago we got a bigger one so the dog had more room sad or what .With your new motorhome coming will you not have more room in it then your old one

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Could you not make a small internal door ??? or get a chippy to make one for you. With him in the back and not able to see you would be very stressful for him and IMO not to be recommended.

This is probably a silly answer, but our garage is at the side where the bunk beds are. I we were to lift up the slatted bed from the inside we could fix it up and we could put the cage in there. Its something we have thought about doing, but something else to take. We put our Border terriers in the bathroom when we go out, if we leave them... opening the shower door so they have plenty room. For traveling the sit in a furry bed over the entrance steps. Seating panel one side and sink cupboards the other, prevent bed sliding around.
As for the wee ing and pooing problem, Ruby (13) when not used to going away in the caravan, aged 1 wouldn't wee or poo all weekend.
We'd be coming down the lane to our house and shed be whimpering and fidgeting. Run straight into the garden and explode!!
We tried alsorts to make her go . She used to be the same when out for walks at home. Waiting till she got back to go in the garden. God knows why. Maybe if we'd have been away longer than a weekend shed have had to go.

Dont read below if youve a week stomach



I put a tea towel where she weed in the garden let it get soaked, put it in an old Tupperware tub and took it with us on our next trip out. Got some funny looks from our fellow campers when tipping it out and asking the dog to wee on it, but it worked. By the end of that weekend she was weeing in public
Weve never had the problem with Buster (18 months), could be a bitch thing??
Bev

 

[Cavendish]

HI Claire
we have a german shepard he is 2 year old now we got him a year ago from rspca he was miss treated but he loves the motorhome .When we got our 2nd motorhome 6 months ago we got a bigger one so the dog had more room sad or what .With your new motorhome coming will you not have more room in it then your old one

Yes we should have more room for everyone including Cav. :thumb:

As for the wee ing and pooing problem, Ruby (13) when not used to going away in the caravan, aged 1 wouldn't wee or poo all weekend.
We'd be coming down the lane to our house and shed be whimpering and fidgeting. Run straight into the garden and explode!!
We tried alsorts to make her go . She used to be the same when out for walks at home. Waiting till she got back to go in the garden. God knows why. Maybe if we'd have been away longer than a weekend shed have had to go.

Dont read below if youve a week stomach

I put a tea towel where she weed in the garden let it get soaked, put it in an old Tupperware tub and took it with us on our next trip out. Got some funny looks from our fellow campers when tipping it out and asking the dog to wee on it, but it worked. By the end of that weekend she was weeing in public
Weve never had the problem with Buster (18 months), could be a bitch thing??
Bev

Strangely enough I took him on the school run today and he did a wee just as we were walking into our close! I didn't beleive it and couldn't praise him enough. You never know it may be the start of things to come.

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