How do you travel with a very large dog in your MH (1 Viewer)

[DL42846]

We just bought a Newfoundland. He's going to be big. I'm thinking of converting part of the boot/garage of the MH into dog quarters. I have lighting and heating there already. I'm thinking of changing the door between the garage and the inside quarters with a door so we can still see each other. Something like a dog guard you would have in the back of your car. Has anyone done or come up with anything like it before.

 

[FIDGET]

Hi Mike, just a thought , Last week I was rear end shunted by a refuge truck, if the dog was in the garage ,I hate to think what the outcome would have been!
As said , just a thought. don't want to put you off.
check out the photo's on my thread
Rear end shunt
Luckily our dog was in kennels at the time.

 

[Cat53]

Newfies are gorgeous dogs,,,,,but BIG. Very Big. I would succumb to a tear drop trailer...his very own bijou Motorhome!

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[Red Dragon]

I would ask @haganap he travels with 2(little) dogs

 

[Yorick]

I don't want to disappoint you, but that's a cat, not a Newfoundland.

 

[Newfie]

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[MannClan]

Radical thought here ........ don't buy the dog !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Newfie]

We used to travel with 2 Newfoundland’s(sadly only 1 now) & 2 Pwds, had some cages made for the garage as above

 

[DL42846]

Hi Mike, just a thought , Last week I was rear end shunted by a refuge truck, if the dog was in the garage ,I hate to think what the outcome would have been!
As said , just a thought. don't want to put you off.
check out the photo's on my thread
Rear end shunt
Luckily our dog was in kennels at the time.

Thanks very much for the tip. Yes, I did see your post and it did set me thinking. When we will be on the road he will be with us behind the seats which is quiet a good area as I don't want him to be a missile in the event of an accident. The Garage/boot area will be when we park up and brew or prepare lunch or at night. That will be his sleeping quarters. We also have a small Shiatsu he travels on the floor in the front with us. Hope you get yours sorted out soon, does look a bit of a mess.

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[Just smiffy]

View attachment 198934

That’s sooo cute, leaving the tyre in there to play with and chew to bits.....

 

[DL42846]

Radical thought here ........ don't buy the dog !!!!!!!!!!!

Too late. The wife just wanted me to go with her to look at one. Silly me, I went and ended up coming home with it.

 

[Newfie]

That’s sooo cute, leaving the tyre in there to play with and chew to bits.....

Ha ha luckily neither of them are chewers

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[Newfie]

 

[Tea Bag]

Hi.
I would be worried about engine/exhaust fumes entering the garage, for them to breath,air must get in...........
We found with Border Collies,let them choose where they want to sit,then arrange a seat for yourself where you can drive safely from and reach the pedals. This IS a dearer option than a cage,but even if you are in the lounge,once the dog lays down on the drivers seat,you can still see out of the windscreen..'ish.
Tea Bag
"Woof...ooops Roof Rack ?"

 

[Newfie]

We added 2 air vents on each garage door, I also checked no exhaust fumes were entering the garage, by getting in the cages closing the garage doors & running engine while stationary.
The rear garage is a lot stronger with having the caged area which also has a plywood top across the whole length of the garage.
If travelling in a car with rear dog guard you have the same issues with a rear shunt

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[DL42846]

Hi.
I would be worried about engine/exhaust fumes entering the garage, for them to breath,air must get in...........
We found with Border Collies,let them choose where they want to sit,then arrange a seat for yourself where you can drive safely from and reach the pedals. This IS a dearer option than a cage,but even if you are in the lounge,once the dog lays down on the drivers seat,you can still see out of the windscreen..'ish.
Tea Bag
"Woof...ooops Roof Rack ?"

Don't think exhaust fumes would be a problem but will double check. Once the outer doors are closed they seal up fairly tight which keeps the heat in. Never noticed any signs of fumes entering the back. Anyway, the Newfi will travel up front with us, its just when we stop or over night so we can move around without stepping over two dogs. The Shiatsu knows to stay out of the way.

 

[Puddleduck]

Just check if there is a weight limit for your garage. Ours is 150kg ... I'm not sure how much a fully grown newfoundie would weight and you will have the weight of the cage.

Beautiful dogs

 

[DanielFord]

Newfie's really love company, not sure that it would like not being able to see you whilst in transit. Do you have a dinette? Our Bernese gets strapped into a seat belt point whilst driving, is this a better plan for you?

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[Newfie]

Just check if there is a weight limit for your garage. Ours is 150kg ... I'm not sure how much a fully grown newfoundie would weight and you will have the weight of the cage.

Beautiful dogs

Yep I agree a fully grown Newfoundland is usually 60-80kg. Our remaining one (Newfoundland/Irish wolfhound cross) is 65kg.
We used to have 6 at one point but had a caged out long wheelbase VW transporter then

 

[DL42846]

Newfie's really love company, not sure that it would like not being able to see you whilst in transit. Do you have a dinette? Our Bernese gets strapped into a seat belt point whilst driving, is this a better plan for you?

He will be up front with us when in transit. The garage is for when we are parked up trying to prepare lunch or dinner and for overnight. The Newfi might not like not being able to see us, the wife definitely wouldn't like not being able to see him. We will do a overnighter nearby to work out what will work. There is a good spot for him behind the front seats. We are all going of to Spain for a week over new year.

 

[DanielFord]

He will be up front with us when in transit. The garage is for when we are parked up trying to prepare lunch or dinner and for overnight. The Newfi might not like not being able to see us, the wife definitely wouldn't like not being able to see him. We will do a overnighter nearby to work out what will work. There is a good spot for him behind the front seats. We are all going of to Spain for a week over new year.

OK, then excellent plan, but with one proviso, on the continent, animals must not be allowed to interfere with the driver whilst in transit. Spanish police are quite hot on it, so as long as doggy is restrained, all good.
Garage seems ideal for parked up locations, especially knowing the Newfie love of water, particularly filthy water!

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[skylinersi]

Like this......

 

[mfw]

My dog sleeps on front seat at night with seat cover on it (only a collie though) i need the storage space but a dog that size needs somewhere he will fit put a blanket wherever you want him to sleep and he should find blanket and sleep there without having to do modifications

 

[Minxy]

We just bought a Newfoundland. He's going to be big. I'm thinking of converting part of the boot/garage of the MH into dog quarters. I have lighting and heating there already. I'm thinking of changing the door between the garage and the inside quarters with a door so we can still see each other. Something like a dog guard you would have in the back of your car. Has anyone done or come up with anything like it before.

Not sure what the existing door is like in your MH as you don't seem to have 'decided' what you've got looking at your profile but you could just remove the door completely and try putting in a push fit baby gate instead which would allow the poochies to see you and be easily removed if needs be, you could do the same on the external garage doors too so you can leave the main door open with the dog inside for some fresh air etc.

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[Blue Knight]

We've had large dogs for a few years now (Rottis) but we made the decision prior to the purchase of our first MoHo that we would never take them with us. We didn't want to leave them on their own for long periods so our motorhome trips are now very short (3-5 days) as a consequence.

If I'm 100% honest with you guys, my wife and I think it's a bit cruel to stick two of the family in the boot where they then proceed to bounce off the ceiling whenever the van goes over a big bump. If you were to stick a human in the back for 10-minutes then he/she would be fairly p1$$€d off from the experience.

That said, I've seen three Hymers and one Pilote this year with dogs in the back and in one case it looked a right nightmare. In this one example the rain was pouring down and the owner of the Hymer had his garage open to allow the dogs to get some air. I had a shifty peak inside their van to see that the garage was waterlogged due to the water pouring through the open door.

It's a nice idea to take the family with you but IMO it's not a pleasant or practical experience when the weather is a bit inclement.

 

[DL42846]

Not sure what the existing door is like in your MH as you don't seem to have 'decided' what you've got looking at your profile but you could just remove the door completely and try putting in a push fit baby gate instead which would allow the poochies to see you and be easily removed if needs be, you could do the same on the external garage doors too so you can leave the main door open with the dog inside for some fresh air etc.

Hi, Yep, that seems the direction we might be going in. At the moment I am getting some thoughts together. We have been lucky in the past with all our dogs as they have been very good and easy to live with. With the previous Newfoundland and German Shepherd we had we wouldn't need any doors or any form of cage. They would just sit with us. I will see how this fellow turns out.

 

[Jim]

We've just done a month in very wet weather with a large, getting much larger, long haired German Shepherd. But because we are in a large van its not too much of a problem. I dry her off as much as I can outside, but if its raining I'll dry her indoors. We use Vet Bedding on her bed and its superb, It just wicks away moisture and she dries of really quickly. As big as our van is, one dog is enough. You guys with multiples, thats just hard work

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[DL42846]

We've just done a month in very wet weather with a large, getting much larger, long haired German Shepherd. But because we are in a large van its not too much of a problem. I dry her off as much as I can outside, but if its raining I'll dry her indoors. We use Vet Bedding on her bed and its superb, It just wicks away moisture and she dries of really quickly. As big as our van is, one dog is enough. You guys with multiples, thats just hard work

We had a long haired German Shepherd, I loved him to bits. So easy to live with. I won't say train as you just showed him something once and he got it. Very gentle dog, people would cross over the other side of the road to avoid him, if only they knew how soft he was. I still miss him even five years on.

 

[skylinersi]

We just bought a Newfoundland. He's going to be big. I'm thinking of converting part of the boot/garage of the MH into dog quarters. I have lighting and heating there already. I'm thinking of changing the door between the garage and the inside quarters with a door so we can still see each other. Something like a dog guard you would have in the back of your car. Has anyone done or come up with anything like it before.
View attachment 198930

I will post some pics of what we came up with over the weekend