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Traveling with big dogs


Kelly

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I am looking for tips/ideas/information on how you travel with big dogs.  We lost our last beloved English Bulldog 5 months ago, and we pledged to not get anymore dogs so we could travel.  However, that was not what God had planned for us.  Someone dumped 2 hound/lab mix puppies on our land, and they were too cute to give up!!  Now we have 2 fifty pound 6 month old puppies and we are wondering how we will ever manage if we are able to finally get an Oliver.  My dream trailer.  Any ideas would help.  

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Kelly - 

Even though Shallowgal is currently on the road with their two large "doodles", I'm sure that they will get to your question when they have internet access.  Meanwhile, I know that there are several other owners that manage to travel with large dogs - like ScubaRX and Reacher - and I'm sure that they will give a bunch of advice.

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

Near Asheville, NC

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A friend is camping with us tomorrow with a really big lab. We'll see how it goes.

 I know from history,  it's doable. 

Dogs and humans must adjust. 

Our dog is tiny.

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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Here's my .02 on the subject...

Our "giant" black lab (100+ lbs) camps with us quite a bit and he is fine sleeping on the floor in between the two twin beds.  This is despite the fact that we set up the dinette bed just for him.  🙂  Once you have one giant dog, I really don't think two would be a huge difference since there's still plenty of room on the floor and dinette bed.  Just adjustments as @SeaDawgmentions...  for example, getting up to go to the bathroom at night with a giant dog laying in the hallway keeps everyone agile.  Having two on the floor would just make the obstacle course to the bathroom longer.  😉  We also don't ever hang out inside during the day, even if it's raining - I think that would be challenging after a while with any animal (including humans).

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2020 Elite II, Hull 688 --- 2021 Silverado 2500HD, 6.6L Duramax Diesel

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Our 2 dogs have a combined weight of about 35 pounds, but I did have the pleasure of sharing 7 years of my life with a 150 pound Irish Wolfhound.  But that was in the 70's and before Ollie's.  I don’t have any real world experience with sharing an Ollie with a large dog, but I think most dog owners would do anything necessary to accommodate their best friends.  Our dog is movement and other animal reactive, so we like campsites on the perimeter of campgrounds to reduce his stimulation.  Our female is 15 and pretty much blind and mostly deaf and can’t get in or out of the Ollie by herself and we carry her in and out.  I’m sure you’ll adjust and make it work just like you do anywhere else.

Mossey

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Mike and Krunch   Lutz, FL  
2017 LEII #193 “the dog house”

 

 

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In regards to fur clogging vents, you could buy some inexpensive furnace filters or bulk filter material in rolls, cut out pieces and tape them over any openings at floor level, such as the furnace inlet grill and its outlets. Use a high quality blue masking tape like 3M, or even no residue gaffers tape, it won’t be hard to remove later and won’t leave residue. The masking tape should be fine for a season, since it will be out of direct sunlight, which tends to cook the glue…. Don’t forget to cover the propane CO detector too, it needs free airflow to its sensors.

We used to travel with our two 40 pound Australian Labradoodles (99% non shedding) and it was fine except in wet weather, or when one found a mud puddle. But the older dog has gotten neurotic about traveling long distances, which freaks out the younger one, so we have stopped bringing them at all. My daughter house sits them for $25 per day, cheap compared to a kennel, which the dogs and their owners would hate. We and the dogs are happier with this arrangement.

If we had to start over we would have only one animal, a mini Australian doodle of 20 pounds less. Non shedding, hypoalergenic, super easy to take care of, very people oriented. Great dogs!

John Davies

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: 

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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On 10/1/2021 at 10:58 AM, DaveM said:

We are planning to travel with our American Field lab that is a shedding machine. I have read other threads about dog hair clogging vents and in once case I think impacting furnace? What do you all do to manage fido's fur in your Ollie?

 

Never thought about the shedding!! Thanks for asking!! 

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We have one 100 lb Golden Retriever.  He sleeps on the floor between the pantry and drawers under the kitchen counter.  He sleeps on the floor at home too, in spite of having a large, comfy bed.  Night trips to the bathroom involve being careful not to step on him.  We leave a small light on so that we're sure to be able to see him.  We spend a lot of time outside the trailer and that's fine with him.  He barks at other dogs but we haven't really left him alone much and when we tell him to be quiet he's good about obeying.  On our last trip we put him in Ollie and left for a short walk.  We could hear him if he barked but he was good and quiet.  Being a Golden Retriever, he loves to swim.  We were camped right on a river on this last trip.  We let him swim early enough so that he dries off before we get into the trailer for the night.  I try to brush him each day to cut down on the shedding in the trailer and sweep the floor each morning.  So far, we haven't had a problem with clogged vents.  I think that we could make it work with 2 dogs but so far our experience is with only 1.  

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One of the issues with shedding is getting fur (or hair) on the "sail switch" in the furnace.  Besides using JD's advice above regarding filters, a small can of compressed air could come in handy for blowing off the switch.

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

Near Asheville, NC

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We have a 105# male black lab.  He stays outside as much as he can tethered on a long lead to the sturdy stairs.  Sleeps on the floor between the twin beds on a washable dog rug, he’s snoring there now.  We reach down and pet him before we get out of bed to let him know we are not going to step on him.   I blocked off the aft furnace outlet vent so it wouldn’t scorch him when it’s running.  We have to sweep or vacuum daily with a mini Shark vac.   Water bowl is in the shower much of the time so the slop over is manageable.   We spend a lot of time  looking for swimming holes.

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“Ramble” - 2021 Legacy Elite II #797;  2020 Ford F-250

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We had the pleasure of camping with Mike D and company, including their really nice Lab. Their (really)  big Lab  is one of the nicest big dogs we've ever camped with. Got along great with our tiny dog. 

Obviously,  it's doable. 

As I said before,  humans and dogs adjust.

 

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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Anything is doable! 

We have two 60# doodles & chose RV travel partly [mostly] because of them. It's great & it's a pain. They are fabulous security alarms & motivators to get out on the trails.

How particular are you about cleanliness?  🐾 Invest in a good cordless vacuum. 🐾 We have two Grassworx clean machine doormats (Ace) one outside, one inside - if they made a runner, I'd buy it. 😁  🐾 Buy throw rugs you won't mind tossing in a dumpster. 🐾 We all use the microfiber camp towels [everyone has their own color] which are great for wiping off dog feet--before they jump on your bed. (Terrycloth never dries, ever.) 🐾 Shower door stays open because bowl is in shower on top of Foy's beautiful mat. 

🐾 So that our pups won't become projectiles while traveling, we harness & secure with seatbelt attachments, all purchased on Amazon. 🐾 Hubby built a platform so they can see out the window without standing plus it creates storage underneath.

🐾 Important: put together a doggy first aid kit. 

🐾 More important: train them well. [Mine are so-so, but we're working on it.]

They make traveling fun!20211011_161146-01.thumb.jpeg.9422cd6dc7bda65842782cfdf6031be7.jpeg20211011_161027-01.thumb.jpeg.357daea3aa12520f614fdf2e3c07dac7.jpeg

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20190623_122841.thumb.jpg.0d477932728064f272590ca8be44c580.jpg

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Chris & Duke Chadwell
🐾Maddie & Baxter🐾
Elite II Hull 292
2022 F-250 Lariat 7.3 Godzilla 4x4 Lakeland,FL
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