Dog safety while driving

[HelG]

Finally, it's happening, and we will get our class c in two weeks. We're not new to camping but to rving with a motorhome. This leads me to the question where do you keep your dogs while on the road? Do you secure them by attaching them to a safety belt receptacle, or in a crate you secured somehow, or are they free to roam around?

[Reverse_snowbird]

You need to secure them as you would in a car. They make safety harnesses for dogs that attach to seat belts. In my opinion, the next safest option would be the dog's crate that has been tied down to make it secure. Much depends on how the dog is used to riding in your car. Some may fight the seat belt and in that case a cage(with blankets) is the next best option.

You should never travel with the dog free in the motorhome. In case of a sudden stop, accident, etc., the dog will become an unguided projectile and injure itself or others.

[HangDiver]

I had to stop letting him drive cause he'd stop at every burger joint....

[Sunseeker16]

Originally Posted by HangDiver

I had to stop letting him drive cause he'd stop at every burger joint....

Now that is one of the best pics I've seen in a long time.

[EdJunior]

Yeah, it's better than mine. She got the shoulder injury after getting in a little spat with my brothers dog. My Brit always thought she was bigger than she was. But my brother's Lab was a lot bigger. Anyway, mine has always ridden in the back seat. Brit was usually on the floor, Boomer (my current black Lab) rides on the seat. But in a class C, yeah, you need to have the dog strapped down somewhere.

[Sergiop]

We put ours in the crate, secure the crate with one of the dinette seat belts.

[satdog01]

You did not mention size of your dog but there are baskets that have adjustable bottoms in them for height. We have one that is strapped to the dinette seat by the window. Pepper our 16 pound PomChi rides there strapped in using her harness to the built in short lease. She can look out window or curl up and sleep, purchased at Walmart and have seen the same at Petco. Will try and get a pic if you are interested.

[TN-speed]

We have a Class C Dynamax Isata 4. We crate two dogs one is medium size, so we use a medium crate.
Our mini Doxie is in a smaller crate. I have dogs facing each other also I put their pet bed inside each crate and their
favorite blanket. Crates are in the isle after slide in on a rubber bottom rug ( helps with sliding) I also use a light blanket to cover tops and place up against cabinets ( covers keep crates from rubbing cabinets as well. There is still enough room to walk by when stopped to exercise pets or bathroom break. Crating also helps with a nervous pet such as our older dog. She doesn't like loud noise such as semi or road noise, so I also keep shades pulled. This works best for our travels . So its just trial and error until you find the best solution for all. Happy trails!!

[Guspech750]

Originally Posted by HangDiver

I had to stop letting him drive cause he'd stop at every burger joint....

[NXR]

We use a dog harness and a seat belt lanyard to secure the harness and dog. He rides on the dinette that was changed to the "bed" configuration, on top of a Harbor Freight moving blanket.

Ray

[mtnlvr]

My labs wear a harness and are tethered by a short metal cable (they can’t chew) to the metal posts on the underside of the dinette. I put dog bedding under the table too.

[HelG]

Thank you for all usable suggestions, and yeah funny pics. I was thinking about the dinette... but to put it up in bed configuration didn't occur to me. The vehicle has no sofa but recliners, which I feel makes attaching a crate more difficult.

The dogs are 20lbs, means small/medium sized, so two crates should work. Two females which have an interesting relationship as one is a dachshund mix and the other is a very not-so-beaglely grumpiness. In the car/truck they are strapped to the back seat (mostly ) They are used to travel, hotels, cabins, apartments... but we never did travel in a motorhome. (We gave up on tent camping a couple of years ago, getting too old, my dear other says).

[eric1514]

I think the majority of people who show up at campgrounds with yappy little dogs just let them ride in their laps, looking out the window while they drive.

[Bezzola]

This will be our pups first season in the rv

[HelG]

Originally Posted by eric1514

I think the majority of people who show up at campgrounds with yappy little dogs just let them ride in their laps, looking out the window while they drive.

Yeah, they are trying to do that but I don't think it's a good idea. In addition, our dogs have the tendency to storm out of the car the millisecond the door opens.
Ours are not yappy, although Nikki, the grumpy beagle is pretty vocal (how come you may wonder). We can leave them alone in a room for a little while. They know we'll be back, and they shouldn't be bothered by noises from the outside. We shall see how it works out in a rv. I'm not a friend of leaving them alone for hours on end anyway.

Once I have the rv, I'll go and see how to secure their crates safely and without having them sliding around. Attaching to the security belt seems the best option.

[LandKKnight]

We have 3 australian shepherds who ride in crates. We make the dinette into the bed and 3 crates fit snugly side by side right in there.

[ThruHiker]

We’re towing a 5er, but we have two dogs and two cats. Dogs are in the back seat with harnesses and lanyards. Cats are in cat carriers on the floor behind our seats.

[U.S.ArmyVeteran]

Originally Posted by eric1514

I think the majority of people who show up at campgrounds with yappy little dogs just let them ride in their laps, looking out the window while they drive.

Don't get me started.

[Tundra 2014]

We tried the seat belt buckle strap, but our Vizsla quickly figured out how to unbuckle himself. After having him jump out an open window to chase birds. We went to the strap that attaches to the car seat loop under the seating. It has a snap that attaches to his dog collar., much more secure. Also, much easier to attach. And after 30K miles and 3 years he has not been able to detach it.

[U.S.ArmyVeteran]

Originally Posted by Bezzola

This will be our pups first season in the rvAttachment 271500

Stella approves!