Traveling with Toby

clinck

toby is a lab.. He's two in June..still a baby in lab terms.
this will be his first year going camping with dad. I wonder and look for advice as to how you deal with a big dog (72lbs) in a tiny trailer.. Toby is crate trained but obviously there's no room in a tab for his crate. He's used to sleeping in his crate. Can't leave him outdoors..it's a cunundrum. He can sleep in bed with me..I guess. I'm the only one that needs to get up at night to pee. He's good from sundown to sun up.

Photomom

Max is 55 lbs. He will nap on a bench if we're inside in the evening but prefers to sleep on his bed in front of the door. He will sleep thru the night at home but if my husband goes out to the campground bathroom Max has to accompany him. He was crate trained as a puppy but has the run of the house now.

SnapDog

We travel with two dogs and they sleep on their third of the bed (Alde side). Only problem so far is they are skinny but long legged and expand when warm. Of course, combined they don't come any where near 72lbs...  

ericnliz

@clinck, Have you thought about a side tent for Toby's crate? Not only for Toby, but it would give you a little more space as well. 

Ratkity

clinck said:

toby is a lab.. He's two in June..still a baby in lab terms.
this will be his first year going camping with dad. I wonder and look for advice as to how you deal with a big dog (72lbs) in a tiny trailer.. Toby is crate trained but obviously there's no room in a tab for his crate. He's used to sleeping in his crate. Can't leave him outdoors..it's a cunundrum. He can sleep in bed with me..I guess. I'm the only one that needs to get up at night to pee. He's good from sundown to sun up.

The T@B *is* a crate!!! Toby is gonna be in heaven. A human sleeping with him in *his* crate. Just wait. 

BTW, I slept with two golden retrievers (85 and a 65 lb) in a 5 wide LG Reverse Teardrop. One big cuddle puddle. We could camp almost the entire winter without a little heater and even had to crack the fan (and sometimes turn it on when the girl dog ate too many hotdog pieces!!). I could move around just fine and I'm not a tiny person (5'6" - average size <-- intentionally vague).

Toby will be one happy lab. Pictures needed after first trip of happy pup.

BTW, labs and goldens are puppies until they are about 10 yrs old.

clinck

Toby is my second lab.. Ricky lived to 14.. Still not over his passing..guess that's the way it goes with best friends. 
Im not going to fret too much over it..we'll see how it goes when we go to Colorado next month for a weekend.

Smullis7

I camp with my 95lb pup, Winston, most of the time, but have put all 4 (23lb, 33lb, 45lb and 95lb) in with me.  They all fit fine on the queen bed.  Winston naps on one of the benches, but he likes to stretch out at night, so I set up the full bed.  When I just have the girls, Morgan (45lb) and Dakota (23lb), I only set up the back bench as a twin bed and they swap sleeping on one of the benches or at my feet.  :-)

clinck

Do you all take portable pens for outside or just stake a longer leash.. Can't haven't wandering dog at any parks. Wouldn't allow it anyway.

Photomom

clinck said:

Do you all take portable pens for outside or just stake a longer leash.. Can't haven't wandering dog at any parks. Wouldn't allow it anyway.

We attach the handle of Max's retractable leash to the T@B's step or the campsite picnic table depending on where we're hanging out. I found an elastic strap at Home Depot with carabiners on both ends that makes this easy. Gives him some freedom to explore his immediate area. 

Smullis7

I mostly boondock, and Winston and Dakota are untethered, but stays within 10' of me.  Morgan and Leroy are tethered via a long leashes to the handles on the T@B, because they can't be trusted.  :-)

clinck

John, what dept did u find the elastic with carabiners?

Michigan_Mike

clinck said:

John, what dept did u find the elastic with carabiners?

They have these.....



http://www.homedepot.com/p/Keeper-48-in-Carabiner-Bungee-Cord-47702/207097627

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Keeper-24-in-Carabiner-Bungee-Cord-47700/207097626

Photomom

More like this but probable around 16-18" long. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Keeper-60-in-Kolossal-Karabiner-Bungee-Cord-06163/203544728

Ratkity

clinck said:

Toby is my second lab.. Ricky lived to 14.. Still not over his passing..guess that's the way it goes with best friends. 
Im not going to fret too much over it..we'll see how it goes when we go to Colorado next month for a weekend.

I *so* understand @clinck. Three days after my little sis (not baby sis) had a double lung transplant with severe complications, I finally got home from her place.  My sweet tri-pawed golden died the next day (Valentine's Day) at age 13. He survived cancer for 4 years and it came back with a vengeance at the end. He waited for me to get home. A tough time. I had 4 extra special years with my buddy - an eternity with my furry best friend (complete with a happy 3-legged golden rolling on his back in his favorite dirt spot!).

Just leave you with a smile, six weeks after her transplant my sis woke up fully aware and ready to do PT and go full steam ahead! She's been unstoppable since and surprising doctors with her resolve and strength! I'm really proud of her

Sharon_is_SAM

Ratkitty - glad your sis is doing well.  That is quite the trial for her.  

Newfisher

2 105lb dogs and we use leashes when we have to. They both were crate trained during the puppy years. Started leaving crate door open at night and for awhile they just went to the crate on thier own, slept etc. We have a dog door so they can go ohtside when they want also. After a month or so the sneeking into the bedroom starts. The hide on tbe floor like kids in the hallway sneeking the Johnny Carson show then jump up on the bed and sleep. It was a quick transition but they had thier crates ( which they learn to love and feel safe in) to go to at night if they wanted. They just stopped wanting to crate and be with us. We take them everywhere and are our furry kids. One is a licensed therapy companion dog and the other a harmless hound. Still not over the last best friend, it takes time.

clinck

Ratkitty..I mean tears in the eyes about your Golden..Why does it have to hurt so bad?
Great story about your sister,,,What a braveheart..God Bless her..
If all of you guys can manage your pooches, then I guess toby will just have to learn about little trailers and who sleeps where!

Ratkity

@clinck, I don't know why it hurts so bad. I guess that's part of love we all end up learning - whether we want to or not.

Furpuppies are pack animals and you are the pack leader. Toby will follow you anywhere. To sleep in a cute little den camper with you will be his vision of puppy heaven!! When my goldens were young, they KNEW when I was hitching up the teardrop and moving the inside boxes. They would lose their fuzzy minds and would sit in the back seat of my TV and keep watching me hook up. "Come on, Mom... time's a-wasting! There's some fishin' to be done, cool people, new happy furfriends and treats!!" Thinking about the looks on their faces while I went down my checklist still makes me smile. 

I look forward to your first camping story with Toby. Oh, and make sure he stays away from those black kitties with the white stripes. They be trouble!!

2Cougs

Murphy is a 90 lb golden retriever.  He wouldn't get up on the bed if you paid him, and with two of us in the CS-S, there just isn't room for him on the floor.  (Hard enough getting to the bathroom during the night with DH in there with me... can't do a dog too!)  Just like photomom, we attach the handle of his leash to the T@B's step.  We sleep with the window open so he can hear us, and he is happy as can be.  Knows where we are, and knows we can't go anywhere without stepping over him 

sbhtennis

My dog  has a place  on the bed  that I put her rug on and she usually hangs there. I just  have lots of  sheets so things don't get too hairy on the cushions. Easier to wash the sheets than the cushions. I really like this company. You can find less expensive, but I spoil my dog. 
https://www.soggydoggydoormat.com