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Wheeling with (big) dogs

mnjeeper

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Did a search...didn't see a thread on this (or missed it).

Who wheels with a dog? My last dog passed a few years ago. Living alone and liking travel, I avoided getting another. Motorcycle trips are a no-no obviously. Now that I have another Jeep, and am working from home permanently, I really would like another dog. My last dog was 160 or so, and I would do another big dog. I am thinking if he wheels as a puppy, he will learn to enjoy, or at least deal with it. Dog can have the rear of the unlimited with seats down, thinking some sort of harness is a good idea.

Anyone with experience care to share?
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1quick1

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Not quite a huge dog but my 80lb lab before he passed had noticeable anxiety (panting/drooling) wheeling and he was cool as a cucumber the rest of the time. So I'm interested how others respond as well.
 

Stacey616

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I can't help with the anxiety piece, but I do think it is dog specific and probably can be somewhat trained at a young age. I can say I have 2 Great Danes and they fit just fine in our JLUR! I am sure there is a good harness available for more use. Also we take ours on our RV and a good cushion makes them more comfy on the long days!
 

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mnjeeper

mnjeeper

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I can't help with the anxiety piece, but I do think it is dog specific and probably can be somewhat trained at a young age. I can say I have 2 Great Danes and they fit just fine in our JLUR! I am sure there is a good harness available for more use. Also we take ours on our RV and a good cushion makes them more comfy on the long days!
I wasn't worried about fit, Even a huge dog will have room. Just wondering who else has dome this, and if puppies acclimate better, etc. I don't want to get a new dog and torture it.
 

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mbaglole

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@mnjeeper - we have two dogs (50 and 60 lbs respectively). One who absolutely loves our car, the other who starts to drool (not in a good way haha) when he sees the car (this is talking about my WRX). He hasn't acclimated well yet (he's now almost 8 months), but, we'll be wheeling or adventuring with him in the back seat (anti-nausea may be in the cards if it remains bad).

We thought our cross country trip was the solution, however, the hills and turns in Seattle just don't settle well with him.
 

Oldbear

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Our old Bouvier des Flandres (110 lbs) loved riding in the TJ. So did our 80 lb Lab and our current 25 lb Shiba. Depends on the dog.
 

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Stacey616

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I wasn't worried about fit, Even a huge dog will have room. Just wondering who else has dome this, and if puppies acclimate better, etc. I don't want to get a new dog and torture it.
Well, I do think you can acclimate most dogs from puppyhood without issues. Over the years we have trained our dogs to learn to be okay on boats, & Rv's. The only one that never fully acclimated to the RV was our current youngest rescue we got around a year old. She is otherwise the most easy going animal on the planet. I think had we started her at 12 weeks or so she would be better but its of course speculation. She does completely fine in the cars. She is slowly coming along, that is how we learned about the extra cushioned floor. I think the she feels like there is more under her feet than with just a blanket that. Ours will never go any kind of off road though bc my oldest is a B to everyone besides us!:LOL:

Also, just a thought if you are not opposed to rescue, they could probably help determine how they do in cars, surely they have been transported or can be given a test run! Good luck with whatever you decide!

I wasn't worried about fit, Even a huge dog will have room. Just wondering who else has dome this, and if puppies acclimate better, etc. I don't want to get a new dog and torture it.
 

Pat’s Sahara Unlimited

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Pat’s Sahara Unlimited

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This is second-hand data, but people I met on the trail told me that it can b difficult on dogs as they don't anticipate movement like we do, therefore they do get thrown about quite a bit, especially dogs that tend to stay up. My Bernese lie down when it gets too rowdy during normal driving (tight curves, gravel roads), but I have not tested them on the trail yet. I did babysit my sister's royal poodle, and this guy kept being thrown around when placed in the trunk of my JLU because he was always standing...
 

Morris4x4

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I have quite a duo. Both are cattle dogs (and started wheeling as pups), the 1 just sleeps like its nothing and does totally fine. The other is a spaz and bounces around like mad (anxious excitement. gets wilder once we hit a dirt road). Also had an Aussie that was crashed the whole time going down black bear (she is also 15 though so naps are life). Harnesses are nice to have (I haven't done enough research to see its benefits versus letting them run free). The crazy one just gets caught too much in the line for it to be useable.
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