Road Tripping

M

marymrumfelt

Forums Enthusiast
We're relocating to Charleston, SC in June and we will be taking a trip out there next week and then another trip in June when we move. We're looking at 17 hours each way and we're considering doing 10 hours one day and 7 hours the next day. This will be a lot on them as we'll be looking at places all day when there so they'll be locked up quite a bit. I plan to get up and take them on an hour walk each day before we head out but they're used to a lot more playing.

Suggestions on road trips and keeping the occupied? Hadley is so nervous in the car also and the melatonin didn't help much. The other two are good in the car and always excited to go. Would you leave them crated the whole time? We have a hatchback and we've set the crates up in the back, folded the seats down and put doggies beds thee and they could go in and out of their crate or the bed as they pleased. I have never taken them this long, though, and not sure if that's safe. Seat belts won't work as we'll have the seats folded down to fit other stuff with us.

Share your road trip experiences and what worked/didn't work so I can learn since there will be a lot of it in our families future!
 
My husband and I just relocated from Bossier City, LA to Rogers, AR for his job. About a 7 hour drive. I wish I had advice to give you, but all mine did was sleep the whole way with 2 stops for gas/potty breaks. We just have two small cars, and they outgrew their 'puppy' crates. So we use the 48" crate as a divider folded up between the seats to keep them from messing with the driver! Then we have the crate for when we get to the destination.

I do worry about them being 'free' and am considering getting them the harness seat belt hookups for safety. Just don't know if I could live with myself if we were in a car accident and know we didn't do anything to make sure they were secure..
 
Definitely keep them restrained in the car!

A friend of ours just made a sharp turn in their truck, the dog flipped over the seat into the backseat and broke his leg! Terrible...and it was just around the corner and only a sharp turn. You never know!
 
I remember having to slam on the brakes one day and my poor pups went flying. I went out and bought car harnesses the next day. They get twisted up in the seatbelt but are getting used to it more every day. I don't know how many of you already know this story but it definitely brought tears to my eyes following it on Facebook the day they began closing in on him to finally bring him home.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ley-survived-53-DAYS-lost-wild-car-crash.html

Seatbelts everyone!
 
Good luck with the move! If you'd like any input on places in Charleston let me know. My husband and I lived there for 4 years.

My two have gone on tons of road trips (the longest was 14 hours from Quebec) and they are fine. I usually alternate between crating them and putting them on a seatbelt where they can turn around a little bit and lay down. Lexi likes to be held so if she settles we will hold her in our laps for an hour or two too just to switch things up.

I would recommend making sure you give them plenty of water when you stop. My two tend to get a little dehydrated in the car.
 
Keeping them secure at all times is the best advice I can offer. I was only 3 hours from my house on a 20 hour trip and as I was driving down the highway, a SUV exiting from a business in the medium didn't opt to take the side lane and yield into the highway, but burst directly into the highway. I didn't see her coming and she broadsided me. It sent my van into a spin and when I came to, I hit the brakes because I was headed for a bridge. What that did was send the van driving backwards and before I could pull the emergency brake I slammed into the display Hondas at a dealership. My 2 shelties were in customized Noz-2-Noz soft crates that were strapped and secured around the stowed seats. Their crates stayed in position but the glass from my rear window came flying into the back of the van. The soft crates kept the glass from getting to the shelties. Had I placed their crates right behind the two front seats, they both would have been killed. The woman slammed into me right behind the driver's seat so hard that she nearly tore my Dodge van in two.

Had mine been loose I would have easily lost both!


Dani
Staymat Magnificent Journey UD
Armitage Dazzling Spun Gold CDX, RAE
Double Dare Derrick CD, RAE
Blackmyst Poker Face - puppy
 
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