Fao: dog owners

Strange questions coming....

What do you guys tether the dog to on the van?

On the soon to be ex bay, we tethered him to either tow ring. Is there anywhere more convenient on a t6?

Also, we used the red coated metal cable, the which trips you up very easily, or cuts into the ankle!

Does anyone know of a supplier of long canvas strapping?

I'm thinking this might be better?

Cheers,

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If we need to tether to the van then I loop through the alloy wheel. But I generally prefer to use a dog spike and put it in the ground about 5m from the van. I give him enough length that he can reach the van but not get in. I tried using canvas strap but found it a bit heavy s we are back to an orange coloured rope now.

I would never tie my dog to the van
If it's possible to drive the van away whilst on hookup like some of us have reported doing here then I would stay clear of the dog being tied to the van

Alan

Length of climbing rope and a couple of carabinas, one end clipped to the passenger seat belt webbing to provide a bit of gentle retardation when he launches out of his bed at a passerby!!!

Dog spike, on a sprung and coated 5m (or when there's space, 10m) wire. Also used on the beach in conjunction with a beach tent/shelter, so we tend to travel with two spikes.

Alan said:

I would never tie my dog to the van
If it's possible to drive the van away whilst on hookup like some of us have reported doing here then I would stay clear of the dog being tied to the van

Alan

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Haha - fair point but there's no chance of him letting us do that !!

Rough calculations of shear load on a screw in spike caused by a two yr old 35kg lab traveling at v max showed we needed something a tad stronger!!!

We use a corkscrew spike with bungee style cords.


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dogs more trouble than kids

lostontheshore said:

dogs more trouble than kids

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Thats why we only have a dog....

lostontheshore said:

dogs more trouble than kids

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Bad owners are like bad parents.

So I have my dogs in crates in the van when travelling and the crates are in the awning when camping. The dogs are occasionally fastened to the towing hook (not to be confused with a tow ball), and I also always have spiral pegs for campsites. What you can do varies. On some campsites the ground is too solid or too stoney for a spiral to be reliable. On other sites you may be so close to the campsite road that you don't want to use the tow hook.
In answer to the posted question, then yes, on a T6, you can loop a dog lead through the towing hook.

Maisie is attached to this tape somewhere! It was the only picture I could find on my phone to show what we use . £1 from one of the pound shops on the pet section . About 5m long and we've tried all sorts of ways and this works best for Maisie and us .

Brindisi said:

Maisie is attached to this tape somewhere! It was the only picture I could find on my phone to show what we use . £1 from one of the pound shops on the pet section . About 5m long and we've tried all sorts of ways and this works best for Maisie and us .

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Nice idea. At the moment we tether to a carabiner on driver's seatbelt anchorage but only with door open. Flat tape would (presumably) let you shut the door over the tape?

Wouldn't have worked when ours was younger as she would have chewed through it.

Velma's Dad said:

Nice idea. At the moment we tether to a carabiner on driver's seatbelt anchorage but only with door open. Flat tape would (presumably) let you shut the door over the tape?

Wouldn't have worked when ours was younger as she would have chewed through it.

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Yes it would let you shut the door , although we would just unclip her from it if we went inside . We leave it in place and just tuck under Cali when not in use . It also gives her the freedom to go inside for a sleep or shelter ( from us ! )

Hitch in the back most often. We sometimes loop her to the OPEN sliding door's bottom connection to its rails. Our doodle is chill and won't yank the door shut, but this spot of course can't work for all dogs. And very occasionally to the passage door handle (again, only for chill dogs. Also, metal on her leash can chip the paint, so this is really only a short term option)

AlisonF said:

So I have my dogs in crates in the van when travelling and the crates are in the awning when camping. The dogs are occasionally fastened to the towing hook (not to be confused with a tow ball), and I also always have spiral pegs for campsites. What you can do varies. On some campsites the ground is too solid or too stoney for a spiral to be reliable. On other sites you may be so close to the campsite road that you don't want to use the tow hook.
In answer to the posted question, then yes, on a T6, you can loop a dog lead through the towing hook.

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Alison,
Can I ask what crates you use in the van? Currently we use a foldable crate, but it won't be large enough when spaniel number 2 is fully grown.
Thanks

rich-s said:

Alison,
Can I ask what crates you use in the van? Currently we use a foldable crate, but it won't be large enough when spaniel number 2 is fully grown.
Thanks

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Excuse me jumping in, but in case useful we now use this foldable soft crate:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KIQFQEG/?tag=eliteelect-21

It very easily folds flat when required just by releasing a couple of spring clips in the top bars of the internal frame. Very pleased with it.

The large size is plenty big enough for our working cocker, even though she is quite long in the body. However if you have a large spaniel like a springer you might need the extra large size which is 81cm long so may be a squeeze to fit lengthways on the rear shelf.

Velma's Dad said:

Excuse me jumping in, but in case useful we now use this foldable soft crate:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KIQFQEG/?tag=eliteelect-21

It very easily folds flat when required just by releasing a couple of spring clips in the top bars of the internal frame. Very pleased with it.

The large size is plenty big enough for our working cocker, even though she is quite long in the body. However if you have a large spaniel like a springer you might need the extra large size which is 81cm long so may be a squeeze to fit lengthways on the rear shelf.

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Thanks. That is similar to what we have already. Problem is we now have a puppy as well as adult spaniel At the moment they are both happy sharing our folding crate, but I don't think they'll be able to share when the pup is fully grown. Need to investigate the options of crates v's harness.

Velma's Dad said:

she would have chewed through it.

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Haha - brings back memories of a rescue Mongrel we had. Jake: he was an escapologist. There was no way of containing him. He could haul himself over a 5ft fence, bury under taller ones and chew through anything that wasn't metal chain. Add to that his ability to be through your legs and out of a partially open front door in about 2 seconds. I laugh about it now but it did our heads in at the time.

rich-s said:

Thanks. That is similar to what we have already. Problem is we now have a puppy as well as adult spaniel At the moment they are both happy sharing our folding crate, but I don't think they'll be able to share when the pup is fully grown. Need to investigate the options of crates v's harness.

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We use a harness also, so pooch can sit on the bench seat when preferred. Starting at the 'dog end':
1. A fairly standard, snug fitting dog body harness with wide soft straps, that would normally be used for lead walking. As well as the D ring in the normal position on the dog's back, it also has another one under its chest.
2. Attached to this chest D ring on the harness we clip a short strap that has a spring clip at one end.
3. The other end of the strap has a seatbelt tongue that clicks into the seatbelt buckle at the centre of the Cali bench seat.

The dog can move around a little on the seat but in an accident would be prevented from becoming a projectile. She is a very happy girl with this setup.

An advantage (for us) of this arrangement is that the dog can instantly be released from the seat whenever required, eg at a short stop, just by unclipping the strap while leaving the body harness on.

For two dogs I guess you'd need to use two straps, utilising both of the bench seat belt buckles.

sidepod said:

Length of climbing rope and a couple of carabinas, one end clipped to the passenger seat belt webbing to provide a bit of gentle retardation when he launches out of his bed at a passerby!!!

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Good idea

I had a nylon crate but was concerned about the buildup of heat.
I now use a crate which I sit in front of the bench seat when I'm travelling. I would like to find a way of securing it in one place though....maybe some D-rings 'nailed' into the base of the bench?
Dottie is allowed to sit on the seat so, although it took a bit of practice, she now loves sitting on the seat secured by a harness.
Crate is still much required for transporting a muddy dog, but the crate is turfed out of the van on arrival...can be used as a side table for drinks!

Dottie said:

maybe some D-rings 'nailed' into the base of the bench?

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I assume you mean to secure the crate with the dog it while travelling? If so it will need to be extremely strongly fixed if it's not going to break free in anything other than a little 'car park' shunt. The deceleration forces in a big road accident are massive (I know, having survived one), and the dog+crate will instantly acquire a forward force of many times their combined weight. That's why seatbelt anchors need to be able to withstand a force of several tons even though even the biggest of us we only weighs a fraction of a ton.

In practice I very much doubt if a DIY fixing of the crate would be safe... unless perhaps it involved passing a strap through the body of the crate and securing it to seat belt or floor fixings at both ends. (Warning: I'm not an engineer though!).

Obviously the force of the dog hitting the front of the crate is also massive, and in a big accident I make the assumption the crate structure itself would fail and the dog would become a 'free projectile'.

For those reasons we only travel with the dog either harnessed to the bench seat (using the seat belt points) or in a crate behind the bench seat (where it would be impeded by the seat back).

However I may have misunderstood and maybe you just want to secure the empty crate on the floor. If it's not very heavy then the fixings don't need to be so strong but even for a 5Kg crate you probably need something that can withstand, I'd guess, 100+ kg (the same principle of course is true of any other items kept in the living area of the van while driving).

Sorry to start the day with such a scary topic, but better safe than sorry.

rich-s said:

Alison,
Can I ask what crates you use in the van? Currently we use a foldable crate, but it won't be large enough when spaniel number 2 is fully grown.
Thanks

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I use 2 collsible crates from ellie-bo side by side on the 'parcel shelf'. The 36" version fit side by side with the seat forward a few inches.
I also have 2 hard plastic ones (not sure on the brand) which I used in my other vehicle and they fit bettee but give the dogs less room to sit properly so not keen on them for long journeys ir if the dogs sleeping in the van on the ferry, for example.