Travelling with large dogs.

[hotzlaw]

Hi all,

We live in Germany, but since I am a Canadian national and my English is way better than my German, I thought to join motorhomefun.co.uk since England is really not so far away - and the motorhomes are the same here as there anyways.

We breed Bernese Mountain Dogs and are looking for a motorhome for which to travel with them, not only to shows but also while on vacation.

At the moment we have 4 females (40 kg each) and at some time there might be a fifth.

We've been looking at motorhomes and would like to find one that has enough room that the dogs could sleep inside with us - since this is what they are used to at home.

What we've been finding is that motorhomes that have drop-down beds tend to have more room - for example the Chausson 630 has quite a roomy lounge where the dogs could sleep.

Four dogs would fit in the garage - but I have to ask if 160 kg in there might be a problem in terms of loading the rear axle?

Anyways I though to ask for advice in the forum since it's possible that there are dog breeders here that could give some tips for what to look keep in mind.

Thanks a lot - looking forward to your advice and suggestions.

Hotzlaw

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Hi and welcome . Can’t help with your querie but @DavidG58 and @haganap have big bears like yours so they might be able to advise. We’ve got a Border terrier.

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

 

[Riverbankannie]

A drop down bed for you and the rear lounge for the dogs would seem to be the way to go. Do you have licence to drive a MH over 3500kg?
If you are happy to use the front dinette area as your main living area too, then you could adapt the rear loung bit by removing the thick cushions and creating a dedicated dog area.

 

[tacr2man]

Seeing as you are Canadian , are you aware that RVs are available in Europe , and license-able in Germany , and depending on your driving license could be the answer to your space requirement .

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[The Dudess]

and

to the doggies.

 

[DavidG58]

we just have the one

not quite a dainty as your girls, currently weighing in at 45kg, down from 50kg

she takes up a decent amount of our 8,2m MH, I really have no idea where three more would go

Paul Haggers has 2 Newfoundlands he will have a better idea, but doubt he could squeeze one more in , let alone 2

Lovely idea though, look forward to hearing how you achieve it

 

[Allanm]

Welcome to the forum, will you be buying new or used?
Best advice would be to view as many large vans as you can, many European vans have front seating areas which compromise on floor space for dogs ( we had this problem while we were looking for a van too, but only had 2 largish dogs)
An RV might be your best bet or a tag axle van with a large rear lounge, centre dinette and overcab or drop down bed.

 

[tonka]

?? What did i miss... I saw big dog and then 40kg.. ??

Makes my old 80kg Rottweiler look even worse...

Welcome to the FUN

 

[haganap]

you need a big Frankia like @drago35uk has... he and Carol has three adorable Berns, and they go all over with theirs.

my big girl weighs in at 56kg down from 65 kg. the little sweet newf weighs in at 45kg

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[hotzlaw]

Thanks for the great welcome, for all of the advice, and for the pictures.

Lovely dogs you all have! 80 gk! Yikes!!!

Here is a photo of our "family", taken a couple of months ago when the new ones (from our litter in April) were still small. But the puppies will also weigh around 40 kg when they are big.

BROKEN LINK

About licences and motor home size - unfortunately I had to give up my Canadian driving license when I moved here, and now have the German one with the limit of 3500 kg. My wife has the older German license where she can drive up to 7500 kg. But only one partner allowed to drive is not good...

The idea about keeping the dogs in the lounge area appeals to me - they would either have to be harnessed, or some kind of a barrier must be installed that they can't wind up in the cab should anything happen.

 

[namwaldog]

Welcome to Fun
Is it worth considering something like this....

The dogs would only need to be in the trailer whilst you were on the move and it would also act as a "safe place" in the event of an emergency.
Would also eliminate any payload problems.

I had a colleague who used one to carry two German Shepherds to and from work.

 

[haganap]

I know @Jim used to trailer his Alsation Rocky, for me though? if one of my newfs aint helping me with the driving then the wheels aint turning

 

[Jim]

Welcome to Fun
Is it worth considering something like this....
View attachment 198874
The dogs would only need to be in the trailer whilst you were on the move and it would also act as a "safe place" in the event of an emergency.
Would also eliminate any payload problems.

I had a colleague who used one to carry two German Shepherds to and from work.

We towed a trailer like that for years. We had a 4 bike rack on the top too. Never towed a dog in it though, but it was a great ‘shed’ on site and a great place for large wet and muddy dogs before they are cleaned up and allowed back in the van. yy

 

[Minxy]

From a purely safety point of view I wouldn't want to have my beloved pooches in a trailer ... imaging how bumpy etc it must be for them ... or in a garage at the back of a MH either as if there is an accident, even a low speed one, where you get rear ended I hate to think what would happen to them as there isn't much strength in the rear end of MHs. For 4 large dogs, and possible a 5th then IMV the only suitable vehicle would be an American RV with a slide out which would give you the ability to expand your space on site so you wouldn't all be on top of each other.

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[Jim]

From a purely safety point of view I wouldn't want to have my beloved pooches in a trailer ...

They are quite safe, custom designed to be so. The track on the trailer is very wide and they are designed to give a very smooth ride which they do. Those particular trailers are top quality, German made and used by the police and similar agencies all over the world. They also come with heating and air conditioning and blown air. When travelling, dogs are separated and the kennels are made narrower so the dog can’t get thrown about. In a crash they’d likely be as safe or safer than in a cage or a harness and being thrown around.

We bought ours when we had two GSD pups, but by the time they were big enough to go in it we’d lost one and “Rocky” never did use it on the move. Sold it last year.

 

[The Wino]

Judging by our dog I would have thought there could be a significant risk of a gassing thread soon!!!!

 

[Minxy]

They are quite safe, custom designed to be so. The track on the trailer is very wide and they are designed to give a very smooth ride which they do. Those particular trailers are top quality, German made and used by the police and similar agencies all over the world. They also come with heating and air conditioning and blown air. When travelling, dogs are separated and the kennels are made narrower so the dog can’t get thrown about. In a crash they’d likely be as safe or safer than in a cage or a harness and being thrown around.

We bought ours when we had two GSD pups, but by the time they were big enough to go in it we’d lost one and “Rocky” never did use it on the move. Sold it last year.

Not undermining what you are saying for one minute Jim, but as the OP's dogs won't have been accustomed to trailers from puppies to suddenly put them in as adult dogs I would think could be quite a shock and stressful no matter how 'comfortable' they are ... I've certainly followed trailers with dogs in and some of them are horrendous and I really feel for the poor things.

 

[DBK]

Best of luck! Our 10kg pal took me a while to wash before we would let him back in the van today after a walk along a very muddy coastal path.

I think the idea of a trailer is probably the answer - letting them back in for the night after they have dried off.

 

[Jim]

Not undermining what you are saying for one minute Jim, but as the OP's dogs won't have been accustomed to trailers from puppies to suddenly put them in as adult dogs I would think could be quite a shock and stressful no matter how 'comfortable' they are ... I've certainly followed trailers with dogs in and some of them are horrendous and I really feel for the poor things.

I was just countering your claim there was a safety issue, there really isn’t. Don’t know if this is the solution for the OP But if they did choose this route, most dogs, with a bit of sympathetic training can quickly become acclimatised to travel in trailer, safely and comfortably.

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[ShiftZZ]

We parked up in a pub car park in Shropshire and next to us was a PVC, out of which came two adults, two Pyranees mountain dogs, a German Shepherd and a collie. That must have been a little tight

 

[Jim]

We parked up in a pub car park in Shropshire and next to us was a PVC, out of which came two adults, two Pyranees mountain dogs, a German Shepherd and a collie. That must have been a little tight

That much dog breath in small panel van, another pet would come in handy, a canary to check the air quality

 

[DanielFord]

We also have a Bernese, but only one, and she weighs in at 45kg. Here she is, in her favourite spot in the van, right in front of the heater!

You might want to check out this FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/623...Cjy2BnbTfUJf2MD0bHJPGbMSDQKYjNu8SmQ8F-oy9QzNo

You have to join first, but there is a breeder on there who travels in her van and 8 Bernese (and a lazarapso) might want to ask her what she does!

 

[Rob Hammond]

We parked up in a pub car park in Shropshire and next to us was a PVC, out of which came two adults, two Pyranees mountain dogs, a German Shepherd and a collie. That must have been a little tight

And smelly haha.

 

[Puddleduck]

Our garage has a max weight rating of 150kg.

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[duffs]

 

[hotzlaw]

I got called out of town so I wasn't able to post until today, thanks for all the great input!

My wife found a contact here that modifies motorhomes especially dogs; he operates a franchise that rents these vehicles to dog owners. The website is www.waumobil.de.

He is very friendly and offered to make some modifications to the vehicle so that the dogs could travel inside of the motorhome, since the Chausson offers a lot of room when the beds are up.

He said that he would install anchors to which the dogs would be harnessed.

So this sounds promising - we'll see!