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PUPPY in MH


sandalwood

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Hi everyone

 

I will be having 9 week old puppy in my Motorhome. West Highland Terrier. I have an IH 620 rear lounge. My previous dog 12 yrs old slept on passenger seat quite happy and wouldn’t jump off. Puppy could jump off!. Tried various crates, nothing fits, her bed she will sleep in, but she will wander. I d have a hook on rear bench, but it can’t be used when I’m sleeping in it, to me this is a HORRENDOUS PROBLEM as we booked to go, and have to take her.

 

You people are a wonderful help, so hoping someone has an idea, if it’s an IH 620 rear lounger, very grateful!

 

Tried a collapsible fabric crate but not stable .

 

At wits end!

 

Shirley

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sandalwood - 2021-06-17 4:13 PM

 

Hi everyone

 

I will be having 9 week old puppy in my Motorhome. West Highland Terrier. I have an IH 620 rear lounge. My previous dog 12 yrs old slept on passenger seat quite happy and wouldn’t jump off. Puppy could jump off!. Tried various crates, nothing fits, her bed she will sleep in, but she will wander. I d have a hook on rear bench, but it can’t be used when I’m sleeping in it, to me this is a HORRENDOUS PROBLEM as we booked to go, and have to take her.

 

You people are a wonderful help, so hoping someone has an idea, if it’s an IH 620 rear lounger, very grateful!

 

Tried a collapsible fabric crate but not stable .

 

At wits end!

 

Shirley

Hi

 

We also have a WHW dog, now 3 yrs old and happy to sleep on floor whilst we are travelling.

He's been at home from day 1 in our Motorhome.

 

If looking for a cage, have you looked at a collapsible one.

Like this :-

 

Link to Pets at Home

 

(Edit to shorten link to correct page width error - Keithl)

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There’s a good deal of online discussion/advice/adverts about this

 

https://tinyurl.com/epkr3v49

 

A West Highland Terrier puppy won’t be very large, so there is bound to be some sort of ‘crate’ enclosure that could be used while travelling and on site at night. It would also make good sense to get the puppy accustomed to being in the crate as early as possible and well before the planned trip begins.

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Derek Uzzell - 2021-06-17 9:56 PM

 

There’s a good deal of online discussion/advice/adverts about this

 

https://tinyurl.com/epkr3v49

 

A West Highland Terrier puppy won’t be very large, so there is bound to be some sort of ‘crate’ enclosure that could be used while travelling and on site at night. It would also make good sense to get the puppy accustomed to being in the crate as early as possible and well before the planned trip begins.

Totally agree Derek

Ours was used to it's cage in the house prior to travelling in the motorhome. So much so, he sees it as his safe haven and happily hops in. Now fully grown he's happy to lie down in the back on his rug outside the bathroom.

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sandalwood - 2021-06-18 5:41 PM

 

Thank you, it’s the sleeping that’s the problem. 2 bench beds, narrow pathway, previous dog @5 yrs used to sleep quite happily on passenger seat, turned round. However, puppy might jump off!

Shirley,

 

Could you put the puppy's bed on the floor between the front seats then put a barricade across to keep the puppy at the front? Something like a stair gat or simple board maybe?

 

Keith.

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sandalwood - 2021-06-18 5:41 PM

 

Thank you, it’s the sleeping that’s the problem. 2 bench beds, narrow pathway, previous dog @5 yrs used to sleep quite happily on passenger seat, turned round. However, puppy might jump off!

Is there space if both front seats are turned round, for a small collapsible cage for the puppy to sleep in.

 

 

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Shirley’s vehicle is a 2012 IH Motorhomes “Tio” 620RL model. The advert on the following link is for a 2013 version and has several interior photos.

 

https://www.motorhomedepot.com/vehicle/ih-600-tio-r-2013

 

The photo attached below shows the motorhome’s habitation-area doorway and the space between the cab seats and (I would have thought) there should be sufficient space for a small ‘crate’ between the front seats and plenty of room for a crate in the doorway. And, in either case, access to the kitchen and bathroom would be unobstructed.

 

In the past I’ve seen two large rottweilers being lifted into a small motorhome (dogs presumably too old to manage the entrance step), two big black labradors somehow inserted into the back of a 2-door Aston Martin prior to boarding the ferry at Ouistreham, and even a large pet pig that travelled in a motorhome’s rear garage.

 

It’s not going to be productive comparing what an elderly dog was prepared to do sleeping-wise with what an inquisitive puppy - unused to travelling/living in a motorhome - will want to do at night or when the vehicle is being driven. But carrying safely and comfortably (for humans and dog) a West Highland Terrier puppy in a IH Tio 620RL motorhome surely cannot be such a difficult thing to arrange?

doorway.png.dd598317acbfde429f4f2b977ec1c89f.png

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I'm shocked no-one seems to be cognisant of the Highway Code, and what a caring dog owner would surely do, that is make sure your pet is secured. Would you travel with a child not secured in your vehicle?

We've tried a few options for our cocker spaniels, found a crate at the back made one of them fret as the tail end bounces around more than the middle (simple physics). Have settled on harnesses fixed to the rear seat's seatbelts, settle reasonably well there.

 

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Conrad - 2021-06-20 9:09 PM

 

I'm shocked no-one seems to be cognisant of the Highway Code, and what a caring dog owner would surely do, that is make sure your pet is secured...

The UK Highway Code’s recommendations are referred to in the link in my posting of 18 June 2021 7:53 AM above.

 

Shirley (sandalwood) owned a Rapido 776FF coachbuilt motorhome that was replaced by her present IH Motorhomes “Tio” panel-van conversion in late-2018. The Rapido was larger than the Tio and had ‘travel seating’ (ie. with seat belts) in its habitation area, whereas the Tio (as Shirley mentioned in her original posting) has a rear U-lounge layout (presumably with no seat belts in that lounge). So the likelihood is that your use of a harness would not be a practical proposition in Shirley’s case.

 

The Rapido 776FF design included a fixed French bed at the rear, plus a drop-down ‘ceiling’ bed, so there were plenty of places where a dog could snooze overnight without affecting the motorhome’s owners. That isn’t the case with the smaller Tio, where sleeping is on the rear U-lounge’s seating.

 

If putting the puppy into kennels is not an acceptable option, although Shirley has said that various ‘crates’ have been tried, for safe travelling (never mind preventing the puppy from night time wandering) a crate of some sort seems to be the right way to go.

 

https://tinyurl.com/96zc45t2

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A metal cage is what you need. A small one for a WHWT puppy will be more than ample, lightweight and foldable.

 

We used metal cages when we travelled around the country to the Championship Dog Shows with 6 dogs in the van. A cage seems to be seen as a punishment by non dog owners. In fact it is the reverse, all the dogs we have had have been cage trained as puppies and use them as 'quiet' places at home where the doors are left open permanently. Lately we have been taking in dogs that have been through a bad time and need a new home. They have adusted to using a cage. I believe that cage training from a young age is a good thing as dogs often travel in vehicles with their owners.

 

If I was in your position I would obtain a cage beforehand to let the puppy get used to it by leaving the door open and putting treats inside it. I would also get the puppy used to your car and have short trips (around the block) to check it will travel without being sick or badly upset. Put some effort in to this as if it goes badly, the puppy will grow up being fearful or uncooperative.

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Thanks to all for advice. Problem now solved, small carry crate to start fits in nicely between seats. Then graduate to sleeping quarters behind seats.

 

Sad news, puppy we were expecting has a heart murmur and on medication, naturally breeder won’t sell. I’m reliably informed some are born like this but grow out of it. Heigh ho,, let’s go searching again!

 

Regards

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