Comments on: The Great Dane dilemma: How to travel safely

By: Kirk

Kirk — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:05:43 +0000

I’ve got two Danes, both of which are between 18-26 months and might get transfered overseas. Are there any suggestions in how to travel with them… is that even a possibility? I don’t know the correct forum to ask this, so I’ll put it out there now. We appreciate any advice/tips available.

By: Marjorie

Marjorie — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:35:01 +0000

Kathryn,

Magnums are kinda…awesome. ;-) But I’d never really even considered one. Is there actually enough head room for a Dane to stand upright? Really?!? …Coohoool.

Myself, I’m not actively in the market for a new doggie transport vehicle, right now. But when I am, I’ll be sure to put the Magnum on the list. The other monkey wrench is my rather tall husband, who fits in very few vehicles.

I assume the Dane(s) ride(s) loose in the Magnum, though. ;-)

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:17:14 +0000

I currently also have a Great Dane and at one point owned 3 Danes and a Saint. Because I use a cargo van (with plenty of crate space, but not great gas mileage) to go to shows, I was looking for something to use for closer shows and to training or the vet or whatever. We found the Dodge Magnum. Style, luxury, and speed… all wrapped into one :-). When my male was a baby, I easily fit all three Danes in the back (when the seats were down). I can still easily fit two dogs with room to spare. Because the seats fold down independently, you can have a seat up and seats down to make room for dogs and people. I admit, you can’t travel with a lot of dogs, a lot of people, and a lot of luggage. But a Dane, some luggage, and some people are doable. I’ve also had relatively few problems with it in the three years I’ve owned it. I’m hooked for life!

By: Jodie Jeweler

Jodie Jeweler — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:19:53 +0000

I’ve found seatbelt type harnesses that work in both my minivan (2000 Ford Windstar) and my Saturn Vue for my Irish Wolfhounds. Both of my dogs are large, even for IWs (41.5” & 200 lbs for the larger) and both ALWAYS ride belted in. we use the Champion K9 “Survivor” big dog restrain system. http://www.champk-9.com/SVSS.htm
The harnesses fit & allow the dogs to lie down in the back or on the seat. The tether fits over the seat belt, so the dog can lie down (although my dogs have figured out a way to half sit, half lie) and still be tethered safely, or you can add a bolt clip to it and attach it to a sturdy anchor point in the mini van cargo area. (I use the floor anchors for the seats which were removed.)
I have thick foam dog beds covered with throws on the floor of the Windstar, with the seats removed, and the seatbelt tethers anchored to the seat attachments. THe tethers go around hte dog beds, and the dog is safe & comfortable. Sadly, because the Windstar really wasnt designed to be versatile at that time, the seats are too heavy to put in & take out- but most minivans have some sort of sturdy metal anchor point. When we want to use the vehicle only for cargo, we jsut remove the beds & tethers.
I got the clips at a mountain climbing store, they screw shut, and accomodate both the tether end & the floor anchor.

Now I’m looking for a vehicle that will comfortably hold 3 IWs & 3 people for short day jaunts (that is, not a full sized van, a family vehicle that will haul dogs). THAT’S hard to find!

By: Lorie

Lorie — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:34:04 +0000

I have a cargo van, and my husband built into it crates for my Irish Wolfhounds. So much easier for my babes!!

Lorie

By: Ninna Koplanyi

Ninna Koplanyi — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:19:47 +0000

I have had 2 Danes,with the first one we had a Volvo V70. We had the gargonet installed all the time. We also had an iron cage door installed so we could always leave the cargodoor opened. After a while we got a Ford Minivan wich was great for our german shepard and we though it would be great for our 2 dogs now (we just got a new Dane). But we had to sell it cause when our new Dane got 6 month the German shepard did not like the small space they got. So we have bought a new Volvo V70 and both of the dogs are happy now.
And the best of all the cage door and nylonnet are very safty. And in Sweden the safty allways comes before anything else. You can get everything at Volvo. :) Good luck

By: Cate

Cate — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:31:38 +0000

I travelled many miles with 2 Scottish Deerhounds and a Whippet in a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan. The middle and back seats long ago went to a dumpster (nowhere to store them). Since I have a horrible dread of unrestrained dogs flying through windows in case of an accident, all my guys have traveled crated. The two Deerhounds in It’s A Breeze 2 soft crates. The big wire crates were just too heavy, awkward and ugly to suit me. With those big dog beds from Costco, the hounds were only too happy to hop in and ride safely in comfort.

By: Michelle Pape

Michelle Pape — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:32:26 +0000

I, too drive with unrestrained danes. I have an old Suburban and my dogs are GREAT on the road. I fold down the center seat (which folds into the floor creating a flat sturdy surface) and leave the third row seat where it is depending on how many people I’m taking. I pile dog beds on the floor and one dane lays on the bench and one on the floor (their choice) and they both lay down the whole time we are moving. We haev had six people, the two danes and enough stuff for three day mini vacation in the Suburban and though it’s kind of a gas hog, I love it beacuse of all the space. Reading the concerns of others, though, I’m thinking it can’t be that difficult to use crate type panels padded on both sides with vinyl covered foam mats and turn them into doggie stalls (I have an equestrian background as well :}). I’m sure they could go from floor to ceiling with the padding left off the upper portion so the danes could see out, but it would be much more protective than, well, nothing. There are small portable fans that could be clipped onto the top of each dane’s “stall” to keep air moving whether its heated or cooled air. If it worked sort of like an x-pen where you can add/remove panels as necessary, it would be great. You could use heavy duty slide pins at the top and bottom so that they can be removed completely if needed and they should be available in different heights depending on the vehicle you have. I would use something like that if I lived in an ideal world, but until then, I’m just happy mine are so well behaved when riding. Good luck in finding an alternive.

By: Marjorie

Marjorie — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:03:15 +0000

Yes, I see you feel my pain, Barb. ;-)

I’ve repeatedly mentioned, to those who suggest an SUV, that they simply don’t have the versatility of a minivan. Either the dogs take up the cargo area or the seats. There are times we need seats (for humans), cargo area for luggage AND an open space for dogs. That appears to be minivan territory! :-)

Thanks for the tip about the body pillows. While it won’t solve the restraint problem, it very well might keep her from “lugeing” when she’s lying down, but still upright. I’ll definitely try to think of a way to make it work for us. Thanks! :-)

By: Barb

Barb — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:19:11 +0000

I’ve had Danes for most of my life, and currently have 4, so I feel your pain :-) My main dog car is a 2007 Rav4 - not very big, but it works for me. My dogs are all very comfortable (one at a time of course!!) riding on the back seat. So for trips to a class or the vet or even a trial/show with just one dog, the Rav4 is great. Plenty of room in the cargo area for a folded soft crate, training bag, even overnight bag and dog food. Well, if it’re really an overnight/weekend trip then some stuff will have to go in the passenger seat or in front of it! It can get cozy, but it does work.
And it works for taking two dogs to a class or the vet - I’ll just lay the back seat down and throw a comforter back there and they seem to ride just fine. You don’t have any room for a crate that way though, and the dogs have to like each other…
For our main show trips which are 2 to 5 day stays with 2 or 3 but up to 4 Danes (translation: LOTS OF STUFF) we rely on our faithful full size Dodge conversion van. We’ve removed one of the passenger seats - leaving one captain’s chair behind the driver and a bench seat about 2/3 of the way back. We put foam padding on the floor and cover that with comforters and blankets. One dog rides on the bench seat, the others are on the floor but it’s so soft they don’t mind at all. Crates, X-pens, luggage, food etc. fit behind the bench seat. The only thing that bothers me about all this is that the dogs aren’t restrained. I’ve tried all sorts of different harnesses and all sorts of different attachment rigs but like you, I find that the dogs always get tangled.
Oh, and for your girl who is anxious on the floor of your minivan… adding some sort of bolster may help her feel more secure by taking up some of the space, and giving her something comfortable to lean against. Body pillows work great, but so do rolled up comforters. Just a thought!