Daily poll: Have you ever taken your bully on a road trip?

[Daphnee]

Daphnee has 23 states and over 20k miles under her collar... From Jeckyl Island, GA to Bar Harbor, ME and every state in between on the East Coast. Farthest west was Green Bay.. Has been in a cab in Chicago, the tram to Jay's Peak, a sight seeing boat in Bar Harbor.. She's been to/in over 30 breweries and wineries. So, yeah I guess..

 

[nycbullymama]

Blue does very well. We've done the NYC to Florida drive three times and he just sleeps most of the way.

Wellie hasn't been in the car for longer than 3 hours at a time but he does fine. Will see how he does next time we drive down to Fl.

 

[ChrisRN]

Mabel does very well. As much as my mother loves staying with her, I missed her terribly this weekend and will probably take her with us next time.

 

[minibull]

We just did 5000 miles round trip from the Midwest to West Coast. The first leg was a learning experience as it turns out Buttercup doesn't see fit to urinate on non-grass/non-snow surfaces, so instead she will choose her blanket over these. We spent the night at a pet-friendly La Quinta hotel with rocks and cacti, at which point she peed on a second blanket we gave her to sleep on. Thankfully the hotel had laundry facilities and we had brought her unscented detergent. After we figured out her need for grass we aggressively scoured the roads for even tiny patches of grass, which was more difficult but not impossible to find in Arizona and the Mojave desert. We also took her on at least a small walk / potty break at every stop -- which were at least every 2 hours as I needed to empty my bladder or stretch my legs, too. No more blanket pee episodes after that.

Buttercup doesn't readily drink water so I offered her water from a squeeze bottle (used a big Buffalo Wild Wings To Go bowl to catch drips) at most stops after I saw just how concentrated her urine was on the blankets.

I wanted to try the Sleepypod ClickIt harness but didn't have time to order before the trip, so instead we tried a Kurgo tether with her regular Julius K9 IDC harness. The tether seemed to work ok at first but she managed to get out of her harness multiple times even after we adjusted it. The tether also got excessively twisted up due to her efforts to move around. So we stopped using it as her wriggling out of the harness seemed like it had potential to cause injury. We will try again with a real seatbelt harness or get the Sleepypod next.

We also used this Solvit Sta-Put Deluxe Hammock Pet Seat Cover with her blankie, which worked pretty well to protect the seats and keep her from falling behind the seats, which has been a major problem in the past. I anticipate future need for repair of the stitching straps that wrap around the seat head cushions, but we really liked this product for the total 5000 miles we drove with it.

All in all, Buttercup tolerated the drive very well and our family adored meeting her and having her in their home. It was worth the effort to pack all of her necessities and the extra time at each stop to take care of her needs. It makes me sad that we will probably never have the time to repeat the experience as we spent a total of 7 days/nights driving.

 

[xsubsailor]

We have only gone about 2 hours at the most and she does well. My car on the other hand winds up full of slobber and hair. I do cover her seat but but it still seems to get everywhere. But that's worth it to have her with me.

 

[binxrexchubbs]

Yes but the longest was 45 minutes away to see my parents. Everything else is within 15 minutes. We've put a blanket down but some how he moves it. We haven't purchased a doggy seat belt yet. Instead we use the cars seat belt and slide it thru his harness. Chubbs doesn't like it but it's safer.

 

[nycbullymama]

We just did 5000 miles round trip from the Midwest to West Coast. The first leg was a learning experience as it turns out Buttercup doesn't see fit to urinate on non-grass/non-snow surfaces, so instead she will choose her blanket over these. We spent the night at a pet-friendly La Quinta hotel with rocks and cacti, at which point she peed on a second blanket we gave her to sleep on. Thankfully the hotel had laundry facilities and we had brought her unscented detergent. After we figured out her need for grass we aggressively scoured the roads for even tiny patches of grass, which was more difficult but not impossible to find in Arizona and the Mojave desert. We also took her on at least a small walk / potty break at every stop -- which were at least every 2 hours as I needed to empty my bladder or stretch my legs, too. No more blanket pee episodes after that.

Buttercup doesn't readily drink water so I offered her water from a squeeze bottle (used a big Buffalo Wild Wings To Go bowl to catch drips) at most stops after I saw just how concentrated her urine was on the blankets.

I wanted to try the Sleepypod ClickIt harness but didn't have time to order before the trip, so instead we tried a Kurgo tether with her regular Julius K9 IDC harness. The tether seemed to work ok at first but she managed to get out of her harness multiple times even after we adjusted it. The tether also got excessively twisted up due to her efforts to move around. So we stopped using it as her wriggling out of the harness seemed like it had potential to cause injury. We will try again with a real seatbelt harness or get the Sleepypod next.

We also used this Solvit Sta-Put Deluxe Hammock Pet Seat Cover with her blankie, which worked pretty well to protect the seats and keep her from falling behind the seats, which has been a major problem in the past. I anticipate future need for repair of the stitching straps that wrap around the seat head cushions, but we really liked this product for the total 5000 miles we drove with it.

All in all, Buttercup tolerated the drive very well and our family adored meeting her and having her in their home. It was worth the effort to pack all of her necessities and the extra time at each stop to take care of her needs. It makes me sad that we will probably never have the time to repeat the experience as we spent a total of 7 days/nights driving.

We use this:
Amazon.com : Floppy Ears Design Waterproof Microfiber and Foam Safety Back Seat Expander, Tan, One Size : Pet Supplies

It creates a ton of extra room for the backseat. With two bulldogs, it works great. They can both stretch out and still have room.
The size works very well in our CUV, a Nissan Murano.

 

[minibull]

We use this:
Amazon.com : Floppy Ears Design Waterproof Microfiber and Foam Safety Back Seat Expander, Tan, One Size : Pet Supplies

It creates a ton of extra room for the backseat. With two bulldogs, it works great. They can both stretch out and still have room.
The size works very well in our CUV, a Nissan Murano.

This looks awesome! Now we just need a foam block to keep Buttercup from joining us at her post on the center console (not even the hammock prevents that as she easily climbs over it).

 

[Manydogs]

You can buy a barrier like this to keep the dog from coming in the front-there are several types. On foster and smith, amazon etc. @minibull

Well the picture won't show up-but it is a nylon barrier,with elastic, and window for dog to see up front.

 

[brutus77]

We are planning to take the boys to Myrtle Beach next summer and I plan on getting travel crates for them to travel in in the car. I think it would be safer and more comfortable for everyone. We will also need them for the rental house anyway. I hope all goes well. I hate leaving them home on family vacations. If I could figure out how to get them on the cruise planned for this summer, I swear I would bring them. What fun would that be???

 

[minibull]

You can buy a barrier like this to keep the dog from coming in the front-there are several types. On foster and smith, amazon etc. @minibull

Well the picture won't show up-but it is a nylon barrier,with elastic, and window for dog to see up front.

Thanks, we're going to try this! Found several versions online. I'm sure she'll jump over if I leave her in the car for a few minutes but it should work while I'm actually driving.

 

[DudleysMom]

Dudley goes on lots of "short" road trips, but we did drive from NJ to CT with him to visit some friends. He was fabulous in the car! Got out every once in awhile at rest stops and stretched, did a little walk, had some water. He was GREAT. He is good in the car - always seems really comfortable there, too.

 

[Sircacilence]

Yes, I sure have!! I live in Mississippi and my six month old EB named Bo drove all the way to north Oklahoma to visit family for the holidays!! He absolutely loves car rides and can't wait to hop in the passenger seat anytime I say "wanna go for a ride!" It was about a 12-13 hour drive!! He loved every minute of it!!