We are moving mid June to Texas, I have a 70pound German Sheppard. I will be driving my truck and towing another car.
Can I throw the dog in the bed of the pickup and roll on or is there things I should be worried about.

I plan on stopping at each rest area to get him and the family out to stretch.

The dog is crated each night because he chews stuff, so I don’t think being sitting all day will be an issue.

I would not put a dog in the back of a pickup under most circumstances, and certainly not on a long trip towing a trailer. Way too many things that can go wrong on the highway.

Dog in a bed of a pickup on an interstate roadtrip? Ummm....no.

Sure, why not? What could possibly go wrong?

Topper on the pickup bed? Why not just put a dog bed in the back seat of the pickup?

We put our dogs in the cab with the heat and A/C. That said, I’ve made a few trips for the Rescue and we’ve had 4 dogs in crates in the bed. Strap them down very well securing them from sliding and also a strap on top, make sure they can’t come apart and put a strap across the door.

Really not preferred. Watch out for heat, the bed gets hot from reflecting heat, and stop more than you think you need. Best to strap them up against the back of the cab for. A tightly stretched tarp for shade can help.

Four responses and no Mitt Romney jokes?

I'm surprised.

-Rob

I might consider letting my dog ride in the truck bed for short periods at reasonably cool temps, but not for a multi-hour Texas road trip in mid-June.

Stick him inside the cab.

I would never put them in the bed of the truck, they ride in the cab with me. To much of a danger they jump or fall out if they stand in the bed.plus the temps in Texas are finally starting to climb in the 90’s again.

Seem to imply an open bed, no ‘topper’, possibly ‘crated’? Not ideal for long trips, possibly some rain along the way.

If you had a camper shell/topper, with the dog in a crate, no biggie, great way to go. If one HAD to, I could see a crate tucked up near the cab, then protected some from wind, weather, and whatnot.

The bottom line is, that dog MUCH prefers to be near and along with the owners. We have a 3 y/o G Shepherd, she doesn’t care where we’re going, as long as she came come too.

Outside of the temperature considerations, I would put the dog in a crate then lash the crate securely.

Bare minimum would be harnessing the dog itself so it can't jump out of the truck.

You may want to check the laws in the states you travel through.
I wouldn't put it in the bed. If the dog is kind of wild,ask your vet for some tranquilizers to calm it down a little. Most will calm down after a short ride anyway. Make sure water is available too.

I moved from El Paso, TX to Orlando 1.5 years ago with 2 dogs. 60 pound pit bull and 10 pound mutt of some sort. I drove a Penske with a car hauler and my car on there. Dogs rode with me in the passenger compartment so they could get AC/heat as I got it. Comfortable? No, but at least we were all uncomfortable together.

Depends on several things: The dog, shell on the truck?, weather, laws of states you are passing through.

Our dogs ride all the time in the bed of “the dog truck,” a four door Tacoma with a rubber mat over the bed liner, a shell, a few toys, a water bowl, and a gallon jug to keep the water bowl full. Before Mrs. slosig recently got the puppy (because we didn’t have enough dogs?), I routinely left the back glass as well as the side windows open since the dogs are very well acclimated, well behaved, and know to stay put. Mrs. didn’t appreciate it when the freeway was involved, but they’re good. Since the puppy arrived, the back glass is always closed when off the ranch and the side windows are open enough to allow a nose out, but not much more. Of course we live near the coast and there isn’t much real weather here. It never gets really cold and very rarely gets really hot. The laws in this state require dogs in the back of a pickup to be restrained unless they are ranch dogs. They’re ranch dogs so that isn’t an issue.

Very occasionally they’ll ride in the back of my work truck, an older Tacoma with the rubber mat, but no shell. Generally only on the ranch, and not on the freeway. This with dogs that have been riding in the back of trucks for years.

Only you know your dog and how he’ll behave as well as the lawsand weather you’ll be dealing with.

Rock usually rides in the back of the open bed of my F150,
he walks from side to side to look about
he has never jumped or even looked like he was gonna jump out.
we have heat here in NC and he is an outside dog and already acclimated to the outdoors

but I'm hearing to put him in the cab.

or buy a topper (I can't see shelling out mullah for a one time thing)

so I guess we will have him up front with us and we will have to deal with his drool and whatnot....

my friend said to give him one mg of benadry for each pound and that will keep him calm but not knock him out..

Get him one of those K-9 seat cover pads and direct an A/C vent in his general direction and you won’t have to worry about drool. Our Coco loves to take cool naps on car rides. Stop often, use a long leash or check cord to allow him to smell the scenery during comfort stops.

Wife was a vet tech for several years and she saw a few dogs that came in that were thrown from the bed of trucks when the owners took turns to fast, were in an accident or a sudden stop was need and the poor dog went flying.

If you have room in the cab, put him/her up there.

Foolish. If the dog is crate trained, then put a crate in your back seat, and he can ride in the crate problem free. I’d use bungees on it too.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Foolish. If the dog is crate trained, then put a crate in your back seat, and he can ride in the crate problem free. I’d use bungees on it too.

his crate is three by three and a half...it aint gonna make it in the cab of a F150...

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Foolish. If the dog is crate trained, then put a crate in your back seat, and he can ride in the crate problem free. I’d use bungees on it too.

his crate is three by three and a half...it aint gonna make it in the cab of a F150...

Buy a travel crate. I had a working line GSD Schutzhund titled. She fit in a crate in a compact hatchback for 7 years. I have a Mal now, she fits in same crate. You grab a measuring tape, measure the cab/hatch and buy a crate that will fit. Dogs can fit in small spaces for travel purposes either vehicle or aircraft. The back of a bed the dog can jump out, rapid stop it can fly out, and if a wreck occurs death. Same thing on the inside of a car if not restrained. We had a lady get in a mild fender bender. Her k9 went through the window and died an hour later at an emergency vet. Secure the animal properly during transit. Bad things can happen.