# Pickup trucks?



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Now that the weather is nice, I have started training Copper to sit in the back of the truck.  At first he jumped out; but we just kept trying. He seems to stay there now. I'm not 100% confident what he will do if another dog pulls up next to me or is walking down the same street. Any one have experience with a V riding in the bed of a truck?


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

Nope, would never do it after I watched a dog get tossed out of the back of one. The truck went over a bumpy patch of road and the dog went flying out at about 40km/h.... not sure how the dog was because I was a young guy.
The vision of that is something I would never want for any animal.


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## Macaroni (Jan 19, 2011)

When Mac was about 3 1/2 months he jumped through the window (which wasn't even fully open) out of the front seat of my car while I was driving. 

Scared the bleep out of me and was very lucky he was fine (it was at least in the parking lot on the way to puppy classes), but he sits in the back seat now windows up and his leash is secured to something at all times. 

I'm sure you can teach Copper, but like Kian, I am a little scarred.

Best of luck w/ it.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah will ride in the bed of the pickup truck around the warehouses (no more than 25 mph on smooth streets). Sometimes she has the company of 2 standard poodles; sometimes she is on her own. She watches dogs, people, and especially birds with great interest. The sheep and the guard llama in the next field are interesting, but a little less so. If you know Copper’s triggers (like other dogs), then I recommend having him in the back with the truck stopped and you nearby while a neighbor walks by with a known dog. You can assess and work up to less controlled circumstances. 

So far, the only time Savannah has had paws over the side contemplating an unassisted and unapproved exit was when I (thoughtlessly) got out and started walking across a field without telling her to wait. She was beside herself trying to decide what to do. She hadn't been told 'let's go' and she hadn't been told 'wait'. I heard her whine, turned around, and saw her eyeing the ground. Needless to say I hollered 'wait' - hand signals are awesome - and one of my guys who was closer to the truck than I was heard me and walked to the truck and calmed her down. I didn't think I was going that far from the truck, but for Savannah, who had no instructions, it was way, way too far. My point is that while you are concentrating on other dogs, something else might be the trigger. Be vigilant!


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## Kailua (Feb 12, 2009)

My two dogs, are always attached to leads in back of the truck bed. My husband attached a wire line from one end to the other. The leads are situated towards the middle of the line so their noses are the only things at the edge of the truck. The younger dog ususally lies down forcing the older one to stand. If we go for a longer ride, we put them in the truck with us due to sun exposure and the greater possbility of debris entering their eyes, ears...etc.


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## DixiesMom (Feb 5, 2009)

I am going to be Debbie Downer--please please please--if you must ride your dogs in the rear of your truck make sure that they are tethered in the center of the cargo area on a very short lead, a friend of mine lost his lab in a horrific manner after the dog either jumped or fell from the side of the truck bed where he was tied. I never want anyone else to go through that type of grief and guilt.

That being said, here in Texas it is common to see ranch dogs riding down the highway on the flatbed ranch truck.


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

I do believe that is what crates are for....just thinking out loud, sorry.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

I am sure a dog can be trained to stay but as others have stated, it is a fear thing for us. We have Holley in a harness that is locked into the seatbelt lock in the back seat of the car or in her crate for car trips. You just never know what can happen while driving.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I put Kobi in a crate in the back of my car. It took some time for him to get used to that arrangement, but my car rides are worry free because of it! Plus, my car stays much cleaner!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

All valid points.  I'm going to tease/test him a few more times while leashed and see how he does. 

jld640 - They do need to know what we want from them at all times don't they. A buddy of mine called his V a nervous dog. If he didn't know what he was supposed to do, he would do crazy stuff!


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Linescreamer.

Please, please do not allow Copper to be loose in the bed of the truck. You have way too much invested in Copper to risk. 
A crate, or an aluminum dog box is the safest way for Copper to travel in the bed.


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## Grangeristhename (Jan 20, 2011)

Kobi said:


> I put Kobi in a crate in the back of my car. It took some time for him to get used to that arrangement, but my car rides are worry free because of it! Plus, my car stays much cleaner!


What kind of car do you drive? I have a honda civic and my crate does not fit in my car! I have resorted to using a harness with a loop to attach the seat belt to.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I have a Mazda3 Hatchback. I just got it a few weeks ago, and actually bought a hatchback specifically so I could tote Kobi in his crate. Of course I like the utility of the hatchback for other things, but that was a big concern. In my last car (Pontiac Bonneville), he just ran wild all over the place licking windows, breaking stuff if he ran into it, etc. Since getting the new car I find it much more enjoyable to take places and he probably goes on 3-4 car rides a week to the park, my parent's house, the lake, friend's houses, etc.


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

I know a member here who drives a Honda Fit and she still uses a crate with her dog.
Just have to get a smaller crate.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Are you talking about a sedan or hatchback? If a Mazda3 hatch can fit a crate, a Fit surely can! The Fit is roomier from what I read

Here is the crate I have, and would recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Firstrax--Cra...M8RC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305147394&sr=8-2

I paid over $40 more less than a month ago! Time to order a second one and make a return 

The 36" is plenty roomy, if you don't have enough room for it though you can get a smaller version of that one. Kobi resisted it at first but he has not been able to rip it or anything!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I would never let my dog ride in the open bed of a pickup truck. I've heard way too many horror stories about tragic things that can happen. It doesn't seem fair to me to put a dog at risk that way.


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## ChienRouge (Apr 12, 2011)

When I was younger, working the rice farms, my lab went with me everywhere in the bed of my pickup. Early one morning, I was in a hurry and though I was on a dirt/grass farm road, it was a nice, smooth road as it was our air strip for the crop dusters and I was probably traveling about 45mph.

Fletch, my lab, spotted a flock of snow geese in the field and jumped towards them. I slammed on the brakes and my pickup stopped quicker than he did and he rolled, head over heels past me. Luckily, he was okay, buy very dizzy.

He had never done anything like that before. He could usually care less about any potential triggers. After thinking how easily the same could have happened on a highway, I installed a tether and have had one since. Fletch has long since passed, but no dog will ride untethered in my bed again.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

FYI. I'm convinced. Copper will be leashed at all times while in an open truck bed.


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## DASHAW (Jun 22, 2011)

I'm sure this isn't the answer you want but in my opinion, loose dogs in the back just aren't worth it. I respect if your opinion is different, but we keep our dogs in a kennel in the back and if we are going far or it is cold we put the kennel covers on and they work well. You just never know what a dog is going to do and I have seen some good dogs die because they were in the back and it is just too sad and not worth it.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

A white dog (may have been a Lab) fell from a black F150 (Hwy 404 S. just north of Bloomington side-road last October). We were driving on the outside lane and were the second car to run over the dog. 
The picture etched in my memory so much so I don't use the outside lane any more around that stretch of highway.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I've started Ruby in the crate in the back of my pick-up, it's a mitsubishi l200 with a carryboy top. I've used karabiners to secure the crate.


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## Bernie (Jan 17, 2011)

Morgan rides on a Mud River mat on the back seat of my F150 Crew Cab. She loves to ride and is very well behaved when doing so. She is always either sitting or lying down. A V riding in the open bed of a truck, NO WAY!


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## Lincolns Parents (Aug 6, 2011)

We have a tie out anchored to the front of the truck bed that doesn't let them get to the sides of the truck..... so yes our dogs ride in the back and love it. 
This is the only way they will ride in the back of our truck and since they can't reach the sides they can't fall/jump out.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

I would still be concerned in case something happened (accident or whatever). You just never know. We are very happy with the harness in the seatbelt and Holley loves it. She gets so excited when she sees her harness.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Kailua said:


> My two dogs, are always attached to leads in back of the truck bed. My husband attached a wire line from one end to the other. The leads are situated towards the middle of the line so their noses are the only things at the edge of the truck. The younger dog ususally lies down forcing the older one to stand. If we go for a longer ride, we put them in the truck with us due to sun exposure and the greater possbility of debris entering their eyes, ears...etc.


I am with you. I lost a dog off the back of a ute (Pick-Up for those outside of Australia) and now, never have them in there unless secured. 

Even more so with a V. V's are nosey dogs and a scent, or some fur or feathers can distract them quite quickly. Having seen Ozkar set off after a kangaroo, I wouldn't let him in the back of the ute without a restraint of some kind. In Australia, it is now part of the road rules that an animal riding in the back is secured in a manner whereby it is unable to either jump off, or, get far enough over that it could be hung from the side of the ute (Pick-Up) bed while driving along. I have actually seen this in years gone past, where the dog is literally hanging off the side of the ute by the collar.


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