Traveling challeges - my extra large metal collapsable crate won't fit in my car for a long drive to AZ

[Sandi, Jeff & Mickey]

I have been searching for a soft sided crate to take to AZ with us on our trip there for the holidays. I have only seen the soft crates up to 35" high and Mickey is at that height now. I have seen some that are 42" high but don't seem to be able to find any.

What do other tall doodle owners do? Any suggestions?

I am taking him to my sister's house and she has a little yorkiepoo and my dad's minature poodle will be there as well. My sister lets her dog out in the back yard when they go out, but I am not sure how they're going to do unsupervised. I certainly don't want him to hurt their puppy. I was hoping to crate him when we all go out for dinner or somewhere we can't take the dogs.

[Sandi, Jeff & Mickey]

We have an Infiniti M35 but the extra large metal crate fits in there closed up at an angle. He wouldn't have any space to move around. I will go with Adina's suggestion. Thanks so much for the feedback!

[Adina P]

I think it is OK to use the 35 inch high crate. Mickey won't spend time in there unless you're gone, right? Thus he will be lying down and napping rather than standing up. So a 35 inch tall and should be fine---I'm guessing by 35 inches you mean that's how tall he is if you measure from his foot to his head -- that should be more than enough then. Actually a 42 incher crate wouldn't be the height but the depth--because only something like a super tall Great Dane would need a crate that is 42 inches tall.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Oh,I know what you are up against! I actually got a new car when we got our second doodle. I had a sporty car (Cougar) and one dog could ride with me okay but there was no way I was taking two dogs in that car. Our other vehicle is an old Eddie Bauer that is too old for long trips, so I got a Freestyle (Ford) and we put in a pet block behind the second row of seats. When Groucho Too was younger we also had a travel crate for him, but he quickly outgrew even the largest one. Groucho Too is 30 inches tall now and Hondo is 28 inches. We have a plastic bed liner in the bottom of the doggie area that is vacumned and cleaned easily for trips to the beach, but we have a special bed with lambswool cover for our long trips. We have an 11-hour drive to Arizona and just got back. The dogs were wonderful and really enjoy when they see us packing up the car. I'll try to attach a photo of them last week in the back of the car.

[Sandi, Jeff & Mickey]

Very nice! Not sure we're ready for a SUV. We also have a tarp that connects to the front seats and the back seats so he doesn't fall into the (human) foot area in the back seat. We also just ordered a custom seat cover for the back so he'll be comfy and our leather seats won't get worse.

[karen]

We just got back from a six hour trip. Our puppy trainer suggested that everyone get a car harness. This has worked out great for us. Our 6 month old goldendoodle (45 + pounds) loves it. We put it on her and then strap her in with a seat belt that goes through the harness. We had the insert from her crate on the backseat. The harness allows her to sit up or lay down. When we stop we do not have to remove the harness - just unbuckle her to walk her around the rest stops. It is fleece lined and we purchased it at Petco. Our friends have a crate so we did not need to bring ours along. Hope something works out on your trip.

[Sandi, Jeff & Mickey]

We have one of these devices. It's great! He has it on when we travel because he loves to look thru the bucket seats and we were afraid that he'd go thru the windshield one day.

We have one that attaches to a strap which connects to the handles on each side above the windows and he can go back and forth between the back windows as well, but safely.

The crate is actually for once we get to AZ and my sister's yorkiepoo crate is going to be a tish small....;).

45+ pounds already? You're going to have a BIG DAWG, aren't you!?!?

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/42-Inch-Canine-Camper-Soft-Sided-Dog-Crate-Trav...

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

we bought this for Gaston Cramer for when he visits my husband at his office and needs a place to chill
It collapes perfectly in the back of our Saturn VUE. We bought ours at Wal Mart

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5192527

If you don't have a Wal Mart near by you could order it on line. They come in all sizes and colors.