RE: [pyrnet] RV tips for dog owners?

["Robyn Allwright" <ziffanyrobyn@earthlink.net>]

Our first RV was a large Jayco pop-up.  This tended to be quite roomy, with
one of the pull-out bunks for us to sleep on and the other for the dogs. 
We took Baron and Zoe in it several times, and generally we didn't put
either of them in a crate, although the other bunk was large enough to
accommodate a large crate.  (And yes, you could take it in through the
door.)  And then, at a show in Sarasota, Florida one morning when we got
up, Baron was in the RV (he generally slept under the table), but Zoe was
no where to be found.  I frantically pulled clothes on while David kept
saying, "She HAS to be in the RV!".  I opened the door, and who was sitting
patiently outside the RV, but Zoe!  Seems she had been chewing on a cow
hoof during the night, and it had slipped down between the mattress and the
exterior canvas.  The more she tried to get it, the further down she
slipped until she went completely out of the RV.  We were VERY lucky --
knowing Pyrs she could have been in the next county by the time we would
have known that she was missing.

After that, we bought a Class C motorhome.  It was certainly much easier to
deal with than the pop-up, especially when traveling to shows that were
more than a day's drive away.  After driving all day, we hated having to
take time to set up the pop-up.  On the pop-up we also had a rear carrier,
but this proved unsuitable for hauling heavy items such as crates and
x-pens -- OK until you were passed by an 18-wheeler and then the trailer
tended to sway.  In general, we found the Class C more practical.  It had a
double bed in the back, and this area was modified by putting carpeting on
the platform and two x-pen panels on the sides.  This proved to be an
excellent place for the dogs (except for Shania who whines and insists on
being in the main part of the RV, and Zhara who insists on standing up on
the x-pens and while she never got out, was not safe in this position while
we were driving).

--- Robyn Allwright
--- Ziffany Great Pyrenees & Tibetan Mastiffs
--- www.ziffany.com