How Do You Carry Dogs In The AV?

[ricochet]

I'm on the fence about buying an AV... I'm a Chevy guy (currently own a 2-door 97 Tahoe), and it's paid off. Anyway, my wife and I have two dogs and we're working on a kid... I've read about the back seat cover, and it sounds great -- only thing is, I'd like to know what you people do if you have to take both a kid in a babyseat and the dogs along. I can't put them all in the backseat. Does somebody make a bed accessory that could keep the dogs in the front 3rd of the pickup bed? I'm thinking I could cut some two-by-fours up and fix something up myself, but I can't be the first one with this issue. Thoughts or tips? Other than 'take either the kid or the dogs.'

Also, would it be worth to wait until the AV got the quadrasteer? I think that might help sell the AV to my wife, who is intimidated by the AV's size. Thanks all!
-ricochet

 

[jgwatsonjg]

Well I have a 90+ pd 7 month old puppy who was a pita when I used to own my Dakota (Always Tried to come in the front with me. What I ended up doing was putting a rope in the Avalanche to keep him on the midgate and not the front. After About 2 weeks of riding everynight, I was able to remove the rope and he lays down back there(on the first 1/3 like a normal being) lol.

Mine is the one in the front.

 

[Y-Guy]

Anyone know the date of the quadrasteer for the AV? I've read it will be in the Silvrado but hadn't heard about it in the AV>

 

[bubba9004]

hey ricochet welcome to the site. I have a 50lb. dog and she ride in the Av several times a week. what I did was got a color matched carpeted runner rug and lay it across the back seats so she wouldn't shed and/or rip the sits. It's very easy to remove when people need to ride. As an option what you can do is only drop the larger half of the seat backs and lay the carpet runner on it, This way the one rear seat is still useable. I have done this several times when I was taking my dog with us and needed to have a seat for a rear human passenger.

 

[sparky]

Well I have a 90+ pd 7 month old puppy who was a pita when I used to own my Dakota (Always Tried to come in the front with me. ?What I ended up doing was putting a rope in the Avalanche to keep him ?on the midgate and not the front. ?After About 2 weeks of riding everynight, I was able to remove the rope and he lays down back there(on the first 1/3 like a normal being) lol.

Mine is the one in the front.

Holy smokes, where did you get your pyr from I have a seven month old as well. Male running somewhere over 100 pounds. Most often he rides shotgun with me. If you look at one of the later photo albums on picture trail link below you will see him in the front seat. There are some earlier picture of him as well.

 

[jgwatsonjg]

Holy smokes, where did you get your pyr from I have a seven month old as well. Male running somewhere over 100 pounds. Most often he rides shotgun with me. If you look at one of the later photo albums on picture trail link below you will see him in the front seat. There are some earlier picture of him as well.

Sparky,

That's Not A Pyr. That's A Hungarian Kuvasz. He Came From GumSpring Va, Born on May 6 02.

Check out http://www.starhavenkuvasz.com/

From what I can tell they are close relative's the Pyrs and Kuvasok.

Jeremiah

 

[ricochet]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I hadn't thought of putting only part of the backseat down. Duh. I do like Jon's suggestion -- I was thinking more keeping them in the front third of the bed and was worried that they'd slide around and slam in the walls too much. I guess I could get them chest harnesses to help with that -- tie them to the tie-downs, and any jerk would go to their bodies instead of their necks.

Jon, what do you do if you're traveling somewhere with the dog and it rains? Do you keep the window out and just let the dog get wet? We travel a ways to see family a couple of times a year... just thinking ahead.
-ricochet

 

[mtnbkr]

I had the same concern. I have a wife, a 2 year old daughter and a 60 lb. boxer to transport, in addition to myself. I think that my dog's crate will fit in the backseat on one of the "halves" folded down (hopefully the smaller half), leaving the other "half" free for my daughter. If that doesn't work or if we have more kids (of the 2 legged sort), I will remove the rear window (weather permitting), take out the frontmost bed cover panel and put my dog in her crate in the front of the bed. That way, the prissy little thing will be protected from the elements.

I wish there was a lightweight and relatively cheap canopy available that would cover at least the front third of the bed. I don't care how it would look as I would only use it when I need to transport everyone, which will not be very often. The snugtop is too heavy for me to remove when I need to park underground (which is every weekday).

If I figure anything else out once I get my Av, I'll let you know.

 

[steelheadchaser]

I have heard of no plans to add the quadra-steer option to the Av. Don't be too concerned about the size of the Av. It manuevers very well and is far more nimble than you would expect.

 

[jgwatsonjg]

Sparky,

How did you convince him to ride shotgun and not eat the seat?



I know how them little buggers can be.

Do you have leather too? I'm pretty sure the cloth would be tough to clean.

jgwatsonjg

 

[AVid]

I have a 90 pound German Shepherd that sits in the front seat. She has to bend over to see out the windshield. Wife sits in the back...dog is much nicer.

 

[jgwatsonjg]

Wife sits in the back...dog is much nicer.

LOL

They usually are, and alot more forgiving.

 

[Gene]

here's my 2? worth...
I have 2 dogs 1 english springer spaniel and 1 german shorthair pointer,
and my wife has a 40lb. retarted mut...

I have had this problem for years and on the AV this is what I'm looking at
- best thing is that new top they make for it, you can leave the 3 section hard covers in place so you end up with 2 compartments in the bed.

-keep them in the back (if they are trained!)
we went out east this summer 3 days after I picked up the AV
wife, 3 kids 1 in a car seat, and my 2 dogs (the G.S.P) stayed in front on the floor by my wife's feet. THEY ARE EXTREMELY TRAINED THOUGH!!

- You can build a barrier in the back for them or a crate

- Have someone make up another panel out of lexan with holes in it and replace the middle stock panel ( or for that matter you could also use a mesh tarp to cover it)

I hunt so on the way there The dogs ride in the cab with me, on the way back they ride in the bed I remove the middle panel
(KEEEP IN MIND THOUGH YOU NEED TO TRUST YOUR DOS/S THEY NEED TO BE TRAINED!) you don't want them doing something stupid like getting on top of the panels...

G.


Hope this helpped

 

[dhaluzak]

This is one of the main reasons I got the front bench seat. When we take our dog, a 130 lb. Rott, for a ride, the back seats get folded and the midgate gets dropped and a piece of carpet (the size of the midgate) gets put on the midgate. The carpet keeps her from sliding around.
We are a 3 person family and everything works out great with the bench. I am going to work on a platform that I can put over the larger back seat section so that my son can still sit in the back when the dog rides along. It is still in thought stage right now.

 

[mmdavidw]

I don't have a dog but when I was up in NJ visiting friends, their dog went for a ride in the AV.

Granted the dog is VERY well behaved but they had a seatbelt harness that went around the dog and aronund the seatbelt. The dog just rode along and didn't have any problems.



Click on thumbnails for larger pictures.

David

 

[RJLACK]

Small ones go in the side pockets. JK

 

[NJAV]

While kids aren't a concern right now and we don't have to worry about baby seats...typically what I do to carry my bigger dog is simply lay a comforter down along the backseat so that his nails don't tear into my leather and make me very angry.....the smaller dog...being a taco bell dog...usually rides on her lap during his stay in the truck...so far so good ..my luck has been good thusfar..never having a bad experience yet....

 

[sparky]

Sparky,

How did you convince him to ride shotgun and not eat the seat?



I know how them little buggers can be. ?

Do you have leather too? ?I'm pretty sure the cloth would be tough to clean.

jgwatsonjg

He loves being up there, until I get out and then he takes my seat.
No I ordered 40/20/40 cloth on purpose. I have 2 100+ dogs. Their nails can be deadly and cloth is more forgiving. Find it easier to clean. Use carpet shampooer twice a year.

 

[NJAV]

Sparky...did you ever find yourself using that febreeze between cleanings?....I've seen it in the stores lately for car interiors and wonder if you have used this product before...

 

[tommy_salami]

i plan on keeping my biyatches in the passenger side, then when she gets too noisy ill keep her in the cargo box.

 

[Alaska_AV.]

I just met a 2500 owner that has one of them budweiser dogs, remember Spuds? Well the dog was in the truck while he was detained longer than planed. The dog got board and ate the passenger seat Then for desert he ate half the drivers seat. He had the graphite leather int. He leaves mid-gate down for the dog. Wants 60/40 mid-gate badly.....

one other time dog was laying on tailgate. He gnawed a notch in bed cover.....

Also gnawed off corner of side box lid.....didn't eat taillight though.....

 

[bikerchic1977]

The dog got board and ate the passenger seat Then for desert he ate half the drivers seat. He had the graphite leather int. He leaves mid-gate down for the dog. Wants 60/40 mid-gate badly.....

one other time dog was laying on tailgate. He gnawed a notch in bed cover.....

Also gnawed off corner of side box lid.....didn't eat taillight though.....

oh man! and i get mad about my dogs shedding and the drool i have to clean off the windows.. if that was my dog...... ?

 

[Avalanche_chick]

I did not get a chance to read all the posts but this is what I did.

My sister just had a baby and I've taking both her ands my neice to doctors appointments, I have 2 dogs(10 year old mix and 5 month old choc lab). ?I went to the pet store bought a cover for the back seat, they come in a variety of sizes, ao they work well in cars too (I have leather seats) ?Well the cover has a slit were the seatbelts go so there is no need to ?put my dogs in the back. ?The cover is waterproof, tearproof and easy to put on and take off. So good or bad weather does not
make a difference. ?When i'm not using it, I fold it and place it in the rear locked compartments in the Av.

Also be careful about the harness leash it is not good for every dog. Puppies up to 1 year should only wear a flat buckle or clip collar because they are still growing. A dog seatbelt harness would be better if you have to strap your dog in the back because the straps are thicker and are less likely to injury your dog during sudden stops or accidents.

Hope this Helps

RN

 

[NJAV]

I just met a 2600 owner that has one of them budweiser dogs, remember Spuds? Well the dog was in the truck while he was detained longer than planed. The dog got board and ate the passenger seat Then for desert he ate half the drivers seat. He had the graphite leather int. He leaves mid-gate down for the dog. Wants 60/40 mid-gate badly.....

one other time dog was laying on tailgate. He gnawed a notch in bed cover.....

Also gnawed off corner of side box lid.....didn't eat taillight though.....

Are you kidding me...if that had been my dog....he would have been a pair of shoes the next day.....sorry..but that is just ludicrous....I bet that guy will never leave his pets unattended in the Av ever again.....

 

[pdxkevin]

I thought by the subject line someone would suggest going to better bars or deeper tint on the window when picking up dogs.

I love the seat covers from Cabela's. Either that or outting the 40% passanger side of teh rear seat down and throwing dog bed in the spot. This will keep the seats nice for the occasional guest.