We are moving at the end of may , thanks for the info we do use crates but they too big and cannot be squished to be able to fit all three in the vue I will have to test the soft crates to see how they react to them and hope for no chewing out.

I learned something the hard way last week. My daughter's frosty muzzle travels in a soft crate. There's never been a problem before ('Pelli is 9 yrs old), anyway, somehow or another while on the hwy, 'Pelli managed to unzip her crate and let herself out. Not a huge problem, but she tries to wedge herself under the seat (the driver's seat, all 40 pounds of her!).
The clip on her leash worked nicely to keep the zipper closed once we were able to pull over and extract her from under my seat. Not my idea of a fun road trip.
If you're going to use the soft-sided crates, bring extra clips for the zippers.

Best wishes!

eta: that is a cute pack of dogs!

Definitely work on getting them used to their crates in the coming months. Not sure how your dogs get along, but for the sake of space could two ride together?

I also have had a dog slowly ease their way out of a crate, so I use the leash to hook the two zipper pulls together. Helps me keep track of the leash as well.

(Which brings me to another point...keep extra collars and leashes on hand. I have had a dog that never chewed before chew through a leash and had a collar break on another).

Connie makes a great point about the food adjustment as well.

Here are some pics of my setup:

This one is from the back, with the crates facing forward so I can pack stuff behind them. The pool also contains a couple of my agility jumps, taken apart

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/GermanShepLuv/Mobile%20Uploads/mms_picture-75.jpg

This one is from the front looking back, without the car loaded up and with Vigo out of his crate. As you can see, they remain really relaxed when travelling

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/GermanShepLuv/Mobile%20Uploads/mms_picture-76.jpg

thanks for the pics and advice now I have an idea to what I am going to do the two smaller ones would be able to share a crate if need be but I could also rotate two in the crates one lose and switch. This will be an interesting adventure I can't wait

When I travel with my dogs, they always wear two collars, each with ID and contact numbers. (In addition, they are microchipped.) Make sure the collar is snug enough that there is no chance it could slip over their head if they suddenly pull back from you.

When I get the dogs out of the car while on the road, I am super-careful about being sure the leash is secured to the dog at one end and me at the other end before opening any doors wide enough where they could get through.

The leashes I use when away from home are heavy leather and the handle end has a slip-knot type arrangement where I can actually tighten it securely around my wrist. I believe there was a recent thread that discussed doing this with your leash and the consensus was that it could be dangerous to the handler, causing injury if the dog pulls hard, etc., but if I am traveling somewhere far from home with my dog, I would rather take a chance on injuring myself as opposed to having a dog get spooked and get away from me.

I agree that crates would be ideal, but in some cases, there just isn't enough room. (That is the case when I am on vacation.) If you cannot use crates for all the dogs, you might think about using a restraint harness on the loose dog as a safety measure.

Very good quality products. Highly reccomended.

http://usak9outfitters.com/index.htm

Okay I am officially stressing out my sister just told me that instead of driving to California she is going to go first with the baby to find a home then send for me and the dogs !! on a plane Has anyone done this before and with out help but yourself , now we have to buy airplane kennels health certificates and the works. I am also worried that Izzy will become stressed and act out , what is the protocol do the staff just put the dogs in the cargo without interacting or if they bark too much decide not to take them I hate this situation and now just don't want to leave the state anymore

We are also going to move sooner than expected so I am on a time constraint.



Edited by Elizabeth Munoz (12/05/2011 01:48 PM)
Edit reason: forgot to mention

I have flown with my dog in cargo a few times. They take the dog in the crate from you at the baggage check area. You have to show papers and they "pat" the dog down. Then
you go to the gate, dog disappears. They don't care if the dog cries. You must have a water and food thing attached to the crate so that the animal can be fed/watered w/o opening the door.
When you board the plane the stewardess brings a piece of paper telling you that the dog is on board.
It is very expensive. For example, on Delta it is $200 . Dogs small enough for 'under the seat in front of you' fly for $125.

thank you for the reply I am over reacting I know but I hate the fact that the two will be away from me and the unknowns and what could happen I just need to calm down and do what needs to be done.