Home made dog restraint

Dogs love trucks! Who's slogan was that?

I rigged up a dog restraint with some old rope and a regular leash secured in the middle. It quickly loops through the upper tiedowns with no knots. I had to play with the lengths of the cross piece and the leash, but it installs and removes easily and the dog can move all around without getting enough slack to jump out. Just be careful. It is better to be a little short on the leash than a little too long. Too long and the dog might get enough room to jump and end up hanging over the side from the leash :eek: Not a pretty sight. You can certainly make it look prettier than mine with new materials. I was working with electrical tape and stuff I found in the shed. Here are some pics.

My mutt loves the back of the truck and this setup. She can look out the side, over the top of the cab, and on long trips she lays down and takes a nap. Crack the power rear window and she sticks her head in to "say" hello. Should I patent this?

Great one Steve. Thanks for sharing. I'll put one together for my mutt.

Great idea Steve!! You better patent it before someone else does.

Looks good. Will probably try it out with our dog, too. Thanks for the pics! :)

great idea but I do have a few dog lover issues...

No way our dog would sit in the truck bed. He usually sits in the front passenger seat so we can scratch him.

I have 3 questions:

1. Why not flip the back seat so your dog can be more comfortable and leave the rear window open.

--but if you must keep him in the back..

2. Why not tie the rope to the lower hook to avoid any chance of going overboard.

---If you have to tie the rope to the top hook

3. Why not get a bed cap and avoid the rope all together. Your dog is worth the investment.

I would get a bed cap and leave the rear window open so you can communicate with him.

I agree with Blue...both of our kids sleep in our bed (Queen size) and almost every night I can have the "conversation" with one or both: "Oh, you want to go outside to explore? But it's 3 a.m. Oh, it's important? Ok." :confused: Ain't no way they're riding in the back.

I suppose it depends on the breed and "life style" of the dog. Mine is a 80 pound lab/husky mix. Two layers of long cold weather fur. She hates it indoors. On the coldest days (-10), I'll get home from work, she'll come inside for a few minutes to get a drink and say hello and then she is by the door wanting to go back outside. If I leave the tailgate open in the driveway I'll find she's hopped in and is taking a nap. She loves the truck bed. A small breed indoor dog would certainly be more comfortable inside the cab.

nwdiver, I've let the dog up on the bed, but if my wife found out :mad: I'd be sleeping outside in the dog house or Ridgeline.

I have two black labs, I hooked each to a seprate fwd tiedown. It keeps from getting tangled up in each others leashs.

Last summer I was putting one of my labs in the back of my company truck, he started screaming like a banshe, I assumed something was in his paw. I looked him over and found nothing put him back in the truck and he once again voiced his displeasure. Realized then it was the black rubber mat, it had gotten to the temprature of pizza cheese fresh out of the oven. I have thought of getting a spray in linner for my Ridgeline, the zoomy composit bed could be great for that 1200 pounds of rock, but I am not sure how the dogs will like it on a 100 degree day.

Anybody have any thoughts about this? I am not sure if the Rhinolinner would stick, probably would. I might also consider spraying the lower four or five inches of the body and under the bumpers as a chip gard and to give the truck a little trim. The Rhinolinner material comes in all colors of the rainbow.

I will also try to get some pictures up of a home made bike
rack I made of PVC pipe it cost about $15 in materials and took about tweenty minutes to assemble. It fits between the two upper forward tie downs and holds four bikes. I did not glue the PVC pipe together so I break it down into three sections and it fits in the trunk.( or is it the boot?)

Steve

Would it be possible to get a bed cap to protect your dog from the heat, fall, rain, debris, etc.? Wouldn't it be nice if they make bed cap with moon roof and dog friendly accessories for water and food?

I wouldn't go as far as installing a second air conditioner for the bed cap but I think dogs are special.

I will also try to get some pictures up of a home made bike
rack I made of PVC pipe it cost about $15 in materials and took about tweenty minutes to assemble. It fits between the two upper forward tie downs and holds four bikes. I did not glue the PVC pipe together so I break it down into three sections and it fits in the trunk.( or is it the boot?)

Steve

Please start a new thread with these bike rack pictures. I would love to see the design. Thanks.

I'm glad to hear from other dog owners as I was going to post a question about who has dogs in their trucks and where do they ride.

The bed tie downs are fine for big dogs as long as the dog's nose cannot reach the edge of the bed. If the dog can reach that far it could flip out and hang itself. Many people tie in a portable kennel for days that are hot or rainy.

My girls are 60-70 pounds and they will be riding in the backseat area. We are scheming about how we are going to make it a doggy mobile back there. It's going to be much more crowded than the Trooper they are used to riding in. There is no way they will be relegated to riding in the bed of the truck.

Thus far I have seen no evidence that a shell or cap is being made for the Ridgeline. Has anyone heard if one is on the way?

We have a toy poodle. Abby rides on the front passenger seat with her head out the window or on my side over my left arm. She knows what "go for a ride" means. She knows when it's Saturday morning and that it's time to go to the dump. :)

Great minds think alike. Hey. We both got Ridgelines, right?

I did the same thing, only I put it on the lower tie downs. My Great Dane pup gets a little too much room when he starts that high up. I can tell "fun boy" wants to ride standing on the roof with his front feet. Not good.

I also went to Costco and bought a charcoal colored 9 x 12 outdoor rug for 21 bucks. I cut it to fit the bed fairly snug. It was easy with a hook blade in my utility knife.

I put a slice in each front corner to slip it barely over the front two lower tie downs. With the dog restraint installed after, the carpet can't fly out. A couple of times, at freeway speeds and with an empty bed, the rug has folded back towards the front of the cab. I'll find an aluminum step nosing or something to mount on the back edge of the truck lid over the end of the carpet to solve that problem.

It has been a big improvement over watching "fun boy" slide around the bed making nasty scratches all over it. Dogs. Yah gotta love 'em.

Anyone hear of lift kits or camper shells yet?