Family road trips haven’t happened in a very long time at our house. Olivia and I love to travel, but Bailie hates the car and she can’t sit with us because she squishes us and drools all over us too. Recently Mom thought we might all have to go together on a road trip because we couldn’t find a pet sitter, but how? Our car was really too small, and where would Bailie ride, safely. The first move was to get a new car with a lot more room for all of us. The second step was a safe kennel for Bailie to ride in.
Olivia and I wear seat belts and so does Bailie if she is alone or just with one of us. Mom wanted a sturdy kennel for Bailie so she could ride in the back and be safe if there should be an accident. A lot of our friends have Ruff Land Kennels, so she looked into them. They are made in South Dakota, are super sturdy yet light enough to actually carry if needed. We ordered one for Bailie that would fit in the car and give Bailie enough room to be comfy for a few hours at a time.
Ruff Land Kennels are designed for safety, as they say on their site: “Most kennels are simply not strong enough to protect your dog in an impact situation. Ruff Land’s one-piece roto-molded construction is extremely strong. The walls, top and floor on Ruff Land Kennels also have built-in flexibility which absorbs energy that would otherwise be transferred to your dog. This is where the “stiff”, two-walled plastic kennels, which claim to be safer, fail. They may not break, but when your dog hits the side of the kennel, there is no give like there is with a Ruff Land. The raised floor in a Ruff Land also serves to provide both strength and cushion as does the designed-in body crease around the middle of the kennel. Likewise, the composite doors on a Ruff Land kennel are remarkably strong and designed to absorb energy. Plus, they feature six locking lugs where other kennels have no more than four.”
Finding a good pad for the kennel was challenging, but we got advice from some friends and ordered up a real nice purple pad for our purple girl! Primo Pads makes pads that fit Ruff Land kennels and in lots of pretty colors.
Family road trips will now be more possible with a safe place for Bailie to ride along. Olivia and I will be on the back seat, and all our stuff can fit nicely next to Bailie’s kennel in the back. We are all excited to try a day trip or something to see how it all really works out! A good travel kennel and a safe car are things we are all very thankful for!
My GBGV Life is joining Brian’s Home Blog in the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
Can’t wait to hear about the first road trip
I’m sure it will be interesting!
Lucy: Wow, we thought Angel Lexi was the only dog anyone ever bought a car just for. Because it is a Toyota made Lexus, Mom named it T-Lex, which of course made Lexi think it was named after her (which it really is, but don’t tell Dad).
Xena: I used to shake and be so scared riding in the car, no matter where I rode or how securely I was fastened in. Since Mommy put a nice kennel in the back seat, held in by two safety belts around it, I feel safe and snooze or just chill while we go places. I actually ASK to go in the car now! Bailee, you are a smart girl like me and know what makes you feel safe! XOX Xena
I will actually walk to the car on my own power, but when the motor starts, my shaking starts. Hopefully I will feel better in my new kennel. We just need lots of space for everything if we travel, so a larger car was in order.
that’s a fab place for a road trip… you have your own house in the car… pawfect!!!! we are awful in da car too, da nelly starts to sing operas as soon as the wheels go round and round… and I must say he is no The Voice-material LOL
LOL! Olivia barks at any dogs she sees, but otherwise her and I love the car. Bailie has never liked it which is a bummer. Hopefully her kennel will help.
Road trip! It sure looks like you have figured this out for all of you girls. I love the purple mat for purple girl. Safe travels. XOXO Sparkle
It personalizes the kennel for her so no one else can use it! It is nice and soft and easy to clean too.
It does seem like it’s time for a road trip!
We are going to start with a day trip and see how that works out.
I can’t wait to hear about the road trip! That looks like a really terrific kennel and we are so happy that you are working out a solution.. I need to get new cat kennels for the car now that I have a smaller car. Thanks for sharing your research! We hope you have a marvellously happy day!
Funny since we now have the larger car! We will be going in about ten days, but just for the day. Mom says it will be super stressful for her with driving and then competing with all three of us, but she really wants to give it a try.
It sounds like this plan will work out well for everybuddy and we can’t wait to hear about your first day trip together!
Bailie will still stay home most of the time but we want to include her here and there.
A new ride and a new kennel. Two for two. Way to go.
Have a woof woof Thankful Thursday. My best to your smart mom. ♥
Now we need a new dog, oh wait, we have three and that is the limit in our town, LOL!
That looks like a great kennel. We are all great travelers, so we get seat-belted in. Only Mia would rather wander around in the car and sit on Mom’s lap! We like road trips and new places to sniff and pee.
We all wear out seat belts too and love to ride but Bailie is just a hot mess when she rides in her seat belt if we are with her, so she needs her kennel when traveling with others.
that DOES look like an amazing kennel! Nicest I have ever seen. Levi still gets car sick (hoping he will outgrow that by when he is 8 months old like Dakota did)……and doesn’t sit nicely on his own yet, so I have to ride in the back with him (super fun when he’s hanging over the seat like a drunk college student lol). We had thought of a crate, but my husband’s car is a Honda Accord and mine is a Honda Civic which I don’t think lends themselves well to a crate. We lease also so we aren’t in a position to trade in our cars yet. Ugh.
That looks very nice and very sturdy, now you are ready to roll. Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
I still won’t like riding, but it should be better.
That is one nice PTU. I foresee lots of fun coming
We all hope so.
I hope the new kennel keeps Bailie calm in the car.
She will still be a mess, but she will feel better and we won’t get squished.
You mentioned getting a new vehcicle. What did you get?
A new VW Tiguan. Mom has had a VW for like 12 years now, this is our 5th. She had 2 other Tiguans but they were smaller. They are great cars and you can make lots of adjustments to the back seats and back area. We are all loving it 🙂
It looks like you are definitely ready to hit the road! Nice!
We hope so. Next Sunday is our first day trip. Hopefully it will go well. Mom is a bit nervous about handling all three of us all day long plus driving 3 hours each way, but we think it will be fun.