Dog guard

Post by **southerly95** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:00 am

Hi - does anyone know if there was a dog guard/fence thing made to keep the dog in the back of a Traveller, if not is there a suitable one available nowadays? Thanks, John

Post by **Orkney** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:15 am

One of those univesal ones would work, they have telescopic legs and side arms like a trombone and would fit.
Bit flimsy though if its a big dog.

Post by **RogerRust** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:48 am

I had one in my traveller, I took some pics before I sold it.
It was held in with four little brass bolts and looked the part. It was made deep enough so that it sat on the wheel arches.
I'm sure a carpenter could make the frame (Denis?)

I'm sure you could substitute the mesh with some bars like a modern one.

Post by **Orkney** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:56 am

Nicely done Rog ! even looks pig proof

Did you spend a fortune having the mesh panel fabricated?
You could do it cheaper with a standard 2" welded mesh which you could sandwich between 2 frames possibly.
That crinkled intertwined stuff is not particularly nice to work with when it comes to making edges.

Tip for painting mesh of any description - do it black and you can hardly see it.

Off topic but is that a hinged door you have below the boot floor there covering the hole to the spare ?

Post by **RogerRust** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:11 pm

I bought it on ebay. It was obviously hand made years ago. By the way it was oak!
Unfortunately I sold it with the car and it moved to Holland.

That was just a piece of 6 mm ply slotted in at the base. I cleverly drilled a hole in it where the locking mechanism fouled it so it looked intentional!

Post by **motherofgod** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:53 pm

If you want something made in metal go to doggycages.com, He did both of my Vans( I work with dogs ) He is in Daventry.

James

Post by **dave1949** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:24 pm

Wow? How many dogs to the mile does that do?
Orkney still only had one friend in his after two months, must be down to size of pets.

Post by **Orkney** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:28 pm

Well up until my sad loss 2 weeks of him ago the trav regularly had my wolfhound alsation cross accompanied by pyrenean montain dog & colli - a bit creaky when you dont have bump stops !!!
Regretfully dont have a pic of that

Post by **motherofgod** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:58 pm

dave1949 wrote:Wow? How many dogs to the mile does that do?

Well in that van I can have eighteen dogs in it, in comfort. My other one I've had twenty one

I own and run a dog walking business with my wife

James

Post by **dalebrignall** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:00 pm

i had my shepard put down yesterday very sad she was 13 and had had a good run

Post by **Orkney** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 pm

with you all the way Dale
goes off to start a dog thread in off topic !

Post by **motherofgod** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:28 pm

Sadly It's something that you can never really prepare for, and it hurts.....big time.

Another dog can help take the focus off your grief. IMHO

James

Post by **les** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:29 pm

Well in that van I can have eighteen dogs in it, in comfort

I'd hate to see your definition of discomfort!

Post by **woodiesenfrance** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:41 am

easy: get a standard extendable dog guard, and modify it to fit the side woodwork rather than relying on top & bottom push-fit bracing which any capable dog can remove (believe me, I'm a guide dog puppy walker!)
Buy a suitable length of 20 mm diameter metal curtain pole, some plastic end stops, a few nuts and bolts and 4 U-shaped, single screw fixing, curtain pole fittings (the type that let you fix the pole in an alcove).

Fit two of the brackets with the U facing upwards to the top rail of the woodwork just behind the line of the back of the rear seat. The other two fittings are screwed to the waist rail with the U facing down. Leave one of the lower fittings slightly loose so that it can be turned round. (If you line the screw holes up with the screws which hold the wood into place, should you want to sell the trav and keep the dog guard, you can then remove the fittings and replace the screws and nothing will look out of place).

Next cut the curtain pole to length to fit the two sets of brackets. You want a tight fit so that it doesn’t rattle. Strip out the adjustable poles and other fittings from the extendible dog guard and cut the uprights to a suitable length, i.e. just a bit longer than the distance between the two new cross poles. The uprights and the poles can then be drilled and the old dog guard can be bolted to the cross poles. You need to use locking nuts as you can’t bolt the assembly up too tight because the hollow tubes will collapse. Push in plastic end stops in the ends of all the poles and the guard is ready to install.

To fit the guard turn the loose bottom fitting so that the U faces upwards. Slot the guard into all four brackets and then turn the fitting back to it’s original position to lock the guard into place. You now have a dog guard that can be removed in just a few seconds should you need to carry a large load, and can be replaced just as easily.

You could instead of buying a guard buy a lot more curtain pole and make up a grid of two verticals and sufficient horizontal bars.

I would post a photo, but it seems I cannot do so. If you want one, email me at the French Minor club address morrisminorfrance@neuf.fr and I'll send one

Post by **Kevin** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:32 pm

I would post a photo, but it seems I cannot do so.

If you look in useful tips you will find out how to.
http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... pic&t=9028

Post by **motherofgod** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:38 pm

les wrote: I'd hate to see your definition of discomfort!

Well thats easy people who leave dogs in cars without windows open.

People in the public domain don't understand dog welfare in transport(that's why I put 'in comfort'), My vans are both air conditioned and built to hold that amount of dogs, also insured for transportation of animals. How many people do you see with dog guards in the back of there cars, and their dog sitting happly in the front waiting to be a living missile!

James

Post by **Orkney** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:53 pm

Out of curiosity... how do you get the ones in the top level? Dont see any mountain dogs in there

Thats a serious investment that sort of set up !

Post by **RogerRust** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:53 pm

I have a bespoke cage in the back of my Citroen. Keeps dogs safe and means that I can open the tailgate padlock the cage and leave them while I go shoping

Post by **les** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:14 pm

James, pleased that you take animal welfare seriously, on the face of it , seemed a lot of dogs in one space. Not too keen on them in the extreme rear of vehicles, in case of rear impact, but agree about shooting forward. Yes, dogs left in cars makes one angry.

Post by **motherofgod** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:35 pm

Orkney wrote:Out of curiosity... how do you get the ones in the top level? Dont see any mountain dogs in there

good old back injury lifting! Although the door looks small on the top level a medium size can stand up in the cage(right hand side has two collies in it!)

Les- my cages have doors both ends for access both sides, and if rear ended dogs can be easily removed

Roger rust- Good owner!

James