Dog Window

[Ross]

Just looked at a pic of Ed in NJ's bus and he has what looks like a window mounted below the belt line.  Here's what caught my eye.  I have a 190 pound Saint Bernard.  When he gets on the bus he paces a bit then settles in and usually goes to sleep on the bed.  Problem is that when the bus startes moving he wants to look out the windows but he can't quite reach.  After a few minutes he goes completely out of his mind.  Running back and forth, drooling, etc.  I thought adding a window below the belt line would give him his own window to look out of, but I can't really find a good spot for it.  Maybe under the dinette table.  I haven't installed the strairwell cover yet so that might also help.  He'll hopfully sit on the stairwell cover and have the windshield and door window to look out of.

[Danny]

Interesting idea - Maybe a platform would be easier for him to sit on while going down the road.  Raise the dog instead of lowering the window   

[Merlin]

First thing my big old yellow lab would do is head for the co-pilot seat.  It would take a lot of coaxing to un-seat him.  I thihk he was ever-hopeful that someone would open the side window for him to do the standard "ears flapping in the wind" gambit.

[Ednj]

I didn't put those windows in for my dogs.  However, I have 2 Newfoundland dogs; my female LOVES the bunk window (there's no bunk there, just yet.)  My male Newf loves the driver's seat, which can be a problem.  When it was just a shell, both of them were scared of it.  They would pace back and forth, like they were trying to find a way out.  Now that there's insulation (spray foam) all around and furniture for them to lay on, they make themselves at home, I guess it's quieter and more comfortable for them. 

[Dallas]

Our Lazy butted, deaf, fat, spoiled Kitty Boy, that is a Rescue Kitty from Fla. another Bus nut brought to us loves to lay on the dash as I go down the road.
Other times he grabs whatever seat he thinks you want.

[Ross]

Interesting, I hadn't thought of the "unfinished" effect.  Last time he went for a ride, the bus was insulated and some of the cabinets were roughed in.  The couch was there but covered with blankets which wer covered with tools and such.  Now that the bus is very close to finished, maybe he'll take better to it.  I tried opening the window for him, but he ended up with two paws and head out the window.  I think he could have made it out if he wanted to, and as freaked out as he was, I was afraid he would try and make a break for it at 60MPH. 

Raising the dog was sort of where I was headed with the stepwell cover, although if he decided he likes as side window instead, I could make a platform. 

I tried to put myself in his place... Maybe in his dog mind he sees the bus as a house, and from his life experience thus far, houses are not supposed to move.  The other challenge is getting him on the bus.  He doesn't like going through narrow passages, so getting him up the steps into the bus is challenging.

[Ross]

Here's the dog....

[Dallas]

Interesting, I hadn't thought of the "unfinished" effect.  Last time he went for a ride, the bus was insulated and some of the cabinets were roughed in.  The couch was there but covered with blankets which wer covered with tools and such.  Now that the bus is very close to finished, maybe he'll take better to it.  I tried opening the window for him, but he ended up with two paws and head out the window.  I think he could have made it out if he wanted to, and as freaked out as he was, I was afraid he would try and make a break for it at 60MPH. 

Raising the dog was sort of where I was headed with the stepwell cover, although if he decided he likes as side window instead, I could make a platform. 

I tried to put myself in his place... Maybe in his dog mind he sees the bus as a house, and from his life experience thus far, houses are not supposed to move.  The other challenge is getting him on the bus.  He doesn't like going through narrow passages, so getting him up the steps into the bus is challenging.

Grasshopper,
BE the Dog.
What wouldn't YOU like about it if you had an ability to smell stuff 250,000 times better than a person, were only 3' tall at the shoulder, knew that everytime you went through that narrow door into that smelly place, that it was gonna move? Instead of forcing him into a situation he doesn't like, make it an exciting experience, make him look forward to it by hiding snacks in a Kong somewhere he can find it easily at first, don't make the bus move, don't force him anywhere he doesn't want to go.
If you put his favorite food, or even Peanut butter(the best thing), into his Kong, before long, he'll look forward to the opening of the door!
My wife, as an animal nutrionist, told me this was the best way to do it.
Dallas
PD-4103-1085
www.busconversionstuff.com/eventpage.htm

[Ross]

That's sort of what we do.  I couldn't force him even if I wanted to.  The narrow passage thing isn't just the bus.  If a passage is not at least about twice as wide as he is, he won't go through it.  To get on the bus, I put his cookies up on the dash.  He'll eventually come up to get the cookies, then find a spot in the bus to eat them.

[Dallas]

That's sort of what we do.  I couldn't force him even if I wanted to.  The narrow passage thing isn't just the bus.  If a passage is not at least about twice as wide as he is, he won't go through it.  To get on the bus, I put his cookies up on the dash.  He'll eventually come up to get the cookies, then find a spot in the bus to eat them.

That's why you use a Kong, a rubber thingy with a slit in it that you can fill with goodies. Usually peanut butter, but sometimes squirt cheese, or even just canned dog food, anything as long as he sees it as an "Adventure in Fine Dining".
Anything to get him in the door, then the Kong. Once he learns about the Kong, if the bus is the only place he gets it, he'll always look forward to going in.
Just do not give him his Kong until he goes in the bus, and make sure that is the only place he gets it.
This has all been related to me by my wife.
I won't tell you what my idea was. HeHe.
Dallas
PD4103-1085
http://www.busconversionstuff.com./eventpage.htm

[Ross]

He has a kong, but had no interest in it.  He loves peanut butter, cheese and all that stuff, but when I put it in the kong, he just sniffs the kong then leaves it alone.  He's a tough nut to crack.  Very stubborn and hard to figure out what motivates him.  Sometimes treats do it, sometimes he could care less.  I'll try the kong again, but only in the bus this time.  It's been about a year since he's seen the kong.