Dog Platform & a Happy Story!

With the summer coming up, I decided to build this platform so my dog could be more comfortable+safe on longer trips to the mountains.

I used plywood, 2x4, Super 77 adhesive spray, and carpet runner: about $30 total.

Dimensions for the top/plywood = 52"x22" (i found dims on this site that were 51"x19", but mine sits flush) the legs are 10 1/4" tall.

The carpet was an awesome cheap score from home depot - the pattern just happened to match my truck.

 

Nice Happy Story!
We need some good news around here.

 

I'm glad you got your pup back. I remember when my dog ran away as a kid. Made me super sad. Turns out he just went and sat in the shade of the neighbors lawn. You know...the one place we DIDN'T look...

 

That is a great story with a fantastic outcome!

Thanks for sharing!

 

That has always been a worry of mine when camping. I tie a glow stick to each dog at night to help keep an eye on them and people look at me like I'm crazy.

 

We use a leash since I’m terrified of the thought of my dog running away because if he did, he can cover some serious ground (greyhound). Not even worth the risk to me.

 

I completely understand. My dogs don't try to run off but as the night goes on they get more comfortable and wonder. Glow stick lets me see them to call them back.

 

I had glow sticks on her collar that night, as well as a bear bell. Still couldn't find her. But these were the cheap raver glow sticks.

She wandered off to the grill at the campsite next to us the first night, but other than that she was right by us. Once that giant rocket went off- she booked it. It was devastating- i still can't believe she made it back after all that time.

 

I'm glad you got her back!

 

Nice write up Josh.
Glad Bezzy is back with ya.

 

Nice! I plan to do something similar whenever I finally find a Tacoma.

 

OP you should check out Whistle. It’s a Gps tracker meant for pets and it’s worth it’s weight in gold. We bought one for our dog for reasons mentioned above, and it saved our ass once. He got out and we tracked him down in minutes.

It’s $100 to purchase it and $100 per year after that for the gps service, but worth the peace of mind, at least for me and my dog. Something to look into.

 

That looks like it would be super useful for the backyard escape artists.

 

It definitely is. Not for everyone's dog, but some people would really benefit from it. Got a notification on my phone that my dog had got out, and tracked him down. Otherwise I may not have known for another 15-20 minutes, and who the hell knows where he would've gone.

 

Nice build and locating your dog. About 4 mos ago, I bought a 30ft leash for my 60lb Goldendoodle puppy to roam the yard while I work in the garage. I clip the leash to my front bumper D-ring and he was roaming the front yard but out of my view. I could hear/see the metal cable move and continue about my business. Under the truck draining the oil, I noticed that the cable and D-ring hasn't moved so I followed the cable out to the front yard to find the body leash on the ground and puppy nowhere in sight. Heart beating fast, head spinning in all directions but luckily, he was 30 ft away sniffing behind my next door neighbor's flowerbed. Happy ending, yes but I forgot to put away the leash which was still clipped to my front bumper and ran over it later that day wrapped around the front tire cruising down my street. Ended up it the trash after being used for the first time. The cable became to frayed to safely use again. Might look into a gps tracker like EatSleepTacos suggested and maybe tie the leash to my ankle next time.

 

I use a head lamp around my dogs neck at night, but most of the time i dont let him run freely in new places as he has a tendency to wander. It also has a red light which i think makes it a little easier to spot him and better eye relief for the puppy.