Have a qusetion...looking for help

I would like to build or buy a carrier for my 95 Polaris Sportsman so I can load the dog up and go riding. She is a medium sized husky at 70lbs.

I have seen others with homemade plywood crates with padding strapped to their rear racks & the dog seems to ride fine.

Are there any manufacturers who already make something like this or can anyone provide plans or past experince ideas or thoughts on building something like this?

Thanks

Steve

 

How would you like to be in a padded box on the rack of my quad? Think you might get sick from all the bouncing?

 

I think I've seen some "dog carriers" for atv's in Cabelas??? Try their web site, see what they have to offer-it was either them, or Red Head, from Bass Pro shops. On one of my more recent rides, I took a buddy up with a german shepard and a little black lab cross thing. After about a mile or two of solid running, they were pretty wore out, couldn't keep up. The pup jumped up in my buddy's lap, while the shepard jumped up on my rear rack bag-I carried Mark and BOTH dogs for over 30 miles that day-they loved it! Every time we got near mud or water, they'd hop down to go swim, then come rushing back expecting to get a ride again. Not paying attention the first time it happened, my back was not only getting soggy from wet dog, but muddy as well! A change of clothes was necessary for the ride home, but those dogs were in "seventh heaven", they had a great time.

Best of Luck,

Mike

 

THE WHOLE THING SOUNDS KINDA INHUMAN TO ME!

 

Inhumane? Sorry, I just don't see how that would be. Do you guys have dogs? Do you ever carry them in the back of your truck? What is the difference in carrying a dog either in the back of the truck, or the back of an atv? Cobowhunter is looking for something to attach to the rear rack, with padding, to carry his dog. Like I said earlier, my buddy brought his two dogs up to the mountains with us. They LOVE being outside, love being up in the mountains and having a good time. When they're running around though, they do wear out and get tired, consequently, they can't keep up with us, would rather ride or lay down and rest. I don't have a dog carrier as I normally never have dogs out with me, so one of them jumped inbetween us, while the other jumped up on the rear rack bag. In this circumstance, the rear rack bag was pretty soft from the clothes I have in it, but the dog in the middle was kind of cramped up on the seat. A nice padded platform on the back would work great for the dog.

Ever watch any hunting shows on tv? Alot of the duck hunter guys run atv's with padded dog platforms on the rear rack, to transport the dog to and from the stand, so he doesn't have to run or walk all the way. This is where the "inhumane" part comes in. Those of you that duck hunt know exactly what I'm talking about. Hell, not just duck hunters, but any bird hunter for that matter-the dog works extremely hard while out hunting. The dog does easily twice as much work as the shooter, probably double yet again if you want to get technical. Now, making your dog run along side you on your atv while going out to the stand, or your particular hunting area, then work that hard all day long, then have to run back-that is what I would consider "inhumane" to a good hunting dog. That padded rear rack is really taking care of your dog-protecting his pads as long as possible to the stand, or hunting area, also keeping him "fresh". Then, on the way out, he has a place to rest and calm down from a hard days work. A really good hunting dog is the most valuable tool you have in the field, and requires meticulous care and handling. When you rely on your dog to do his job, he must be in tip-top condition to do so properly, otherwise you both suffer. That is inhumane.

Keep in mind you are not carrying your dog out on weekend trail rides through the really rough, technically challenging stuff, where he would be thrown around all over the place, but rather just out to the stand, where the atv just provides a faster means of transport. Much nicer to drive the 12 miles into an area than have to walk in-the dog sure thinks so too!

I don't mean to "ruffle anybody's feathers" here, it's just that I have a lot of bird hunting friends who have invested a lot of time and money into their dogs, do what ever they can to take the utmost of care for them.

BTW-Cobowhunter-if you didn't find it in Cabela's or Red Head, you could always just build one. My buddies just cut a large piece of plywood to fit the rear rack, then used some U-bolts to hold it down. I think they used either 2x4's or 2x6's as side rails around the perimeter, which were screwed down. They covered the wood with carpet, then set a 2" thick foam pad down inside, covered with a soft material-like a big pillow. Works quite well, and is removeable by just undoing the u-bolts, when not in hunting season. One of the other guys has basically the same setup, only he uses one of those big burlap cedar filled bags for his dogs.

Best of Luck guys,

Mike