If I can't bring my Border Collie I'm not going (on my ATV )

[Don Billard]

So what's a good way to bring a dog along on a ATV? My girl is 2 years old and is 40 pounds. I'm thinking of getting an ATV ( not a side by side ) mainly for hunting.

[D'Elle]

I don't think there is any way to take a dog safely on an ATV unless there is a sturdy crate built or attached strongly to the back. It's like putting a dog into the back of a pickup....only more dangerous because there are no sides to it. I have seen dogs who rode on the back of ATVs and knew how to balance and all of that, but any time the vehicle hit a bump or made a sudden turn the dog was thrown off. One of those times it could, and in time probably would, lead to an extensive injury.

If there were a strong crate firmly attached to the back of the ATV at least it would keep the dog from being thrown off. Such a thing shouldn't be too much of a problem to attach to the back of the ATV, and if it were my dog I would get one of those very strong crates rather than the standard wire mesh crates you can find anywhere. If I had an ATV to go hunting, I would definitely want to take the dog with me, so that's what I would do.

[Michael Parkey]

Yes to the crate suggested by D'Elle.  Long ago my sister had a large touring motorcycle and a wonderful little dog.  She attached a study solid-sided crate to the luggage rack on the back of the bike, and padded the inside with carpet remnants.  The carpet was important because it gave a non-slip surface so that Nipper (the dog) could keep his footing.  Nipper loved it, and would jump into the crate whenever it was time for a ride.

[Journey]

We use a sturdy piece of plywood on the back, store the guns up front, and have a crate fixed to the plywood. Only 1 at a time can go but..if you don't have one yet and only have 1 dog, life will be easy, for more dogs I prefer the mule and they tie out in the rear dump.