Dog Trolley With Two Dogs?

Beaners · #1 07/30/08, 01:44 PM

We are setting up a trolley next week to hook the dogs to while we are outside, until we get the yard fenced. As hard as I have looked, I can't find anything designed to hook two dogs up to the same trolley, so I am going to have to make it up as I go. I already have two leads to hook onto the cable, and the cable is heavy enough for the combined weight of the dogs.

I was thinking of running a length of PVC pipe between the two leads on the cable. This should keep the dogs from tangling up together, and still let both of them run back and forth. Obviously if one dog doesn't want to go all the way down, the other can't go past it, but it seems better than putting out stakes for them.

Has anyone made up a contraption like this?

Kayleigh

Wags · #2 07/30/08, 05:09 PM

I think having two on a line would be a disaster waiting to happen. The spacer you were referring to would have to be very long and/or their leads very short to keep them from tangling. And if the lines do get tangled up around each other the results could be deadly.

watcher · #3 07/30/08, 05:18 PM

I agree with wags, trying to put two dogs on one run would lead to nothing but tangles.

Bearfootfarm · #4 07/30/08, 06:30 PM

If I were going to put them both on one cable, Id put a stop (or two) in the middle so each dog had half the run, and they couldnt reach each other enough to tangle

Beaners · #5 07/30/08, 07:22 PM

Well, I was planning on using a 10-15 ft piece of pipe to keep them from tangling, that was why I mentioned it. The two leads COULD NOT reach each other, so there wouldn't be any tangling. If I were to get longer leads in the future, I would add in another piece of pipe the same diameter to lengthen the distance between the leads. I WOULD NOT hook them up where they could reach each other.

I thought about just dividing the trolley, but part of the appeal is the fact that both leads could be hooked up from an area not too far from the back door. That would be nice on cold rainy nights when both dogs "just have to" go out at the same time.

Kayleigh

Beaners · #6 07/30/08, 07:40 PM

Dog Trolley With Two Dogs? - Homesteading Questions

Maybe this would give a better idea of what I'm talking about?

Kayleigh

DC_Hound · #7 07/30/08, 08:10 PM

I don't know that much about harnesses but my dad always talked about singletrees and doubletrees for their farm mules, used when he was a boy. Maybe you could find plans on the internet for a doubletree harness then craft one out of pvc for your dogs? I think trying to do it with leads would just give everyone involved a headache.

Beaners · #8 07/30/08, 08:29 PM

DC Hound, maybe I'm not understanding you. Are you saying I should find a way to harness them together, and then attach that harness to the trolley? The reason I was planning to use leads was because the trolley is designed to have a lead hooked on it that runs up and down the length of the wire. These are vinyl coated steel cables, not a cloth training leash. I am interested in what you are trying to explain to me, I just don't think I am understanding what you are saying.

Kayleigh

watcher · #9 07/30/08, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beaners

Maybe this would give a better idea of what I'm talking about?

Kayleigh

Ok now I see but I wouldn't use a piece of pipe. I use "wire rope clips" (google to see what I'm talking about) as pulley stoppers on my dog run.

A couple of things. First off don't attach directly to the tree. Wrap something around the tree and attach the cable to it. I found a wide nylon strap used on flat bed trailers on the side of the road (its about 6" wide) then used mending plates to connect the ends to make a loop. I used a piece of steel as a backer for an eye-bolt to connect the cable to.

Second, make sure you have a very strong place to connect to the house.

jill.costello · #10 07/30/08, 09:07 PM

WE DID THIS! Successfully! YES, use two (actually, 4) u-clamps. These are shaped like a "u", and are threaded for nuts on both ends. It has a "bridge" across the "u" with two holes in it. You put the trolly cable into the crotch of the "u", slide the bridge down on top, tighten the nuts on the ends!

We used FOUR of these to prevent each dog from wrapping around "his" tree.

(2 for mid-line stops 20' apart, and 2 for 10' out from each tree)

js2743 · #11 07/30/08, 09:12 PM

dchound single trees and double trees are for pulling with horses not for tying dogs out on a run. a single tree is used with one horse and a double tree is used with two horses. you would hook the chains on the harness on each horse to the single tree and then you hook what ever you are pulling to the single tree for one horse. and with two horses each horse gets a single tree which is then connected to the double tree which is then hooked to what ever the two are pulling.

Beaners · #12 07/30/08, 09:14 PM

It seems like all of these methods make one long trolley into two short trolleys. Is that correct? I was planning on using the pipe because it could slide the length of the trolley, and let both dogs run back and forth over the entire length.

Kayleigh

debd0712 · #13 07/31/08, 08:02 AM

If your PVC pipe is only 15' long and the 2 leads are each 10' long the dogs will be able to reach each other and get tangled. Also, the dog with the lead closest to the tree will be able to get wrapped around the tree unless you have a stop on the tree end of the cable. Otherwise, looks like it should work. Good luck.

Debbie

cfabe · #14 07/31/08, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by debd0712

If your PVC pipe is only 15' long and the 2 leads are each 10' long the dogs will be able to reach each other and get tangled. Also, the dog with the lead closest to the tree will be able to get wrapped around the tree unless you have a stop on the tree end of the cable. Otherwise, looks like it should work. Good luck.

Debbie

Yep based on my math the PVC needs to be about 17 feet long to keep them from tangling. This is assuming the dogs collar is 2 feet off the ground, if they're taller than that it needs to be longer yet.

Beaners · #15 07/31/08, 02:57 PM

You know, you're right. I was doing my pythagorean theorem based on the height from the ground, not the collars. Rather than do a single pipe, I am probably going to get several 5 ft lengths with an identical diameter so that I can just increase the distance between the leads in 5 ft increments. That would prove helpful if I added in 20 ft leads at a later point too.

I had already planned on putting stops on the ends to keep the dogs from wrapping around anything. I will let all of you know how it works out once it is set up.

Kayleigh