Do you restrain your dogs in your vehicle?

[Boulty]

Mine has a seatbelt that clips onto his harness. Tbh he does more obsessing on other cars out the window than I’d like with that combo but my tiny hatchback would not safely accommodate a travel crate which I think would be better for him. He’d kill both of us if he was loose in the car!

 

[dreamcometrue]

Mine has a seat belt and travels on the back seat.

 

[AandK]

In the boot, behind a guard.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

They have a seat belt harness easier when you have coupe sports cars.

 

[MurphysMinder]

Two go in the boot, behind a guard, other two in a hammock on back seat, harnesses clipped into seat belts.

What is a tailgate guard? I do worry about being rear ended.

Tailgate Guards, Fitting Kit, hard wearing

Barjo Tailgate Guards are tailored to your vehicle’s exact specifications

www.barjo.co.uk

Basically an inner wire door . Won’t give protection in a serious rear end but gives me reassurance in case of tailgate opening . Of course it also means I can leave boot open at shows .

 

[blackcob]

Mine are caged in the boot (guard behind back seats, tailgate guard with double doors, divider in between). It's not perfect - I'd rather crash tested crates, but couldn't fit two of sufficient size and at least this way they have the most space available. We spend a LOT of time in the car.

 

[SilverLinings]

My mother's current dog I put in a crate in the boot- she is too small to get over the back seats but is distractingly active if allowed more space. My last dog travelled loose in the boot lying in a dog bed, but she always travelled lying down (it seemed to be the only position she felt secure in; she also felt unsafe if put on the back seats) and was also too small to climb over the rear seats. From being a puppy she would lie her head down and sleep until I parked up, she never moved an inch. They are/were both cockers. I am aware though that although small dogs can't climb over the seats (and are very unlikely therefore to be thrown over in an accident) they have a lot of space in the boot (it's a landrover) to be thrown around in and could be injured that way.

If/when I get more dogs I will use the crate that I currently use for my mother's dog, or buy a larger or second one if I have more than one dog.

I've never been sure which 'zone' of the car is safest for a dog as there seems to be pros and cons to all of them, and obviously they all also require some form of restraint.

 

[Aperchristmas]

Used to have a seatbelt, now they go in the boot and there's a guard that stops them coming through. I've heard horror stories about crashes and while there's only so much you can do, it makes sense to me to at least try to be a bit safer.

 

[Cortez]

I have a small van, VW Caddy, all 3 in crates.

 

[spacefaer]

We've got crash tested crates for the back of the pickups and the boot of the Landcruiser.
Friend of mine had her labrador lying on the back seat of her car, directly behind her. She braked heavily, dog flew through the air and hit the back of her seat. She had 6 months off work with severe whiplash and disc issues.
Another local chap had labs loose in the back of his pickup. He had a head on crash with another car that was blinded by low sun. His dogs were flung out through the back and 2 killed.
I'd only ever put them in crates.

 

[Teaselmeg]

Two go in the boot, behind a guard, other two in a hammock on back seat, harnesses clipped into seat belts.

What is a tailgate guard? I do worry about being rear ended.

These, really hand for leaving the boot open in warm weather at shows etc and will give a level of protection in a crash, though not guaranteed.

Tailgate Guards, Fitting Kit, hard wearing

Barjo Tailgate Guards are tailored to your vehicle’s exact specifications

www.barjo.co.uk

 

[SAujla]

I'll be honest and say I've been getting a little lazy with Clover and not securing her properly all the time. This thread just given me a nudge to act responsible. We use a harness and seat belt

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I have a very substantial (and heavy) double dog crate made by Guardsman for my two. They don't seem to make crates any more, just dividers and dog guards which is a shame. It has escape doors at the back so in the event of a rear end shunt I could still get the dogs out. If I need to replace my car it has to be one that will take the crate. It is a brilliant bit of kit. We bought it secondhand and it has been in 4 different cars since then, 3 of them Focus estates.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I'll be honest and say I've been getting a little lazy with Clover and not securing her properly all the time. This thread just given me a nudge to act responsible. We use a harness and seat belt

We've all done it, when I only had one crate I would put the dog in the front seat to drive down to the beach (was only ten minutes away) rather than hoof it in and out of the car but after I saw that car on its roof in a ditch I was on Gumtree looking for an extra one for the house.

My mechanic, who was also handling the recovery, rang me and asked me to walk round (rather than drive as it is a terrible bend) and go and look for a mobile phone and also to climb in and smash the inside light with a hammer (!) as it was stuck on, other drivers were seeing it at night and stopping to try and 'help' and risking another accident.
What I saw in terms of what was thrown out of the vehicle/how far really shook me. The phone was never found.

 

[Ittookawhile]

Harness and a seatbelt for ours, she hates being in the boot, she’s too far away from us.

 

[Clodagh]

I have a very substantial (and heavy) double dog crate made by Guardsman for my two. They don't seem to make crates any more, just dividers and dog guards which is a shame. It has escape doors at the back so in the event of a rear end shunt I could still get the dogs out. If I need to replace my car it has to be one that will take the crate. It is a brilliant bit of kit. We bought it secondhand and it has been in 4 different cars since then, 3 of them Focus estates.

Dogbox UK make them. And Lintran. Probably others but I see them recommended on fb a lot.
Mine was custom made by dogbox (they are in Devon) to fit my car.

 

[ArklePig]

mine goes in the boot in a crate, though not as heavy duty a crate as some mentioned on here. it fits perfectly in the space and is wedged in, was very glad of it last year when we had a crash which I'm still suffering soft tissue injuries from and she was totally fine, didn't budge an inch.

We have a smaller car that won't fit a crate and she has a seat belt in that, only ever to the local park really but I feel uncomfortable having her in it.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Dogbox UK make them. And Lintran. Probably others but I see them recommended on fb a lot.
Mine was custom made by dogbox (they are in Devon) to fit my car.

Sorry I wasn't clear, Guardsman no longer do crates. I know other firms do them but haven't seen anything I like as much as mine. In the past when I had a hatchback I had the Barjo rear door and dog guard which did a reasonable job but I do prefer having the dogs separated not all in together.

 

[SAujla]

We've all done it, when I only had one crate I would put the dog in the front seat to drive down to the beach (was only ten minutes away) rather than hoof it in and out of the car but after I saw that car on its roof in a ditch I was on Gumtree looking for an extra one for the house.

My mechanic, who was also handling the recovery, rang me and asked me to walk round (rather than drive as it is a terrible bend) and go and look for a mobile phone and also to climb in and smash the inside light with a hammer (!) as it was stuck on, other drivers were seeing it at night and stopping to try and 'help' and risking another accident.
What I saw in terms of what was thrown out of the vehicle/how far really shook me. The phone was never found.

That is really alarming, I am going to stop the laziness and secure her properly. It takes like 10 seconds and with so many idiots on the road nowadays it might be the case it doesn't matter how safely I drive.

 

[SAujla]

Another silly thing I did when I first had Clover was to wind the window down and let her stick her head out, she was secured and only a few minutes but someone, I think either @Clodagh or the vet informed me of how dangerous that was, especially for her ears. When I brought her home she was in the front seat in a cat carrier, maybe not the safest looking back on it but she looked cute

 

[maisie06]

TransK9 dog box for me, crash tested and probably worth more than my car!

 

[EllieBeast]

We both drive trucks, and have crates secured against the bulkhead for the dogs.
However, in heat like we have now, I prefer them to be in the cab with me and the aircon!

I was looking at the hammocks with reinforced bases to create more space on the back bench seat, does anyone know how high the front section has to come up for them to not be required to wear seatbelts?

Ours are all very sensible and develop instant narcolepsy when in the car thankfully.

 

[poiuytrewq]

My little dog has a harness and it seat belted in if it’s just him.
Otherwise I do have a dog guard but it was a pressure fit one and it’s pretty rubbish tbh. Recently they managed to push it over somehow.
So at the moment I’m not really taking them in the car much until we have something better sorted

 

[Smitty]

Crate in boot in car, harness attached to seat belt in camper van. Did buy a collapsible material type crate for van but it's beyond my arthritic joints to assemble and collapse.