Where does your dog sit in the car?

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poiuytrewq

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As a puppy mine sat in the passanger footwell but ever since in my boot. He’s a lab but tiny and I drive a VW polo so a small boot but he has plenty of room.
This has always worked well. Last week my daughter had a nasty crash. Front and rear of the car is completely gone.
It’s still sat on the yard waiting for the scrap man to come and get it, looking at it earlier it occurred to me a dog in the boot wouldn’t have stood a chance :(
I’m wondering about one of those hammock things on the back seat.
Dog gets very muddy and I need to try and contain this! But his safety is paramount
 
Oh gosh, I hope you're daughter is okay.
I have a seat cover on the front passenger seat and then clip him in with harness and seat clip for short journeys. For longer journeys he's in a crate on the back seats, but he's a terrier so a bit smaller.
 
Your poor daughter. I hope she wasn't injured :(

My GSD is in a TransK9 (crash tested) dog transit box in the back of my Toyota Pick-up (under an Ifor Williams type canopy). My border collie sits on the passenger seat in a harness and dog seatbelt. He hates travelling so I am determined to get him over the phobia and at least I can reassure him if he is next to me. When working, the sheepdogs all go in the back of the Landy behind a custom made dog grille.
 
I hadn’t thought of that. Mine travel in the boot too. They could in theory go on the back seat but that would be impossible if I have the kids in the car.

A neighbour was killed in a car crash a few years ago and the two dogs that were in a cage in the boot were unharmed. I think the accident happened when a lorry joined the motorway so the car would have been hit side on I imagine.
 
In a airline crate (fixed) with a good couple of feet clearance to the tailgate.
Dogs loose in the car give me the heebie jeebies. I used to live near a very bad bend and the things that get thrown around or out of the car, and how far they get thrown, even at low speed, is terrifying.
 
I have a double crate in the back (SUV) but am aware it is a risk in the event of a rear impact. I do know people who have a type of tunnel that fits across the rear seats, that the dogs lie down in. I would wonder if they would want to get out to see what is going on though.
 
TransK9 crates sound good. They don’t appear to do one for a polo though.
I have his old crate from puppy days, wonder if it would fit securely on the back seat.
Maleeka, you make a very good point actually I suppose anywhere is dangerous depending where the impact is. Sorry about your neighbour.
 
Nb... I just read my post and sound more concerned about my dog than daughter 😳
It’s literally just that a week later I’m still seeing the car daily and daily thoughts of what if are going through my head, todays was the dog/boot. Tomorrow I’ll be lying awake panicking about something else.
 
Teds goes on the backseat. We have a waterproof cover on it and he has a harness that attaches to the seatbelt.

Sounds like an awful crash :( And something I do think about too...
 
I always get concerned when I see dogs pressed up against the back window of a small hatchback, can’t help thinking they stand no chance. The front passenger seat poses another danger with regard to the impact of an airbag on the dog. So I feel back seat is hopefully the safest place for mine. At the moment he is in a crate but once he gets past chewy phase we may go to a seatbelt attachment.
 
I'm not convinced by the safety of many crates and harnesses - apologies for the DM link but it's the only one I could find with the images and video I remember seeing a while back: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...riers-harnesses-fail-pets-safe-car-crash.html

In an ideal world I'd have one of the crash-tested crates but they cost a bomb and I haven't enough space to fit one suitable for two large dogs. The compromise is a Barjo tailgate combo with them in the boot and I'm probably going for the same again in our next 4x4. Or smaller dogs. :p

When I had a tiny ancient hatchback the rear seats were removed and a crate ratchet-strapped to the floor. In the event of a bad crash it probably wouldn't have been enough but to be fair I probably would have carked it also, it didn't even have an airbag. :o
 
Sorry but I’m one of the bad people - my four travel loose in the back of the Disco with the back seats folded flat. I’m fully aware of the risks of that if I have an accident, but there simply isn’t enough crate space to accommodate 4 greyhound sized dogs unless I bought a Transit van or similar?

To be honest I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times in the past year that I’ve taken all four of them any further than 2 miles down the road for their walk. Obviously I can still have an accident in those 2 miles but as I’m always doing max 30mph the potential risk is reduced
 
The two Rotters travel in the back of the Disco, no crates partly because I don't think that they would fit properly and remain safe. The other point for us to consider is that we use the car to collect shavings, feed etc and to unship crates big enough for the girls would be a massive job!
 
My 2 are in the boot of an Audi estate with a dog guard to stop them (Luna) coming over the back seats. I don’t think a crate would fit in big enough for them both, and both strapped into the back seats would be uncomfortable for them.

I think no matter what precautions we take, we can’t account for every possible scenario, so just be as safe as we can.
 
I have a van-I managed to find a weld mesh double crate that they both comfortably fit in from a Facebook page. It had been custom made for them and they no longer needed it. Nice people who drove for 60 miles to meet me on the M6. Its not crash tested but its pretty sturdy-the middle partition comes out so if I have just the one its more play pen size-fills up the rear of the van leaving me with enough room for wellies and essential dog items. Before that I have travelled smaller dogs in the front footwell. They do spend a reasonable amount of time in the van so I want to know they are comfortable.
 
When I had an MX-5, my golden retriever sat on the passenger seat with a harness clipped to the seat belt. This was fine, except that if he moved around his elbows would end up operating the electric window switches on the central console. Either that or he just wanted the windows open...
 
Your poor daughter!

We had this discussion at the weekend, looking at boot space is a constant thing we do. We both have Nissan X trails and discuss things like crumple zones :redface3: thinking we have enough in our cars, although none of that matters if a bus were to hit us up the A.R.S.E. as big dog licks the back windscreen all the time. Still, we have dismissed most cars as being inadequate re the boot area.

Isn’t there some new law re dogs being restrained? And fines?
 
This is my set up I my caddy van. https://flic.kr/p/23whAXd
Dogs loose in a vehicle are not only an accident hazard but if stopped by the police you can be fined and receive points on your licence. Depending on an accident insurance may be deemed null and void.
 
cinnamontoast said:
Your poor daughter!

We had this discussion at the weekend, looking at boot space is a constant thing we do. We both have Nissan X trails and discuss things like crumple zones :redface3: thinking we have enough in our cars, although none of that matters if a bus were to hit us up the A.R.S.E. as big dog licks the back windscreen all the time. Still, we have dismissed most cars as being inadequate re the boot area.

Isn’t there some new law re dogs being restrained? And fines?
Click to expand...

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...-court-nspca-insurance-policies-a8039566.html

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/seat-belt-law/
 
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poiuytrewq said:
TransK9 crates sound good. They don’t appear to do one for a polo though.
I have his old crate from puppy days, wonder if it would fit securely on the back seat.
Maleeka, you make a very good point actually I suppose anywhere is dangerous depending where the impact is. Sorry about your neighbour.
Click to expand...

What a shame they don't do a Polo sized one. They are really excellent crates and hold their value well too.
 
i was always worried about dogs being in the boot so i have the seats down and a crate immediately behind the passenger seat so more in the middle of the car rather than the back..
 
Usually in the lintran in the back of OHs long wheel based defender which is ideal.

Very occasionally in the boot of my Volvo estate, but I saw a video of the crumple zone of your average car and since then I haven’t been happy with them going in there.
 
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