Back Seat Or Boot?

[theshrew]

On the subject of dog guards and crates. Why do people think they are safe ? Yes they stop the dog running about the car while your driving. If you had a dog that did that. However if your pooch is loose in your boot how will a dog guard protect it if you crash ? It would get flung about the boot. A cage will probably be the safer option as the chance is teh dog might not get thrown as far as the crate is smaller.

However i really think these are both still very bad options ref my previous post. I class my dogs as a part of my family. I wouldnt drive with my daughter not strapped into her seat for obv reasons the exact same reasons apply for the dogs. 

[aljeana]

Sorry I still think dogs in a well designed dog cage or crate with an escape hatch door is the best option as long as it is secured and not too large that they have too much space to roll around in.

I rolled my car a couple of years back and it was the fitted dog cage that saved my dogs, we ended upside down after rolling down an embankment on ice the back hatch flew open so they could have escaped and got run over had they not been in the cage.

I know harnesses are also good but when I was upside down in the car I found it hard to get out of my seat belt plus the belt had caused me some minor injuries, not sure how the harness would respond if the car rolled and the dog was in it 

I know what people think about re end smashes and the impact fact but in people carriers we have seats that children sit in 

[maddy74]

We have this RAC one for Willow and its great. The only prob is the sizing we had to get her a large, they come REALLY small.





We often leave it on her and use it as a walking harness too (see above)

See the link below. We got ours from the vets and it was only about £8.
http://www.mrpets.co.uk/p10502/RAC-Travel-Dog-Harness-Small.php

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Wendy (wenco18) had a good looking harness for one of her dogs...

[Lucianne]

Bella travels on the front seat in a harness secured to the seatbelt. She either sits on a lap or if it's just her and me in the car, she edges across the seat and insists on touching her muzzle to my hand or arm. Dopey dawg. 

[Wenco18]

Wendy (wenco18) had a good looking harness for one of her dogs...

This is the harness I have for Lottie, Lola has one that attaches to her red dingo harness but will probably get her one of these as well as it can be left on and the lead attached  to it when out of the car.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-accessories-dog-harnesses-c-628_408/clix-car-safe-dog-harness-p-2954

I do have a guard on the back of my car for when they are muddy, but when going any distance ie: Bamburgh Castle and driving on motorways like to have them strapped in the back.

I can't bear to think what could happen to them 

[Karma]

theshrew - I'd love to know your evidence for saying that a crate in the boot is not safe.... as that is what I have always been told is the safest way for a dog to travel (as long as the crate itself is secured) and is certainly how "professional" dogs are transported....

With 2 children under 2 on the backseat, there is no option for Honey to use her car harness anymore, so we have secured her spare crate into the boot.  

[black taz]

I have a Honda Jazz and have the back seats permanently folded down and have invested in a tailgate guard and guard that goes behind the driver/passenger seats.  they have a selection of cushions and blackets to snuggle in.

Having them on the back seat with harnesses on is fine for Taz, but Kira (lab) really struggles.  You have to the harness short enough to give protection, which means then than she can hardly move to get comfy, esp on long journeys.  But if we had to stop quickly there is enough "give" in it for her front legs to fall off the seat, which could be dangerous in itself.

My travel arrangements may not be perfect, but i think it is a decent compromise, and at least they are not sitting on my knee (which seems quite common!)
 

[Petepreston]

theshrew - I'd love to know your evidence for saying that a crate in the boot is not safe.... as that is what I have always been told is the safest way for a dog to travel (as long as the crate itself is secured) and is certainly how "professional" dogs are transported....

With 2 children under 2 on the backseat, there is no option for Honey to use her car harness anymore, so we have secured her spare crate into the boot.  

I'm guessing the evidence is any of the cars that have their rear end crushed in a shunt. As somebody else said; modern cars are designed to crumple to absorb the impact energy.

No car is 100% safe - for people or dogs - but statistically you are more likely to be rear ended than roll your car over.

With regards to this, and many, many other areas of life, I don't do something just because lots of other people do. I make an assessment of the facts and decide what I feel is best for me and mine. If I had a Land Rover I would probably use a crate. If I had a Smart I probably wouldn't drive it over 30mph.

Seat harnesses aren't ideal either and have drawbacks in other situations - such as a rolling car - but I'm working on a new option to the standard harness. Hopefully I'll have a product on the market before the end of the year. It will still have situations in which it won't be ideal, but then that's down to each of us to assess the risks based on our own vehicle and driving experience.

Just out of interest: has anybody ever been in a rearranging crash in a hatchback and ended up with an unopenable tailgate? Its happened to me, but fortunately before I had a dog.

[Jan D]

I have the same ones as Wendy for my 2

This is Bobby in his


They are simple to use and the dogs seem comfy in them. Think it's all a matter of personal preference as petepreston said

[Tiger]

I had a crash when I was 21 with dog on the backseat with a car harness on sitting on his bed.  Car flipped over after having done a 360 at 70mph. Dog was fine and in fact had a lovely time at the hospital being treated like a prince in the nurses quarters whilst I waited for 2 hours to be seen!

I thoroughly recommend harnesses for dogs in cars :-)

[8 Hairy Feet]

Just got one of these;
Large pet tube from Doghaus.
It folds down flat and zips up
so you can move it about.
Ellie is fine in it.
steffxxx

[NotanotherAlfie!]

Reading some of these makes me not want to ever get in my car again 

[Clare B]

Nowhere in a car accident is safe, pro and cons to crates and harnesses.  I personally prefer Flo to be in the front passenger seat foot- well where rear end shunting will not affect.
  With a full on nasty accident well I don't think any situation can claim to be the best unless the dog has seatbelts and airbags like human passengers.  Another reason I like Flo to be in the front footwell is that the aircondioning flows through there and if in the boot/hatch the air-conditioning doesn't work so efficiently.... Here on 0z.

[BobnDot]

Milly mostly travels in Dot's Jazz. The rear seat behind the driver is folded up and her bed is on the floor of the vehicle. She wears a harness that's clipped into the centre seatbelt catch. This allows her the freedom to lie in her bed or on the unfolded-up portion of the rear seat. (Not a very clear description but Jazz owners will know what I mean )
As ClareB has said, nowhere is completely safe in an accident but we feel that, being within the passenger compartment rather than in a crumple zone, we're happier that she's getting as much protection as we can provide .