Car Harness Vs Dog Grill

[Woody's Mum]

Hi All.

I am having a bit of a dilemma with this one and I would love your opinions.

I have always used a car harness on Daisy in my back seat since she was a baby and she travels really well. The problem is that with all our visits to the beach and fields, my car (which I use for work appointments!) is getting wrecked.  

I have a Fiesta and have had a dog grill fitted on the back and have filled the back with pillows and blankets ... but I still can't bring myself to put Daisy in the 'boot'!  

Are there any safety issues with them being at the back of the car? I feel that she will just be free to fall around rather than strapped in.

What do you do??

[Jo & Dennis]

Hi When we had our last dog a golden retriever she always travelled in the back seat till we bought a 5 door car then she went in the boot I suppose she would have been almost a year old by then but  was always very happy traveling that way, i must admit i am having thoughts along same lines as you with our Holly. It is so important that they are safe isnt it. Dont think this has been much help but i'm sure you will as always get loads of sound advice.

[tiggerbabe]

Hi there!

I use a harness with Sophie (who is a dream traveller and goes to sleep within 5 mins of the engine starting!!)  

However, I find it a real pain in the backside as if I leave the car say to put petrol in, Sophie will attempt to follow me from inside the car and gets tangled up in the harness bit that is attached to the seatbelt!  I then have to disconnect it and re-attach it back on again once she is untangled!!

I also have to keep her in the front seat as if I put her in the back she moves to the middle of the backseat to see what is happening - then gets tangled in the seatbelt again!  

I suppose it could be way worse if she was a bad traveller too though!

I was considering getting a grille for the "boot", but have similar feelings towards them as yourself - I feel they are ok in estate cars, but I don't fancy putting Sophie in there in my car which is only a Peugeot 206.  

Sorry - not much positive feedback for "grilles" so far!!

[taliska]

We use a crate in Steves car as its an estate and both of them fit in and are safe.  I've got a corsa and haven't had them in as yet but I did buy two soft crates to use on back seat if I did need to travel with them.  I personally wouldn't like to use the boot as I don't think I could trust them not to try and get out when I opened the boot before it was safe.

[Pickle's Mum]

Hi there. I was just going to say something similar to Taliska - a crate in the boot is an ideal solution, as the dog is then very safe, and cannot jump out as soon as the tailgate is open. But am not sure how big a boot you'd need - am about to investigate, as Pickle is going to have to start travelling in the boot instead of his harness on the back seat - he's never liked the harness anyway and always ends up tangled in the seatbelt, pawing at and licking the windows    
I drive a golf, which has a reasonable size of boot, so I think I should be able to get a crate in there. It will hopefully also help keep the car a bit cleaner - mine is curently a skip-on-wheels  ::  thanks to my wee hairy mudmonster!
Emma and Pickle xx

[tiggerbabe]

mine is curently a skip-on-wheels  thanks to my wee hairy mudmonster

I have two - my son and my Cocker and my car is in a very similar state!!!

[Cob-Web]

I don't think I could trust them not to try and get out when I opened the boot before it was safe.

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The other thing to consider is the consequences if the worst happened and there was a car accident    A crate in the boot prevents a scared/injured dog from jumping through a broken rear window and running off  

[suzysu]

I drive a golf, which has a reasonable size of boot, so I think I should be able to get a crate in there

If you have a look at Page 9 in Misc  you will see the crate I have in my Golf with Georgie and Daisy posing in it!!  Its from championpetsonline.co.uk

They do a smaller one Toni which might help you.

If you don't want a crate - Barjo.co.uk do tailgate guards. x

[suki1964]

We just got the crate from championpetsonline. We got the smaller one and it fits a focus with room to spare. Oh and Alfie fits in it as well Best about it is hes as good as gold when hes in the crate, when hes on the back seat he whimpers constantly (although that may be cos he can see the way hubby drives)  

[Sue H]

We find that our 2 travel fine in the rear of our cars, though Jeremy has a guard in the back of his estate - if they get put in the back, they usually stay there.  On short trips we quite often let them be in the front/back seats, but Bramble does tend to stand there and say 'Are we there yet?' or 'Cor, look at that Springer!' and sometimes this can get a bit distracting!  Muddy paws are another factor and a blanket in the boot space can be easily shaken out and does not offend subsequent passengers ...

As far as reaching your destination is concerned, lifting the hatchback, along with saying 'Wait!' very firmly usually means our two (however desperate they may be to get out) will stand and wait for their leads to be put on etc.

[Miss Poohs]

I have a Renault Megan - and have been thinking along the lines of a boot grille, as my back seat is totally wrecked, with my two!! Infact I think I'm going to have to get a professional vallet done - it's that bad  ::

I'm just not sure though - the other option I came across was a back seat protector pg 127 of the Argos catalogue item 10, but how would I then be able to strap the pups in.

Ohh decisions, decisions    Not much help am I

[nellie]

Bonnie has always worn a harness which is clipped into the seat belt clip but in the boot. All you do ( hubbie did this as I`m useless at anything practical) is fold the back seat down, pull the seat belt clip through, then put the seat back up as normal. Then you can put doggie wearing harness in the boot safe and sound clipped into the seat belt clip. Most cars have 3 seat belts in the back so it still leaves you with 2 in the back seat. We have a protective sheet covering the whole boot and put her pillow, blanket and toys in with her. She knows this is her space and is happy as larry (whoever he is?) and curls up and goes to sleep.

The only thing is you have to buy a roof rack and top box (we got ours cheap on ebay) as you loose the boot space, but the benefit is the rest of the car stays relatively clean and tidy.

Hope this helps.

[Sara]

We have a grill in the boot for our two as they get so muddy from their walks, they stay in there quite happily and don't run off when the boot is openedl.
However these are only for short journeys (10 minutes) - anything longer and they go in their harness seatbelt as it is alot safer....

Sara, Andy. Oleh & Freddie xx

[clairep4]

Bella goes on the backseat as we didn't want to lose the boot space. We did get one of those car doggie blanket things that you attach so it's kind of like a hammock (hooks onto the front seat headrests and onto the back seatbelt clips), but she hated it so we soon gave up. So now she goes in a harness on the backseat (which is covered in the blanket that was the hammock). She hates having the harness put on but once she's in it she's fine. The couple of times we've taken her on short (5 min) journeys without being in the harness she walks up and down crying so I think she feels more secure if she's in it.