What are people’s preferred methods of travelling with their dogs in the car? I have been looking at boot guards and wondered if this is a good idea? We have a 7 seater car but there are often six of us travelling so a crate isn’t an option due to lack of space. I think a headrest mounted guard would fit behind seats 6 and 7 giving a snug but big enough space for the dog - I assume you don’t want too much space for them to cavort around in anyway? Does the dog need to be restrained in the boot? What about seatbelt harnesses for when she’s bigger? Any advice much appreciated!
Depending upon where you are in the world, there are different rules and/or guidelines. Some of these are for the safety of the other passengers in the car, rather than for the dog too. Our dogs used to just ride around in the footwell of the car quite happily, but these days a car crate or seat belt are generally considered the safer options We go with a car crate now, but my in-laws are very much in favour of seat belts. Although their Goldie takes up the entire backseat of a relatively small car as a result! You can check out some seat belt options here, and find an overview of the various options here.
I don't see any reason to use any additional restraint in the boot if you have a dog guard, in fact I think it would be a tangling /choke hazard and you can't really see what's going on way back in the boot. 1st choice would be a crash tested crate but they are very big and very expensive. My dog is extremely spoilt and sits on the back seat with no harness. There is a guard to stop him getting into the front and a 'hammock' which protects the seats and stops him falling into the foot well. He hated the seatbelt harness, would refuse to get in the car and growl and bite if I tried to attach it. Fortunately, I rarely have more than one passenger so this arrangement works well.
Thanks for your replies. After much deliberation I think I’ve decided to use a travel crate for when we have room in the car which is the majority of the time. It’s not a specific car crate as I can’t find one to fit, but i can fix it to anchor points and it will keep the dog contained and also stop her from leaping out of the car as soon as I open the boot. As she gets older and hopefully wiser and less likely to leg it l, I will use a boot guard.
