My Lab is almost 15 weeks old and getting too big for the crate that fits in my car (a sedan-4 door). Next size crate will be too big to fit into the car. At what age can a puppy/dog go in the car without a crate? I can't afford to buy a mini-van (still paying for my car!), so what solutions can I consider? A harness that attaches to the seat belts? A blanket on the backseat without harness? What do people do that have a regular car (not an SUV or mini-van) to take their dogs for drives. I want mine to be with me at all times ....any ideas, please? Thanks so much.
Re: Dog in car without crate We have a dog hammock for the back seats... It's a hard wearing waterproof sheet that attaches to back seats and the head rests of the front seats so the foot well at the back is also covered... If that makes any sense!! Will keep car car clean after those muddy walks. Probably not as safe as using a harness though and your dog would need to be relatively calm lying in the back as although the gap between the front seats is covered by the hammock a restless dog may try to climb over it!! I've used one with terriers but yet to try it with our new lab pup... She still rides shot gun as still very small!
Re: Dog in car without crate I take it by sedan you mean that you can't put your dig in the boot?(trunk?). A lot of people in the uk have a hatchback where the boot has a window in it and a lab can go in most hatchbacks with a dog guard between the rear seats and the boot. If you don't have a hatchback a harness that attaches to a seatbelt fitting would be your best bet with some kind of protective cover on your seats. I'm afraid I've never used one but others on the forum have, I'm sure they'll have some comments. If any of that got lost in translation just shout
Re: Dog in car without crate I used to have Charlie loose in the car, but he would insist on climbing on to the front seat, and I got a very hard stare from a policeman one day, which made me think - if I were distracted by the dog in some way, and caused a serious accident...I didn't rate my chanced of avoiding jail for dangerous driving. I don't know that's right though but it's what I feared. I have a crate in my car, but in OH's car, there is no crate and I have a canvas fitted hammock with the dual purpose of covering everything up so it can't be chewed, and providing a stable platform for the dog. I have foam bolster things that fill the rear footwells. The arrangement can be divided in half, so one passenger can travel with the dog. I'm still working on getting Charlie to be ok with the harness (it is big a bulky) so mainly use my car. The harness is an allsafe harness - if you buy a harness, look for one that has actually been crash tested. Rachael has tried several now I think. The arrangement looks like this: harness by JulieTandCharlie, on Flickr
Re: Dog in car without crate Meg goes on back seat with one of those waterproof hammocks. She hates the car so just lays down.
Re: Dog in car without crate I have a very small car so Molly has gone on the back seat from day one. She wears a harness that attaches to the seat belt. The one I have doesn't plug straight in but you loop the seat belt through an extra piece of belt which clips to the harness and then plug in the seat belt as usual. This gives a bit of room for movement - she can sit or lie down but stops her jumping about. I started with the medium harness from Pets at Home and then moved on to the large size.
Re: Dog in car without crate Barbara, I don't have a hatchback.....Joy and Julie, I like the idea of a harness attaching to seat belts. Will go out and buy one.....Cooper hates the car crate anyway....it is too small for him.....so this will give him an opportunity to look around but not be able to go all over the car. Will also look into the hammock but I think the harness is the way to go. Thanks to all. Appreciated.
Re: Dog in car without crate I found out recently that you can receive a fine or points on your licence if a dog is unrestrained in a car. ??? Although the amount of people who still drive using a mobile you'd be unlucky if a policeman stopped you for not having your dog restrained. :. Apparently the same applies to shopping loose on the back seat !
Re: Dog in car without crate We've tried a few harnesses and have settled on the Klein Metal Allsafe from Germany, same as Julie uses. There are only three harnesses (to my knowledge, as of now) that have passed independent crash testing - that is, in a crash they keep the dog on the back seat and they don't break. Most harnesses break at the buckles and the dog comes out. The three that I know have passed are: - the Sleepypod Clickit - the Purina Roadie - the Klein Metal Allsafe We have all three. The Sleepypod Clickit is very well made, as in the materials are high quality. It attaches to the seatbelt and has two side attachments that clip to the child seat anchor points at the bottom of the back seat (not all cars have these). To work, the dog really has to be sitting up for the journey. We could not make this work as Obi wants to lie down. He also got a leg twisted up in the side attachments. He found this very uncomfortable and did not want to get in the car again afterwards. The Purina Roadie is pretty solid and somewhat rigid. It is not very adjustable (meaning fewer weak points which is a plus). To work, you have to thread the seatbelt through the back of the harness. The shape of the harness did not suit Obi as it pressed under his front legs into his armpits. The edges of the harness material are somewhat rough and we were worried about abrasion on a long trip. So that one was out. But it'd be ok if the shape fit your dog. Somewhat in desperation we ordered the Klein Metal Allsafe, which we had to get from America. This thing is very solid. It's basically all one piece (through it has adjustable parts), so you have to put it on by putting the front legs through part of the harness. Once your dog is used to it that is not hard (even Obi took a bit of training though). When on it's very comfortable and well padded. Even though it is mega chunky you can walk the dog in it for short distances (like on a wee break). For it to work 100% effectively in a crash (i.e. fully keeping the dog's bum on the seat) you have to thread the seatbelt through the back of the harness - as in the pic that Julie posted. We actually don't do that, as Obi likes to turn around on the seat and then he gets tangled in the seatbelt....so we actually use the Sleepypod attachment pieces to clip the harness to the child seat point above the back seat on the parcel shelf. This arrangement would not stop Obi's bum flying forward but it won't break and he won't go through the front windscreen and become a missile. All up, this harness was the best compromise between safety, comfort, and practicality. So, if you just want your dog to not jump into the front seat with you then any harness will do but if you want them to have a chance of surviving a crash in a harness arrangement you have to do your homework... Watch crash test videos and also read Amazon reviews.
Re: Dog in car without crate Thank you, Oberon/Rachael......tons of info.....that's wonderful. Tomorrow morning I am off to Pet Smart (I live in America) to see what they have after I've gone on line and checked on Amazon....... You really gave me lots to think about because I want Cooper to be safe and comfortable in the car. I thank you again....
Re: Dog in car without crate No worries, Yvonne! If you go with a model that tethers the harness to an anchor point on the car (which is how we use ours) you want the tether to be as short as possible. We have ours just long enough to let Obi lie down. Basically, the more freedom of movement the less safe it is. Also, definitely try the harnesses on your dog first and see if they will let you practise clipping it into your car. We found that the Sleepypod Clickit took us about 20 minutes to adjust so it fit the dog (obviously you only have to do that once so that is not a big deal) but then it took another 20 minutes to get the dog clipped in to the seat. Your dog has to be sitting still and facing the front while you clip all three anchor points in. Our dog did not want to sit still and face the front. I hasten to add that it was made much more difficult by the fact that our car is a coupe, with a back seat but no back doors. It'd be easier with back doors. I had some correspondence with the manufacturer about the harness and they were extremely helpful (eg in helping us get it adjusted properly) but we just couldn't make it work in a way that our dog found comfortable and that we found practical. We have done several longish trips with the Klein Metal Allsafe and have been very happy with it. If you use it like in the picture Julie showed (with the seatbelt passed directly through the body of the harness) then it'd be a very safe, comfortable and practical option, in my opinion. I'd be inclined to also use a tether to the child seat anchor point so the dog can't creep forward to the limit of the seatbelt.
Re: Dog in car without crate Rachael do you still have all three harnesses? I would love to try them out some time. We have just been using Millys walking harness but maybe we should look at a proper car harness.
Re: Dog in car without crate Still have all three. They may be a bit big for Milly at the moment but you're very welcome to check them out. If the Sleepypod Clickit or Purina Roadie do fit or might in future you can have one or both. Will bring them next time we do a walk.
Re: Dog in car without crate Rachael, which size Kleinmetall Allsafe did you get? And how much does Obi weigh??
Re: Dog in car without crate We are going away on holiday shortly with the dog. I have an estate car large enough for him and he travels in the boot without any complaints. But for the holiday it would be useful if he could travel with harness on the back seat so we have the boot space for luggage. Does any one know is it just as safe for a dog to travel on the back seat with harness as in the boot? The drive will be 3 hours long. Will it be comfortable for him on the back seat? He will not be able to move about as much as he could in the boot of course
Re: Dog in car without crate Hello there Gareth Welcome to the forum! In a crash, a dog will move through the car like any other unrestrained object. Rear seats that separate a cargo area from the passengers will stop a dog, like they will stop luggage, although of course a dog will hit the back of the rear seats, which is why the safest thing for a dog is to travel inside a crash tested dog crate that is secured to cargo points. The smaller the crate, the safer it is. Ordinary dog harnesses will break in a crash or the dog's rear end, which is not secured by the harness will travel forward, and the dog will slip out of the harness. Crash tested dog harnesses are heavy and bulky. As Rachael explains above, in order for them to be safe, they do constrain the dog and are not very comfortable so you have to play around with them to get an arrangement that works well. You can see a video of the forces that act on a dog and harness in a crash here: http://centerforpetsafety.org/research/2013-harness-study-quasi-static-tests/
Re: Dog in car without crate I also have a waterproof cover on the back seat, ours also have the harness which attaches to the seat belts . Millie is actually happier, for very short trips, sitting in the footwell by my feet on her lead , must add though that I am not the driver and she is very small
Re: Dog in car without crate [quote author=Karen link=topic=6596.msg88657#msg88657 date=1402906376] Rachael, which size Kleinmetall Allsafe did you get? And how much does Obi weigh?? [/quote] He weighs 27.4kg at the moment (just got weighed tonight at the vet (vaccination visit)). We got him a medium. At least it says on it Grosse: M. Also says "Gerpuft nach ECE R-17 MIT einem Gewicht von 23kg" if that's a help
Re: Dog in car without crate I bought a large Allsafe. It's a bit too big. Not buying another one until he agrees to wear the dratted thing though! (Charlie is 28kgs - and is feeling the labrador peer pressure if Obi is now less than 28kgs : ).
