I'm going for a Skoda fabia estate. Do most people with their dogs in the back area, not seats, have a dog guard or a crate? If guard do you still tether your dog in some way? If crate, which one? Some seem very expensive.
I have a dog guard from Saunders. The "legs" lie flat against the back of the seat, maximising space. Coco is tethered with a long lead to an anchor point in the back - just to prevent him jumping out when the tailgate is opened. He is trained to wait, but just in case.
We use a Ford Escape which I believe is a Kuga in Europe. Perfect size boot for a Lab. And a 5 star safety rating. AWD and affordable.
With four dogs I don’t have room for crates, so have a crash tested dog guard from Travall. In the Jeep I also have a divider, but they don’t make one for the Merc, so I’m going to have one custom made, along with gates for the back.
I have a crash tested crate, it was definitely £££ as it was adapted slightly. Unfortunately, although the crate is brilliant, I wouldn't recommend the company as their customer service was pants.
Could I ask you @selina27 which Halfords guard you have and does Cassie just go in loose or do you tether her? Also @snowbunny do you tether your dogs or are they loose behind the dog guard?
They are not tethered as they don't wear harnesses any longer and there is no way I would ever tether a dog by a collar in a car, for obvious reasons. With four of them and a divider, there is little space for them to be flung around if the worst happened. I am concerned about the potential for them to get free and run into traffic if the glass were to break or the back pop open, but the gates will mitigate this.
Hi @Inky lab , sorry for late reply - it is the mesh dog guard from Halfords, she is loose, not tethered - I don't like the thought of that. She doesn't wear her collar when travelling either. I have taught her to wait while the boot is opened, I used a crate while she was a puppy which allowed this. But I'm very careful where and when I get her out, to reduce risk of jumping out.
Thank you. I've got the dog guard so will try without tethering him. It seems counterintuitive to have him loose but that seems to be the concensus. Let's hope he likes travelling in the back!
