Dog 'carriage'

[alcam]

Firstly I appreciate we all have different vans , preferences , dogs , partners , opinions etc .
I travel on my own [mostly] until fairly recently my travel companion was a , pretty large , greyhound . I was a bit casual and he ended up sleeping in habitation area without restraints . New dog will , hopefully , be a medium sized dog .
I would prefer the dog to be on front seat and have been looking at harnesses etc .
Would like any information , experiences , product suggestions etc
[I know , crap title]

 

[REC]

We did all this with our Staffie. Tried a couple,first was too complicated to get her in and out of, especially when she was excited! Ended up with one of these

Soft Padded Dog Harness Adjustable No Pull Walking Training Assistance Chest - Red Medium: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies which came up a bit big( even for her!!) But was easy to put on and take off. Needed a strap which locked into seat belt but we feel she can move a bit but not too much! She loves it and we feel she is so much safer

 

[Caz]

My medium sized dog is too big to lay on front seat. He travels wearing a harness which is attached by a short lead so he can lay between the front seats or jump onto the passenger seat and have a look where we are going every so often.

 

[saxonborg]

Have a look at Julius K9 harnesses, there are sizes for every dog, they are very easy to put on and there is a big stainless ring on the back to which you can attach more or less anything. On the larger sizes there is also a handle which you can hold the dog with .

 

[Clunegapyears]

Pets at home own brand 4 peaks is not expensive and fleecy. I like them as the go low around the chest, not the neck. 3 sizes.

Just make sure what ever use as a restraint is not so long that the dog can bang its head in case of an accident.

 

[alcam]

Pets at home own brand 4 peaks is not expensive and fleecy. I like them as the go low around the chest, not the neck. 3 sizes.

Just make sure what ever use as a restraint is not so long that the dog can bang its head in case of an accident.

Was assuming I can attach to seat belt ?

 

[Deleted member 75172]

Was assuming I can attach to seat belt ?

Just be careful with seat belt connectors.
My daughter clipped her dog extension into our centre clip in the rear of our Volvo and we now cannot remove it.
No big deal for now and always there when needed but might restrict us from having 5 people in future.
Pete

 

[Deleted member 48528]

Our cocker spaniel wears a car harness, through which we loops a strap that we put round the steel bar on the back of the passenger seat, at the bottom. He can lie in between the seats, so he is happy, can move around, but not so much that he would go flying through the window in an emergency stop. Dogs on front seats not a great idea in case of sudden stops. Have even seen loose dogs travelling on the wide front ledge of A class vehicles, bonkers.

 

[alcam]

Our cocker spaniel wears a car harness, through which we loops a strap that we put round the steel bar on the back of the passenger seat, at the bottom. He can lie in between the seats, so he is happy, can move around, but not so much that he would go flying through the window in an emergency stop. Dogs on front seats not a great idea in case of sudden stops. Have even seen loose dogs travelling on the wide front ledge of A class vehicles, bonkers.

Yes I am thinking about that , windscreen etc . Think I would need some other barrier , not sure . Was also looking at crates . If the appropriate crate would fit the space

 

[Deleted member 48528]

Our spaniel was crate,trained as a pup, and we took the crate with us twice, but you have to secure when travelling, and I was such a faff putting it up and down every day, plus it took up a lot,of the floor space. We found the between the seat solution the best in the end. Plus we rigged up a shade for him from the dash to the chair back to keep the sun off him, so he's happy :dog:

Cheers

 

[alcam]

All these people saying it is mad to have a dog loose: do they never travel on a bus?
In many decades of driving, over many millions of miles (I used to average over 100 miles per day) I have never been involved in an accident that would even cause a seat belt to lock, let alone risk a flying dog.
Yes, it is possible that anyone could be involved in an accident, but the chances of it happening are very slim m indeed. A sense of proportion is worth retaining.

Not wrong but , ignoring the dog's welfare . you could easily get done for not having your dog secured . I was fined for not having a GB sticker , terrified my dog would appear at windscreen while paying my ticket .
I need to pay more attention to my dog safety

 

[jeanette]

We are beta puppy tomorrow (Friday) and we only have two belted seats and no other restraints so I think ours wiyhave to travel on my knee

 

[Deleted member 48528]

A dog on a lead on a bus filled with people crawling along relatively slowlyis a bit different to the empty space inside a vehicle going at a faster speed. A few years ago I was driving along at about 30 mph on an empty road when white van man pulled out from a right turning in front of me. Slam on the anchors, four dogs on the back seat go flying. Also happened to another dog, which hurt itself because of idiot drivers. Since then have always secured my dogs in a vehicle. When seat belts for human were introduced a lot of,people didn't like it, but we got used to it and it saved lives.

Why would we put the well-being of our beloved pets at risk, with bad standard of driving on our roads today.

 

[Nabsim]

Each to their own and all that but needs must as well. We only have seat belts in the driver and passenger seats so nowhere to fasten restraints in the van. As soon as the key goes in the ignition both dogs are asleep on their bed on the floor between the front seats.

While I appreciate accidents can happen to anyone and they do I am happy to continue as we are, in the event of having to emergency stop (we have done it already) the dogs have not moved far at all in fact one time just looked up as if to ask why we disturbed them. Caz will sometimes have one on her knee which isn’t a good idea now they are full grown.

We have a Westie and a Shitzu so two smallish dogs, may be different case for larger animals and each must make up their own minds.

I have carried our own Annie and Colin in the side facing seats for a short trip at Weston and I must admit I am happier carrying the dogs on the floor between us than two full grown people unbelted

 

[Caz]

Some years ago, my caravan was written off when someone ploughed into the back of it whilst we were stationary. It got shoved so hard into the back of the car that the Police had trouble getting them apart. Jazz the dog was on the back seat between my daughter and her friend. He just fell on the floor, shaken but unhurt, they ended up being carted off to hospital with whiplash injuries which their seatbelts and headrests did not avoid.

I've had Reg the dog for over two years now and have tried various ways of restraining him. The very short little lead Dogs Trust gave me, through which you thread the seat belt before fastening it, had him hog-tied in less than 10 mins. The one that clips into the seat belt buckle is useless as he stands on it and it unclips. (He sometimes unclips mine) I spent a lot of money on a crate which he chewed apart in a 20 min drive.

Current solution seems to work best although it did cost me 50 quid + to get the passenger airbag disabled and I travel with the seat backwards.

 

[jeanette]

We have purchased a dog crate so whether we use that to carry her in inbetween the front seats instead of my knee we’ll wait and see but she traveled no bother today from Barnsley on my knee in her bed!

 

[Martin P]

This works for us