Car travel advice

I am asking for advice again I'm afraid.
What is the best way for a staffy to travel in a car? We have put Maddie in the boot (with the parcel shelf removed!) on the few journeys we have made so far, but this is not appropriate for the long term. We don't have room for a crate in the Fiesta, but can in the Freda (which we don't use for short journeys but will hopefully go camping in the summer).

Harness and back seat? How do we keep the seat clean?

All suggestions welcome (well, polite ones, anyway )

Logan either sits in the front with his harness clipped to the seat belt or in the boot if he's too dirty.

Why do you feel the boot isn't ok in the long run. I personally think it's the best place safety wise etc. I bought a boot guard off ebay and it is totally secure for him.

Idc about my car really so Lexi goes in the front seat dirt an all. She has a little clip that hooks onto her harness and buckles into the seat belt thingy. I'd always harness or belt up a dog, I had to pull an emergency stop once and Lexi wasn't belted and she was lucky not to get hurt! I've never drove her unbelted again.

We have both ours on back seat with harness and seat belt , cleanliness not tha important as long as they are safe
I used to use A hammock thing that fixed betwen rear and front headrests and had holes for the back seatbelts but it ripped (got it from Wilko so may be quality rather than use.)
A company called "Town and Country" make excellent seat covers which I used to use in my van. My plan now is a good T & C back seat cover for my new car (get in a few months time) and just put up with the mucky door panels.
I am much happier seeing and being able to reach the kids on a journey instead of them being in the boot

Maybe I shoulda described my boot comment better. One of my wee cars is a hatchback and it is totally open for him, he can see me and I can see him. I'd never put him in the boot of the saloon...woopsies.

We have an old picnic blanket on the back seat of our car for Rocky to sit on whilst out and about in the car. Keeps reasonably clean, it's one that has the plastic backing to it. He has a harness fitting to the seat belt.

well me personally i have leather seats so i put down an old dust sheet but i tuck it in well but tyke is a good traveler and will just lay down after 2 mins.

what is she like in the car?

MatLogan wrote:Maybe I shoulda described my boot comment better. One of my wee cars is a hatchback and it is totally open for him, he can see me and I can see him. I'd never put him in the boot of the saloon...woopsies.

Never thought for one minute you would put your beautiful boy in the "boot"

Dave wrote:Never thought for one minute you would put your beautiful boy in the "boot"

He's in the van full time now, works well. Safety wise I liked the hatchback though tbh, it was very secure, he had plenty of room and loves looking out the back.

MatLogan wrote:

Dave wrote:Never thought for one minute you would put your beautiful boy in the "boot"

He's in the van full time now, works well. Safety wise I liked the hatchback though tbh, it was very secure, he had plenty of room and loves looking out the back.

Do you mean you don't like the thought of him in the hatchback? Sorry if I'm misreading.

not misreading anything mate do not know where the misunderstanding comes from , you shut Logan in the boot for 10 hours a day , he will probably get a urinary infection and you will give him psychological disorders
PS Some people just shouldnt be allowed to own animals,

Was that clear enough

Dave wrote:not misreading anything mate do not know where the misunderstanding comes from , you shut Logan in the boot for 10 hours a day , he will probably get a urinary infection and you will give him psychological disorders
PS Some people just shouldnt be allowed to own animals,

Was that clear enough

I've had a long day Dave you are gonna havta explain things clearer to me lol. I am from a part of Ireland where we generally just grunt at each other.

I thought you were meaning the hatchback was dangerous etc. But I've took the whole back of it out so he has more room because the front was no good for him on long drives. Plus he is genuinely filthy after walks. I have a safety guard etc and if I was ever to crash (likely) he'd be safer in there.

MatLogan wrote:
I am from a part of Ireland where we generally just grunt at each other.

Thats not even a lie. huh.

uh huh!

When on long journeys (depending on who's driving) I'm usually in the back with her, she has her harness which attaches to the seat belt which plugs in. It gives her space to move around a little to like lay down if needed or to turn around, curl up in a ball ect but not enough to allow to her to get off the seat. She usually just lays down in the back the whole journey! She's always a bit giddy at first as I usually drive to parks and lakes to let her go galloping off so she's always super excited but after she realizes what's happening she settles right down! We always have a few toilet and drink stops (for us and the dog! ) and she's a very happy traveling girl! I had some pictures of her in her seatbelt harness all sprawled out some where but I can't find them to share! The great thing about my seat belt harness is that it's all super padded for extra comfort and there's also a ring to attach a lead so if you do have breaks you don't have to worry about finding collars/ swoping to other harnesses! Before I brought the car harness I used to keep her on her lead and harness, and wrapped her lead around the head of the chair and dropped the handle through the loop to stop it from getting longer ect and she was fine with that too! I think she likes the security of being stable in her harness as it what's she's used too and its comfy for her and safe I'd give you the brand of harness if I could remember!

Edited: to keep the car clean if I'm leaving early I give her a bigger walk than usual the day before so she's super worn out - I take her swimming and stuff so se doesn't need her walk in the morning and sleeps like a baby in the car till we get where ever were going and I make sure she has a nice walk when we get there. You could always walk her round the streets before you go just avoid mud - or if they love the mud just give them a quick whipe down

This is how we roll

I love how they're sitting together! you're making me jealous of having these pictures Dave! I'll have to find one to share!

Thanks for all the suggestions

Maddie is OK in the boot but tries to climb over onto the back seat at times (she can settle nicely, and isn't too stressy - just nosey). We could get a boot guard but don't like to leave her free to move as she tends to make a bid for freedom as we open the boot. The few times we have travelled in the car we have attached a short lead to a metal loop in the boot, but Maddie has managed to get her foot tangled twice (the second time on a journey of about a mile )so that's no good.

I am tending towards a harness and seatbelt attachment. She is a mucky pup though (and, of course it rains all summer here) and I don't really want my back seat to look like a mud bath. The picnic blanket sounds like a plan though

Of course, the next question is which harness

Sar H wrote:Of course, the next question is which harness

EzyDog stuff is hard to beat imo. A lot of our members use it. They also do a seat belt clip

Mine are both loose on the rear seats and sometimes marley sits up front. It looks like a ploughed feild in the back but tbh i couldnt give a chuff its leather so will wipe/dig off at some point in the future. I go to work coverd in hair and the house looks like its been attacked by ninja beavers...finding large clumps of dog hair while sitting in my car at lunch break reminds me of fond moments of the weekend, why should i cean that away lol

we use an ancol harness buckled into the rear seat belts. The harnesses can be used to walk them too

Ledger got to the point where he plain refused to go into the boot, think it was because he was too far away from me and he couldn't really see out of the windows so now he has the back seat, got one of those hammock things but I just use it as a seat cover as i don't think it would withstand his fidgeting. I also put a dog bed on the seat for comfort but he has pushed it to oneside and prefers to sit under it! He is harnessed and attached to the seatbelt as he refuses to sit still.

We use a harness, and he is in the back seat. Deez has to be strapped in, as he seems to want to sit on my seat, whilest I'm driving!!