Keeping my Basenji safe in the car! help!

[suzee]

Do you use a seatbelt in the car? I have a harness for the car so I can strap him in… but he figured out how to undo the seatbelt part. Typical Basenji.. outsmarting me haha. And I can't fit a crate in my car. Any suggestions on how to restrain him in the vehicle??

[Kipawa]

Here is the dog car barrier that works for Kipawa. http://www.discountramps.com/car-dog-barrier.htm I got it from Petsmart. My car is a 2 door. I have put the back seats in the flipped forward position and then have put in the barrier. The barrier is very solid. Kipawa can get his head through, but definitely that is all (he's 27 lbs.).

Here is another product that has less room for a head to go through, but is made for an SUV: http://www.hayneedle.com/sale/kennelaireremingtondogcarbarrier.cfm?srccode=cii_5784816&cpncode=27-73462013-2&source=channel_intelligence_pricegrabber

If you consider any of these, make sure to measure the available space in your vehicle for the product (measure height and width).

Don't bother trying the canvas barrier. It leaves a big gap at the top and Kipawa just jumped right over it. Clever dogs!

[tanza]

Crate! or Seatbelt! period… those of you that let your pets loose in the car are asking for problems.... IMO... and that said, I have been guilty at times doing so, but seeing one accident and hearing of dogs/cats running loose or worse yet being thrown from one end of the car to the other is enough to remind me they, like your human children and yourself need to be in a restraint, period

[eeeefarm]

Agreed, a restraint is best, but a barrier is better than nothing. Also, the smaller the space you can restrict an unrestrained dog to the better. e.g. some hatchbacks have a space behind the back seat. If you could put your barrier in front of that, they wouldn't have far to fly in the event of a crash…...assuming the barrier held. Problem is, the forces involved in a major crash are such that anything not sufficiently anchored is going to become a projectile, and that includes crates.

I don't even like to think about the morons who drive around with their dog in the open back of their pickup truck......

[LindaH]

We've always used a seat belt harness for our dogs, but Blaze has chewed through 4 or 5 harnesses! Rather than spend money for another one so he could chew through it, too, we finally bought a crate for the car. It's smaller than the one we use for him in the house, but plenty big enough for the car, particularly considering he spends most of his time sleeping when we're driving.

[Voodoo]

@tanza:

Crate! or Seatbelt! period… those of you that let your pets loose in the car are asking for problems.... IMO... and that said, I have been guilty at time doing so, but seeing one accident and hearing of dogs/cats running loose or worse yet being thrown from one end of the car to the other is enough to remind me they, like your human children and yourself need to be in a restraint, period

I'm also guilty. I allways had them loose in the car. If no one else is riding with me, the dog is laying on the seat besides me. I have a special seatbelt for dogs, to attach to their collar or harnas, but I allways forget to take it with me. I should put it in the car so it's allways there. That will be the first thing I will do tommorow morning!

[Kananga]

I've always resorted to simply wrapping Kananga's leashing around the headrest support. It's obviously not the best solution, but he's somewhat secured. I leave just enough length on the leash to allow him to stand up and turn around (to sit down), but it prevents him from climbing out of his seat.

Never once had a problem with him getting out of his seat. Although I feel this could be a hazard with choking him in the event of an accident, I suppose that's better than him flying through a window or something.

[LindaH]

If not secured with either a seat belt harness, or in a cage, even if the dog survives an accident, they are most likely going to get loose. Now you have a panicked dog who, even if they avoid getting hit by a car as they run out into traffic, is gone, perhaps never to be seen again.

Please think about that the next time you get in the car with your unsecured dog.

We're RVers and I cringe everytime I hear or see about people who let their pets run around loose inside their motorhomes while they're driving down the road! One person on one of the RV forums I read tells a story about his wife sitting on the bed in the back of the motorhome, and when he had to brake hard to avoid an accident, she flew the length of the motorhome to the front. Fortunately, she didn't go through the windshield, nor was she seriously hurt, but just think about a pet flying around inside a vehicle!

[agilebasenji]

Kennel aire crates.

http://www.newworldbasenjis.net/kennelaire.htm

Clean Run is now in the process of looking into the best crates for the car, but the article has not come out yet. I think they were looking at carrying crates from Europe because of the safety factor.

[tanza]

Good Link Kim… I remember when that happened to Karla.... yikes!