I'm not sure how you'd secure a crate. I have a dog guard above the rear seats to stop the dogs coming forward and i have a tailgate guard to stop them leaving the boot. It means i can leave the boot open at training when i have both of them with me. its great for days out where i can pop them back in the car whilst we have picnic etc. It also means i can open the boot without the risk of them getting out. ideal if you have to stop on a main road or something.

 

I use an ordinary crate for Cindy and CJ and neither are secured, if you have one especially made for your car I believe those would be fitted to the car, something like a Barjo one.

The thing is, if the car does overturn the dog is going to move to, whether the crate does or not, if you see what I mean, hopefully none of us will ever be in an accident in which that occurs.

 

Considering wrapping Luna in a million duvets which are then placed in a giant Luna shaped motorbike helmet every time we get in car!!! I don't think there is any perfect way of ensuring a dog doesn't get thrown around or hurt. I prefer to prepare for the worst and hope for the best where poss!!

Sam - I haven't ruled out the dog guard, tailguard option I just thought I could use a crate and transfer it to parents/OH's/A.N.Other's car when/if needed.

Some of the cars I saw today had metal loops in the floor/on the side of the boot. Wondered if these could be/were used at all?

 

Considering wrapping Luna in a million duvets which are then placed in a giant Luna shaped motorbike helmet quote]

Now I love to see the picture for this :wink: :lol:
Don't forget the shin and shoulder pads :wink:
Pam

 

I have a standard 36" crate in the back of a LWB Nissan Terrano. It has some anchorage points but we don't use them. Overturning is not something that I had ever thought about.

If you are buying a car that you expect to have for a few years then a custom made cage would probably be an investment. Our 36" crate is far too big really and means that we can't fit anything else in the boot area.

 

Hi there! We have both a dog guard, and a crate behind it (seems a bit excessive (!), but we got the crate for our cocker puppy;the labs travel without crate but behind dog guard). We have tied the crate to anchor points in the boot of the car (Nissan Pathfinder) with thin climbing rope to try and prevent overturning, as well as steadying it a little further with a bungee rope (also to an anchor point - cldn't get tight enough tension with the ropes alone!)

 

I have a custom made crate for my car and it fits very snugly in the car, so if the car turned over, the crate wouldn't move at all (though obviously Poppy would )

It was made by these folks

http://www.dogcages.net/

Mine is in two sections, Poppy goes ones side and the shopping etc goes on the other side. The divider is removable if I want to give Poppy a bigger space.

On the down side, I do worry about the crate being pushed into the back seat in the event of a severe shunt to the rear and what that would do to my children. My husband and I have had long chats about this and he thinks that the cage would collapse enough so that the children weren't squashed between the back seat(with the crate pushing into it) and the front seats. It does still bother me slightly and I am considering buying one of these crates which have been tested for car crashes.

http://www.safedog.co.uk/cratesizes.htm

They collapse enough so as not to damage anyone in the back seat, but stay rigid enough so as to keep the dog safe. Best of both worlds

If I ordered one of these, I would get a large single I think, to give Poppy space to spread out and me enough space for the wellies, school bags, shopping etc.

Good luck with the decision making!

 

Thanks Poola! I can see me doing something similar with ropes and bungees.

Thanks Clarissa! Useful links. I wonder if custom built crates that don't fill the boot are anchored in?
I hadn't considered the problem of crates moving into children in rear seats probably because I have no children and only occasionally carry people in rear.
I do struggle sometimes with the idea of putting Luna in the crumple zone of a car ie the boot. And then I think a harness on the backseat would be best :roll:

:? :? :? :? :? :? :?