car rides with a dog

How do you guys secure your dog when you're driving?

For puppy class, since both of us go, one drives and the other holds Hudson. On the long drive to Ohio and back, we used a wire crate. I don't think the crate will fit him much longer and the larger crate isn't going to fit into our little cars. I've looked at the harnesses, but I think the puppy is too wiggly and I've looked at the hammock type...things. I like that idea because it gives him room, but it doesn't secure him in anyway.

So, what do you guys do?

We use a Roadie. Best purchase ever. Ever.

Siri will ride in a crate, maybe eventually a Roadie for her too. I worry since she will be quite small. She will probably end up in a Roadie in my car and a crate in Ryan's.

I use a seatbelt, but Milo's good in the car. The rest of my family just lets him sit in the passenger or backseat with no restraint and he just sits there fine.

I've only ever tried to drive with one dog that was too wiggly for a harness (and I do a lot of transporting for rescue). With a puppy I'd probably just practice on very short drives (around the block) sitting and staying in a harness, maybe put a towel down and give him something to chew on?

The boot of my car is all decked out with covers and a tray, and I have a dog guard. The only worry I have is if someone rear ends me.......... and I do worry about that. But my car isn't big enough for crates, so they go in there.

Crate and free or a harness. Depends on a lot but mostly free in the car.

Plastic vari kennel. Though I'd like it secured but haven't found straps I like, will probably bungee it.

Mine sleep, so they're allowed to just ride free in the back seat. Except Rage, she prefers to ride in the cargo area (we have a jeep wrangler).

Riding in a car was something I worked really hard on with Yoshi when I first got her so she's a good road trip companion.

My old car, a 01 Chevy Metro, didn't really give me any options when it came to a crate so most of the time I'll just strap her in and crack the window for her while we drive.

Now that I have a new car I still can't fit a crate but the back seat is a lot bigger so I'm thinking on what to do. So far she's just sat buckled down in the seat but I hope to find a better/safer way for her to ride in the car.

We use a Snoozer car seat. He lays in it, or sits up in it, and I usually strap him with the tether it came with, but it just depends where we are or where we're going.

Only one of my cars is big enough for a crate, and even then I can only fit one 36" in the back. Bear can fit in a 36", but is more comfortable in a 42", so he has a bergan. Pig normally gets belted in too, but on occasion I'll load a crate for her. I put the hammock down if I remember or if we're going on a long trip.

Both of them are pretty good in the car, especially if they're together. 99% of the time, if I just have Pig that means we're headed to class, so she will sometimes get antsy and move around as much as the tether will allow/whine and carry on a bit...she's not the most patient of dogs and she loooves school.

I should clarify that the kennel isn't because Izzie is bad in the car, it's more of a piece of mind for me to have her contained and not flying through the wind shield if we get in an accident. When we go on longer trips with my instructor, Izzie usually lays on the back seat except for Vancouver where all the dogs were crated because we had a grooming table and a bunch of luggage and what not.

Henry just curls up in the backseat. I have a tiny old Honda civic so it's really the only option at this point.

It depends on which vehicle we're in. My truck has an extended cab. Caleb's spot is the area behind the seat. He's in a Vari Kennel in the Escape. My old truck had a standard cab, and he was seat belted in that.

Crated with the crates strapped securely in.

Crates don't fit in my car and from what I've seen harnesses do nothing in an accident, so they ride free. They are pretty content to crash on the backseat. If all three of mine are together they usually snooze on each other.

I've considered something like this but I don't know if there is enough head room for mine. I may look into it for the cats for the move.
http://www.petego.com/products.aspx?catId=24&prodId=121

We use a Roadie.

My dog behaves beautifully in the car but that's not going to stop her from flying into the windshield if I got in an accident..

We rarely are in a car with her. When we have been, she rides in the back seat with somebody holding onto her.

She has been in a crate in a car, once. I think she was conflicted -- it was her favourite thing ever (car ride) but she was in hell (crate) :lol-sign:

Zander rides free. He's so big, he can't fit in a crate in the backseat and he pretty much has his own gravitational pull anyway. We've been in two car accident; a spin out and hit a deer. Both times he was sleeping in the back and didn't even flinch. He's only moving if we roll...and then we're all dead anyway.

Generally he's happy to lay down and sleep anyway, so it's not such a big deal. I use a hammock, though, so he doesn't fall between the seats.

My dogs are loose. Probably not the best thing though. I need to start strapping them in. Sunny stays in the back though and behaves, Leo normally likes being in the front and Serenity likes the back seat. Sometimes Leo will go sit in the back. I'm more concerned about the dogs fighting while I'm driving, that's why I wan to separate them.

Mine both ride loose. Gusto gets crated occasionally in someone else's car and doesn't care, but Meg's long-standing stress issues in the car just increase in a crate.

After Elicia Calhoun's accident, I became very stressed about what to do with them in the car, because nothing felt safe. Barring spending $1800 on a crash tested crate (which will be useless if I get a new car), I haven't found an answer that makes me happy. So we maintain status quo.