Hi all,

Planning for when the dogs get bigger. We have a Sienna minivan that will end up being the dog-transport-vehicle. So far, we can fit a crate in the back. They both fit in it... for now. Two crates won't fit. (maybe two smaller crates?)

Thinking of getting one of those "barriers" to keep them isolated in the rear portion of the van.

What do people here, who have similar sized vehicles, use to transport their dogs?

Hmmmm. Google searched using different terms than I had before and found this pic.  Looks like two narrow style crates.  Might work.

I never like the idea of putting my dogs in the rearmost area of the car, my thoughts always went to "what if I'm rear ended?!" I know, it's not very logical since an accident can happen anywhere on the car, but the rear seats, being kinda in the middle of the car, made the most sense to me. I got a Ford Escape for the dogs, my two have always been really good with car rides though, so a barrier was something that never entered my mind. Kohdi used to ride up front with me, but I always felt that was unsafe (cuz he'd lay in my lap!) so now he is in the back seat with Mishka, Mishka is the best little car rider ever, she sits like a little soldier by the door and just looks out the window Kohdi lays for the most part, except to stick his head out the window when he feels like it. Their leashes have seatbelt attachments.

Ya, not the optimum choice for sure. Unfortunately for the dogs, our kids sit in the middle seats.

We could leash them to the tie-down points in the back so they would stay back there, but I worry they would get thrown around worse by being tied down.

I like the idea of crates because I can tie the crates to the car so, at least, they are contained in a small space in the event of an accident.

Of course we could always hook them to the front of the car and save on gas.

We have a 4Runner, no kids at home anymore. The dogs wear harnesses with Rok leash (a bungee leash that is extra strong) attached to the cargo holds. Ideally, they would be in specific transport crates for their safety and the safety of occupants. That does not work for us. While I do believe in a high impact accident either the harness or the leash would distort/break/let go, I believe the breaking would absorb a lot of force. With the back rest on the the front seats I don't think the dogs could be projectiles that would hit us...just not enough clearance. The main concern I have with our current arrangement is if, in an accident, the leashes/harnesses let loose AND one of the doors pop open that the dogs would get loose, potentially in a highly traveled urban area. But...life is not without its risks. My current set up at least keeps the dog out of the driver's way, allows them to stand up, turn around, lay down. All without worrying about them bolting when we open the door. And still be quick and easy to board/unboard. Also, I leave their regular leashes on their neck collars but not attached to the car - that way, in an emergency, I can release the harness snap and exit the dogs quickly and safely. I hope.

As crating is the safest and you are leaning that way, Ruff Tough kennels are what several husky people on my fb recommend and use. This looks like it might work for you:

https://rufftoughkennels.com/Kennels?product_id=108

dvflyer wrote:

Ya, not the optimum choice for sure.  Unfortunately for the dogs, our kids sit in the middle seats.

We could leash them to the tie-down points in the back so they would stay back there, but I worry they would get thrown around worse by being tied down.

I like the idea of crates because I can tie the crates to the car so, at least, they are contained in a small space in the event of an accident.

Of course we could always hook them to the front of the car and save on gas.

Crating would be the way to go, to me it's the safest. The seats in my Escape are leather, and therefore kinda slippery, and if I apply the accelerator or the brakes too quickly, the dogs do slide a bit. The crates Amy suggests are very good and worth looking into.

I have an Explorer and have 3 dogs. It's a little tight if we are packing camping gear. Had all three dogs in it with a two room tent (broken down and bagged), a large backpack, cooler, two sleeping bags, and pillows in the back and they made the trip just running loose. I have leather seats as well, but I lay my seats down so the whole back of the truck is flat and the back of the seats are the rougher fuzzy fabric so they have good grip and can't damage the leather. I've thought about adding the hanging bar and attaching my one dog to it since she likes to pace on trips. The other two just lay down and hang out. We've had to brake hard a couple times and they will mash into the back of the front seats, but that's going to happen regardless unless I put them on a really short rope that would prevent them from being able to lay down. Some kind of containment is definitely recommended. Either crating or tying. Crating is best IMO if you can make it fit. Tying will at least keep them from smashing through the windshield if you are in a really hard wreck but it won't save them from eating the back of the front seat and they might come undone if the hit is hard enough as Amy mentioned. Didn't think about the doors potentially popping open. Been in a couple wrecks and usually in my cases the doors have been jammed shut. But the windows more than likely will explode out and that will leave the dogs capable of escaping if they are either loose of their ties or uninjured enough to make the dash in panic.

Jenn - we've had a couple of lost dogs posted from the local humane society due to accidents where the dogs got loose from the car and freaked. Main reason its a concern of mine. The other is Josh had Archer in his truck, stopped at country store and before he could say anything, Archer was out and running for all he's worth down the road. A mile later, Josh had him.

Thanks for input.

Amy- thanks for that link. Those crates look very nice.

I'd suggest a rear seat cover meant for dogs and, car harnesses that allow you to attach them to the seat belts to prevent them jumping about in the car. They get used to that, they can ride in almost any vehicle.