New car! How do I protect it from my little monster?
 

I just got a new car. Ruger loves to sit up by the window and look out the window - what dog doesn't. I already have a thing that covers the back seat and attaches to the front seat headrests, kinda like a hammock, but how do I protect the doors? He kinda climbs up the inside of the door to see out the window. Any ideas?

And please, no lectures about how he should be strapped securely into the vehicle and not be looking out the window.

You could look into a car seat . They have different variations and different price points. Several people have them on the site . It will still allow your yorkie to see out the window or catch a breeze depending on where you place it .

1. If you want your dog loose in the car, you should have thought about these things when you bought the car. IF I let our Bella loose in my car (and I wouldn't), the sides of the door are hard plastic and she wouldn't hurt anything.

2. You said you don't want a lecture, but you're going to get one anyway. Get a carrier or a car seat for your dog, not only for the safety of your dog, but for your own safety as well.

Get a booster seat, ideal for dogs to see out of the window, no climbing and scratching up the door. I had to get one cos my guy gets car sick, I wish they had these when I had my pack of 3.

Thanks for all your answers and your concerns for Ruger's safety. I actually found pet door protectors on Amazon. I didn't even know there was such a think.

I also understand your concerns. Sometimes I like to go off-road and Ruger will run back and forth from one window to the other to check out the sites and smells. We're going about 5 mph and Ruger has never made an attempt to jump out and on every trip he always stays in the back -- unless I put some groceries in the back of the car, and I've learned not to do this and leave him unattended. :eek:

It’s actually against the law in several states for your dog not to be tethered in the car as well as extremely dangerous. If you had him in like a snoozer car seat he couldn’t mess up the car and would be safe.

I never heard of this either so I had to goole it. Pretty neat, what will they think of next.

I totally get it! We live in the country too so often the back roads, Jackson will be loose. However I have a Snoozer type car seat and even if he's not strapped in, he really enjoys sitting in it because he can see out the window easily etc. He leans on my doors all the time (and he's a big 18lbs) and I can honestly say he doesn't ever mess up my Jeep. I have leather interior too and the worst that may happen is some scratch marks that easily wipe off from his nails. But most of the time he stays in his seat out of his own choice.

Honestly, most of the car straps have been proven to be ineffective. It seems the safest course of action is a crate but my Jeep doesn't have enough room and they've never been crated so panic. It's honestly more hazardous for me when I try to strap both dogs in because they constantly whine, pull, get their legs twisted up, etc and then I have to pull over or worry about them in the back. If they're loose, and laying in the car seat, everyone is calm and laying down. I know the risk but I also know the tethers don't do much either.

I don’t agree about the tethers not working in car accidents. I believe most of them work in your normal car accidents maybe not your massive deadly crashes but I don’t think they all have been tested. The tether certainly works better then just your dog flying through the window and dying or getting loose when an accident happens. It’s also against the law in several states not to have them tethered. I don’t use the snoozer ones which I could see breaking I have a different one that is extremely sturdy.

NEW JERSEY
New Jersey requires seat belts for dogs not secured in a crate. Drivers with unrestrained dogs can be pulled over and fined between $250-$1,000 for each offense. - Resource
RHODE ISLAND
As of 2012, Rhode Island requires dogs being transported in a vehicle to be in an enclosed area and either secured within a crate, restrained with a harness or pet seat belt designed for use in a vehicle, or under the physical control of a person other than the driver of the vehicle. Violation of the law carries a fine of up to $200 depending on number of offenses.

Does your dog have a seatbelt on? If not, you could be breaking the law
Drivers that allow dogs to stick their heads out the window could be breaking the law – and invalidating their car insurance. Here are the rihere are few things in life as awesome as seeing a dog with its head out the window of a moving car. Sadly, it could cost you your licence and invalidate your car insurance to boot.
Why? Well, the Highway Code states drivers need to ensure ‘dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so that they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves, if you stop too quickly’.
The law recommends a seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or guard as ways of restraining your pet while driving
And Gocompare.com warns that drivers who don’t restrain dogs and cats while on the move are not just breaking the law, they could also be invalidating their car insurance.
That means if you're in an accident, you could be made to pay for any damage to your car AND any other cars involved, not to mention any medical or other costs resulting - something that could easily add up to a five-figure bill.
“Driving with your pet is sometimes a necessity, whether it’s a short trip to the vet or a longer trip for a weekend way - but making sure they are properly controlled is essential for the safety of everyone in the car,” said Gocompare car insurance spokesman Matt Oliver.
“The law is clear – you must secure your animal while in a car – therefore if you don’t do this and an animal roaming freely around the vehicle is said to have contributed to causing an accident, then an insurance company could be well within their rights not to pay out on a claim.”

My lab instructor was telling told me about a accident where a women was driving in the next state over and had a terrible accident and was very badly injured and had to be taken by ambulance. Well her dog was with her and he flew through the windshield and took off. Luckily a rescue person came back to the site to look for the dog and eventually found the dog pretty beat up with a broken leg. She got very lucky because if he didn’t go back the dog may have been lost forever. We think we know our dogs and that they won’t run off after an accident but more then likely they would due to fear and confusion. Had the dog been tethered he wouldn’t have gone through the windshield and had a broken leg and such and he couldn’t have run off. Mine are always tethered whether in the car seat or just the seat unless there was a surgery or if we are rushing to the er vet and both those times I am holding them. You would never let your kids not be buckled in because they want to move around more and look out the windows so why with your dog? My dogs are my kids so buckled in they get.

After having a cat get in my car air conditioning system during a trip to the vet, I've always been a firm believer in carriers or other car restraints for pets. It would be too easy for an animal to get under foot, caught on the brake or accelerator, causing an accident.

Hi Yorkie Lovers,

Below is the link to a crash test study done in 2015. These tests were done at 30 mph. I don't recall how I found this information originally--it may have come from another post on YorkieTalk.

https://www.thedodo.com/pet-safety-c...418731624.html

Not many of the carriers received high marks.

https://www.today.com/pets/pet-owner...h-tests-t59271
In the future, all my future dogs will be crate trained for car rides.

My mom found these really great tethers from some where that are extremely sturdy I don't think they have a brand name persay but they have worked amazing in cases we have had to slam on the breaks very hard. Growing up all our dogs just loosely road in the car and when I got Callie I held her a lot but I also tried the little carrier crate things and she would throw up and omg what a mess because puppies like to walk in it :eek: Some how then I came across a different type carseat and it helped some but when I got the snoozer and she started riding in high up vehicles she completely stopped. I know the tethers aren't a 100% perfect but I think everything has some form of an issue like in a crate they could slam against the side of the crate too. Just gotta pick your poison persay. Callie and Sammy never got tied up with the tethers and Callie and Penny never do either, Joey who get overly excited in the car it my biggest issue with the tethers but now Callie gets her own seat whether its being tethered in the seat or an extra carseat in the car because I don't want them climbing on her since she is getting older. If my little two ran loose in the car they would be on my lap lol.