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.

Yeah I definitely agree about picking your poison. There is definite pros and cons to all... *sigh* It's so hard. Jackson typically just sits or lays in the car seat in the back. So does Lola. But whenever I tried to tether them up, any time they try to turn around or lay different, I dunno... something about being restrained makes them act panicky. It was just so much stress for all involved. I definitely worry about if they ran off or got loose in an accident though.

It's similar to the argument of crating vs not crating at home. On one hand, leaving a dog in a crate would make for easier removal by a fireman if there was a fire. But on the other, leaving them loose allows them to have a chance to run as far away from the fire as possible. It's like damned if you do, damned if you don't.

The Sleepypods (I think?) look pretty safe. Any next puppy of mine will trained to a restraint from a young age so they don't know any different. Also would love to be able to fly with my next dog so would want them to be able to travel comfortably in a carrier. Jackson is likely too big to fit under a plane seat but he'd be stressed out with it as he's never been crated before.

Joey used to get so pissed off as a puppy when he would be leashed or tethered it was actually kinda funny but he grew out of it. It’s hard to make decisions for these little beings there are times it’s like it sucks either way or you feel judged or really anything. I have learned many lessons the hard way with these pups luckily nothing life or death. Sometimes it helps to get opinions on it and some of times it makes you crazy not knowing which way to go.

Back in the mid 90's they didn't have then what they have today, booster seats, or any type of restraining devises. I had a pack of 3, the smallest weighing 9 pounds 2 at 13 Lbs. They were very well behaved lil girls, each had their spot on the back seat and never moved. One week end on the highway I had to brake hard to avoid hitting the car in front of me, my 9 pounder was thrown onto the floor, she had short lil legs and couldn't get back on the seat, I had to pull off the highway and give her a boost back up, thankfully she wasn't hurt, and the other 2 had the strength to hold themselves back. From that time forward all my pups were tight leashed to the back seats, I was never going to have another pup be thrown to the floor. Cody's has a booster seat because he gets car sick, there's a short tether that comes attached to the booster seat that I attach to his harness, then another very strong tether that clips into the cars seat belt and attaches to his harness, this kid ain't going nowhere if I have to slam on my brakes or god forbid I am involved in an accident.

Strap these babies up, prevent them from injury, most of the time it's the other guys fault, always better safe then sorry.

I agree. All dogs should be tethered. I got Gidget a booster seat, hook her in and off we go. I raise the seat up so she can see out the window with her front paws on the side of the booster seat. Feel much safer driving this way.

Here's an interesting pet car seat with tether alternative. It's a rear-facing unit called "PupSaver." Manufacturer claims the smaller products may be suitable for use in the front passenger seat.

PupSaver Crash-Tested Car Safety Seat for Dogs up to 45 lbs. Air Version too!

Link below to manufacturer's comments about using the product in the front seat.

Why the PupSaver is Safe for Front Seat Use

Thanks for the pup saver link, looks like a good safety device for the pups, I see several issues with it not pertaining to safety issues. And depending on your dog will it work for them, again, not pertaining to safety. For my lil guy this would never work out for him, he's in a booster seat that is elevated off the passenger seat because of car sickness. There have been many crash test videos concerning dog safety devices which are quite scary, I watched the video on the pup saver, they would never get propelled from this seat. I am sure many members will be researching this, so again, thanks for the link.

Joan wrote, "he's in a booster seat that is elevated off the passenger seat ... car sickness."

My little Katy girl had some issues like that. She equally loved sitting in my lap and free roaming, but we settled on an oversized pet-bed/booster with a high back and sides that sat in the passenger’s seat.

I don't plan on re-using Katy's bed/booster and have been scoping out alternatives. Priorities for me are keeping these little bitty things off anyone's lap in the front seats* and something that will work whether my back seat is up or folded down. I only wish I had to make this decision sooner. Sigh.

Thank you for your kind words. --Katy'sMom

*See http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ag-danger.html

I use the snoozer and love it.

My truck and car I have the ability to turn off the air bag on passenger side, the booster seat is in the front passenger side and my pup has 2 tethers attached to his harness, one that came with the booster seat, one is a thick tether that clips into the passenger seat belt then harness. The safest place is the back seat, this I know, my choice to have him in the front. The pup saver is good, but not for my dog that must be elevated off the seat to eliminate his car sickness. If a vehicle gets T-boned, I don't care what type of safety device is being used, the dog will get injured if not killed. All the test vids only show front accidents, never T-bone collisions. Fortunately there are a lot of choices out there for ppl to make, to decide which is the best for their dog.
Thank you for the YT airbag link, I wish every member, newbies and oldies would read it and get their dogs off their laps or free roaming of car and into the safest dog device of their choice.

I've never even thought about the possibility of an airbag crushing a dog. We keep Bella in a hard plastic carrier turned sideways on the front seat. I wonder whether it could survive the crushing force of an air bag? My priority is to keep her enclosed and from being free roaming where she could get under foot and cause a distraction or accident, but it's good to be aware of other things that could go wrong...

As I understand it, modern cars feature "occupant sensing" front airbags on the passenger side. Mine does. Assuming the devices are working properly, this means the front, passenger-side airbag shouldn't deploy in a crash unless a fair amount of weight is on the seat.

I have seen different terms used for the same functionality.

The earlier-linked PupSaver article refers to airbags with this on/off trigger as "passenger presence"� systems. Same article suggests the weight trigger for most cars ranges "between 86-100 lbs, the lowest average weight of an adult."

Hope this helps. --KatysMom

Linda put a link on about this topic. For air bag to deploy the seat must have a weight of 65 pounds on it, it also states to push the front passenger back as far as it can go, the air bag sensors the length. Cars with side airbag will deploy if hit from the side even if front passenger airbags have been turned off, now this was for a 2004 Honda Accord, new model cars may operate differently.

Omigoodness. I did a quick skim of everyone's posts...but I was nervous reading about this story, Matese! Just wanted to say, thank goodness your babies were in the backseat. For many who drive with their furbabies sitting in the front seat, they'd fly right into (through?) the windshield! The thought is too scary!! :eek:

I am a natural worrier. My two are always each in their own dog carrier, turned sideways so they can see me, and seatbelted in the front seat. It's the most I can do, but I still worry what could happen to them if I got into an accident...

It took me a long time to train Scottie to be quiet in his carrier during car rides. I had to persistently tell him it's okay and gave him treats whenever he was quiet. Casie lol, she was a nervous wreck the first car ride. She was screaming! Somehow, during our second car ride, I just told her "Oh be quiet, Casie!!" and she never made a peep again. :D :D :D I dunno how, but I think I got lucky! hahaha...

Mine is 25 pounds. You really have to research and know your own car because there are differences.

Mine is 25 pounds. I did research on my car when I was going to be taking just one of my pups with me. It’s always best for each individual to read there car info because of the differences.