Advice on how to separate dog and baby in the car

[Beautifulnightmares101]

Hi,

Expecting first baby in a couple of months.
So for when we have the dog and baby in the car, I've seen car seat covers like the one in the link below.
amzn.eu/d/4TiaVaM

My dog is very kissy and I need to find something that will form a partition between her and the baby, so she can't try and stick her tongue down the babies throat whilst I'm driving.
She's a labrador type size, so the edges of the car seat cover arnt high enough on their own.

Has anyone ever had this issue/found a solution?
The dog won't always be in the car with the baby, just if we're going somewhere for a nice walk etc, so I need something that is temporary but safe.

Thanks x

I have a massive dog, much bigger than a lab, and also live rurally and had a robust pram: many people do. Dog in boot, no question. Pram in footwell of front seat, wheels taken off. Passenger in back if required.

Have you seen doona car seat/prams?

Might be worth getting one of those for when you take the dog out, it's a car seat that folds out into a pram, so you wouldn't need a pram in the boot

I wouldn't want the dog in the back alone with the baby harnessed or not

you have a big problem if you can't stop your dog going near your baby's face. Train your dog. Don't be one of those assholes who thinks my dog is such a pet and loves my baby.

Same issue - we tried various options including a Kleinmetall one with sides (picture attached), but once we added the isofix the car seat was higher than I had realised and I felt our cocker spaniel could still reach.

We've opted for turning off the front airbag & having dog on the front passenger seat (obviously with a harness - he's always used one anyway, & you can get points on your licence if they are loose too) instead.

Couldn't really have him in the boot as it's a Mini and we need the boot for the pram / getting food shopping etc. I wouldn't want a pram flying around lose either, it seemed better to have the dog in the front secured with a harness and seat belt clip than a loose pram (also, I'd never fail to clip the dog in securely, but didn't trust that we'd faff around with bungee cords etc for the pram on every single journey).

She hasn’t even given birth yet, she’s clearly
planning ahead and looking for advice. Not sure what the point of your post is really, I’m sure she plans to train her dog but this post is about cars.

I would say don't ever put yourself in a situation where your dog can reach your baby and you can't stop to intervene. Even the loveliest dog on earth.

By far the best option is to get a car big enough for your family to travel safely. That's probably a decent estate car where the dog goes in the boot.

Any other option is compromising safety and a balance of risks. For example I would put the baby in the front seat over leaving it in the back with a dog.

You have to take into account not only the dog's head reaching the baby but also the baby's arm reaching out to the dog's mouth.

And the dog’s paws reaching out for a curious, clumsy prod.

The roof box is a smart idea.
Can one back seat recline so you can accommodate pram and dog? But definitely get the smallest pram possible!

@BattenburgDonkey case in point, don't be one of those assholes

I agree with a previous poster about putting the buggy in the footwell of the backseat. If you move the front seats forwards it's surprisingly roomy. The carrycot attachment for a newborn could go on the passenger seat next to the car seat for the baby.

We have two medium sized dogs and a 4x4 that doesn't have a huge boot, but we have an angled crate (where the side bits angle downwards to allow for the back seats and boot door). Two dogs fit in the crate and we also have a large travel system which fits in the boot. It took a bit of puzzle work to find a way to get them all in the boot together but there's no other way and once you've been on a muddy walk you also don't want dogs or pushchair anywhere near your car seats 😬 I took the crate and pushchair before buying the car to make sure it would all fit but it's tight.

Just to clarify, our carrycot doesn't fit with this arrangement unless I put it in the front seat and my DH doesn't come with us 🤣 but our travel system seat lies flat and folds so we make do like that for family dog walks and then if I go without the dogs I fold the crate down and use the carrycot in the boot. In DHs estate we can get the whole shebang in though, it's a great family car!

Can you put a roof box on the car? We put dogs in boot, pram in the roof box and baby in the back seat.

Dog in boot in crate or dog guard, pram in back of car/rear footwell. Otherwise sling when you take dog with you.

Maybe because most people would assume that if I don't want my dog licking my baby in the car, I won't allow it at home either 😂
I don't let her put her tongue in my mouth, however my dog is very affectionate and will try her luck, and has to be pushed away or kept away from young children intil they are old enough to push her away themselves (I have 9 neices and nephews) as she loves people.
When I say push away, I'm talking gently not shoving.
She has been brought up as a member of my family and I cannot change that now just because I have a baby, she's 10 so an old lady now and set in her ways.
However I can't do much when driving hence trying to come up with a solution.

🙈

So you don’t take a pushchair. You take a sling or baby back carrier. Surely safety is a priority over convenience?

Why not get one of those doona car seats that fold into the pushchair itself.

doona.shop/products/doona-infant-car-seat-storm-grey?variant=40387224436934&gclid=CjwKCAjwv-GUBhAzEiwASUMm4lLyrGxs24w8Q5CyTIdAUJ3EnuWSYcRq8NhtjZmTF-aMUJlYIKBy4xoCQoEQAvD_BwE

And then have the dog in the boot as suggested.

When baby gets a smidge older you just put a folding pushchair in the footwells at the back.

This was us a few months ago. Room in the care is an absolute nightmare! Having the dog on the back seat doesn't really work unless they are secured in a crate. In the worst case scenario of an accident you really won't want the dog in a situation where they could be pushed into the baby by an impact.

Our solution was to get a roof box and keep the pram in there. Dog goes in the boot and baby in the backseat.

I just want to say a massive thank you for the helpful suggestions, I'm going to look into a roof box for the pushchair.
I won't be taking the dog out in the car with baby on my own as she can be a bit pully so I would struggle to manage her on a lead and push pram/wear baby in sling, and my partner is 6"6 so dog/pushchair on footwell won't work.

Whilst I can understand some of the comments regarding my dog and baby to be come from a good place, as unfortunately there are still too many dog attacks on children too ignore, these are completely misplaced.
I love my dog, however I am under no delusion she is an animal who has instincts and emotions different to a human.
She is for the most part very well trained, however she is also excitable and loves people and does need correcting sometimes.
But even if she were the most well trained dog in the world I would want something to separate her from my baby when I can't because I'm driving.

I really do not understand why some people feel the need to be snippy and rude to other people genuinely asking for advice.
If you were truly concerned about another person's behaviour there are much kinder ways to word your worries/advice.
If I were going to allow my dog to have access to lick my baby, I wouldn't have made this thread 🙈🙈

Anyway, thanks again x

Dog in the boot and a sling/carrier? One of you can manage the dog, the other one can have baby in the sling. A small rucksack with nappies, wipes and clean clothes and you’re sorted. Much easier than trying to manhandle buggy in and out of the car and clean the mud off it too.

I chose this harness for my dog as it is crash tested and restrains him to the seat so he can't reach across the car to the car seat. It was one of the only ones I could find that was properly crash tested.

www.dfordog.co.uk/drive-dog-car-harness.html

I won't put him in the boot, it's a crumple zone. Admittedly he is a smaller dog than a lab (cocker spaniel) but I dont want to risk him getting crushed in an accident because I put him in a crumple zone. The harness keeps him in place so he can't move away from the seat and wouldn't be anymore of a danger in an accident than a person restrained with a seat belt.

Basket muzzle on the dog? Would stop any licking but not stop the dog panting or whatever.

Dog in boot always. Pram in footwell or front seat. From memory Bugaboo do one that's small enough to go in an airline cabin.

Shower caps on pram wheels.

Good luck with your newborn 👶