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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

dog in boot - harness or not?

21 replies

cansleepanywhere · 05/06/2013 13:01

Hello,

My lab puppy has been travelling the crate in the boot but in a few months poss weeks the way she's shooting up it'll be too small. We already have a dog guard up. Would she be ok to just go in the boot without a harness? I'm thinking logistics i.e. would I have to then take a harness off to go walking and put in back on? Seems like a bit of a farce. We do have anchor points in the boot but most of the harnesses I've seen clip into a seat belt.

On the flip side, what's to stop her from just jumping out of the boot 1. when I'm trying to close it or 2. when I've just opened it??

What did you guys do?

OP posts:

thegriffon · 05/06/2013 13:14

My 2 yr old lab goes in the boot, there's a convenient metal loop thing near the back seat that I clip his lead to. He always lies down as soon as he gets in and sleeps for the duration though, a more excitable dog might get tangled up in the lead.

HotPanda · 05/06/2013 13:27

My dally went in the boot of our estate car "loose" as it were - we had a guard up so he couldn't get into the back seats of the car.
We just trained him not to jump out by putting him in it on our driveway with the boot up and gave treats etc.
The guard did have a clip that you could clip leads to, we just never bothered. Now we have a much nicer new car, he is in a fabric cage, but still he knows not to make a bit for freedom as we try to open it.

How does she behave in the crate - does she try to escape when going in/coming out?

mistlethrush · 05/06/2013 13:27

We have the dog in the boot with no harness and she's fine and doesn't jump around or over the seat. For long journeys though she goes in her harness and is strapped in on the back seat.

flowery · 05/06/2013 13:41

Ours goes loose in the boot with a dog guard.

In terms of stopping him jumping out, before training him not to we just opened the boot a little bit, snaked a hand in to grab his collar, then opened it the rest.

But obviously that's not ideal

The best command he's been taught is "wait", which we use for all sorts of stuff, including staying in the boot until his lead is on and he is told to get down. Also for waiting at the back door for walks rather than dashing out pulling us behind him when the door opens, waiting for his dinner, waiting at the babygate in the kitchen rather than pushing through, etc etc

He had a little relapse in excitement when arriving at the farm for doggy day care the other day, mind... Never shouted so loud in my life as he bounded off

MagratGarlik · 05/06/2013 13:46

When we have a dog guard up, the dogs go lose in the boot, but in my old car, a dog guard wouldn't fit, so the dogs went in the boot with harnesses and attached to the metal loop on the floor. It was fine, they got used to it.

SunnyL · 05/06/2013 13:58

With the dog guard up I'm happy having my dog 'loose' in the boot. However when she was a puppy I also tied a long lead to the back of the guard. This was to prevent her jumping out of the boot when I opened it. Now I've got her fully trained I've been able to dispense with the extra lead.

I think the dog guard is crucial thoug from talking to my uncle a traffic cop - dogs loose in cars can cause catastrophic injuries to both passengers and dogs should you be unfortunate to have a crash.

oldandcrabby · 05/06/2013 14:11

Take care if your dog is a fidget.
I have always travelled with my dogs in the boot of my hatchback with a dog guard. Trained to jump in and wait while I detach lead. They are off lead, as the senior dog is a fidget in the car and inclined to go round and round or pop up like a jack-in-a-box. If lead attached he could strangle himself or companion dog! They are asked to wait when we arrive. Almost 100% success except when junior dog spotted a cat strolling down the road and scraped her knee in the excitement of the chase . She did come back on recall.
I recently canvassed opinions about thundershirts. Mine has just arrived and senior dog is fast asleep on the sofa with it on. I have yet to take him for a drive to see if it calms him.

Original poster

cansleepanywhere · 05/06/2013 14:25

Thanks guys, she generally just lays in her crate in the car and waits for me to open the door. But she's also a crafty little minx and still young and I don't want her to spot a dog/cat/plastic bag/shiny thing and be off when I open or shut the boot.

Dog guard is already up so would it be best to tie her to the guard or the anchor point?

OP posts:

mistlethrush · 05/06/2013 15:05

Anchor point - otherwise she'll be off up the road with the dog guard chasing her and you'll never catch her!

toboldlygo · 05/06/2013 15:21

I use a tailgate guard like this.

1MitchellMum · 05/06/2013 16:00

We use a crate (which is divided, otherwise we'd get two for the price of one when opening the crate doors!)

safedog.co.uk/

1MitchellMum · 05/06/2013 16:00

or www.safedog.co.uk even ...

moosemama · 05/06/2013 16:34

I second a tailgate guard if you can afford it. I think these people are a bit cheaper than Barjo. It just eliminates the risk involved, as even the best trained dogs can have momentary lapses.

If you're not using one though, I think a harness and anchor point are essential. You don't need to take the harness off for walking, you can either leave it on and attach the lead to it, or just leave it on and attach the lead to her collar as normal.

My boy has always been crated but we've recently ordered a dog guard to give him a bit more headroom. I wanted to get a tailgate guard as well, but dh said no, because we're intending to change the car for a VW van in the next few months and will need to buy a larger crate for that anyway, so we'll be attaching his lead to the boot anchor points instead. (He already wears a harness for walks.)

Original poster

cansleepanywhere · 05/06/2013 19:10

I never even knew there was such a thing as a tailgate guard! Just had a look at Barjo and they are pretty expensive for my car and Travall don't make a tailgate guard for my car either. Think it's just going to have to be a harness and anchor point for now. Can you buy harnesses that just have a clip and not a seatbelt clip?

Sorry if I'm coming across as a bit of a moron . It's been awhile since I had a dog and in those days pre kids! he sat up front with me in my sports car, with harness!

OP posts:

MagratGarlik · 05/06/2013 20:17

We made our own using a car harness and a double ended lead. Worked very well.

moosemama · 05/06/2013 20:45

We have Ezydog leads which have clip on handles, so it's easy to attach - but you can just as easily loop a normal lead through the hook, then back through it's own handle and clip back onto the harness. If you get a spare lead, you can leave one looped through the hook so it's ready whenever you need it and just detach that one and attach her normal lead when you take her out of the boot.

Alternatively, as Magrat said, you can buy a training lead which should have clips at both ends and loop that through the hoop and onto the harness.

janmoomoo · 05/06/2013 21:48

Mine goes loose in the boot. He has got a mini-duvet in there and lies down most of the journey. We taught him not to jump out by opening the boot up a little bit and then every time he went to jump out we would shut it a bit again until he learnt to sit there until called.

Frettchen · 07/06/2013 11:56

My lab x travels loose in the boot; as do other family dogs if I'm taking more than one out. Currently (as she's fairly old and is usually quite responsive to commands) she's told to 'wait' when I open the boot. With a younger dog I would probably open the door slowly, stick my hand in and hold the collar to prevent escapes - a reward whilst sitting nicely in the boot should help to show her what you want her to do. Once you've got the 'wait' or 'stay' command established, start using that as you open the boot.

Definitely have a few practice sessions somewhere safe - practising putting her into the car safely, and then taking her out of the car safely. Start with the car just sitting there; then progress to putting her in the car, driving around the block and returning then taking her out of the boot.

Also - are you lifting her out/do you have a ramp or step for her? I lift mine in and out, so she knows she has to wait until I'm ready to help her down/up. I don't think lifting is so important for fully grown dogs, but for puppies (under 18 months-2 years) and for old ladies like mine, I wouldn't allow them to be jumping in or out.

Avago · 09/06/2013 12:09

Another angle...

A groomer once saw me get my dogs out of the back of my car. They were unrestrained but trained to wait and never caused me a problem.

The groomer said that they should always be contained in some way so that should there ever be an accident and the car is opened by a stranger the already scared dogs wouldn't be able to bolt and cause further accidents and injury to others and themselves.

Can't say I always followed the advice but the
dogs were normally kept in a canvas travel crate after that.

Imnotaslimjim · 09/06/2013 12:22

My dog goes in loose (rottweiler) but we have taught him hand signals for basic training, so can get him to down and stay before opening the boot so he doesn't bolt

foolonthehill · 09/06/2013 19:45

THIS:
Dogs should always be contained/restrained in some way so that should there ever be an accident and the car is opened by a stranger the already scared dogs wouldn't be able to bolt and cause further accidents and injury to others and themselves.

I cannot tell you the chaos, pain and extra work that unrestrained/contained dogs in road traffic accidents cause for the emergency services.

please please please, however "good" your animal is clip the lead/shut the crate/use a travel harness. your dog will be safe, others will be safe and you won't be left with the nightmare of trying to find your lovely pet if the worst happens.

This is not the law which states that the animal should be restrained only so that he/she cannot distract the driver...however, in my opinion it is the only safe way.

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