Best way of transporting small dog in middle of backseat of car

[looselou]

A month ago we got a lovely little Maltese puppy who is now 12 weeks and seems to be doing well.

So far we have not really had to transport her much in the car but with a possible summer holiday and visits to relatives coming up we are now looking at car options.

My instinct is to put her on the back seat rather than in the boot and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a carrier which would be large enough for the dog but slim enough to fit in the middle of the backseat. Are the bag tyoe ones good or too claustrophobic? Would an open topped one be better? Any advice welcomed!

Mine goes in a cat basket - one of those bag things- in the rear footwell.

if it’s on the seat it will need some way of securing.

We use a thing that clips into the seatbelt and attaches to her harness. When she was tiny, we did that and also had a little bed/booster seat that the seatbelt threaded through.

We have the Kurgo Crash Tested harness and tether for our toy breed. He took to it really well. Initially we just put some vet bedding down for him, but now he’s a bit older he has a nice squishy bed that secures around the seat (there are plenty to choose from on Amazon).

You have to use the tether in the recommended way to meet the crash testing standards, but if you aren’t so worried about that you can buy alternatives from the same manufacturer which give them a bit more movement and/or plug into the seatbelt clasp. Dh and I both have tethers in the back of our cars, so it’s quick and easy to clip him in and go.

He was 2.5 kg when we got him and is about 4.5 now. The XS size fits from 2 to 5kg and has adjusted to fit him so we haven’t had to buy a size up.

They do have a front d-ring as well or you can use the back clip for lead walking, but I prefer something a bit more padded for anything other than going from the house to car and back, so we have a perfect-fit harness for walking him.

I just went to 'love' this then remembered I wasn't on Facebook!

I would get a clip that goes over the headrest and attaches to her harness.

I can't recommend seats really as it depends what size your car is and what else you're going to have fit there - maybe have a measure and see what you can find in the local pet shop? They'll let you try some out for size!

We have a "car seat" for DDog but it does take a full seat (and we have a ball cushion in it so she can get comfy or sit up to look out the window - she will usually just lie down and sleep while driving). But we sometimes only use the clip that goes into the seatbelt buckle and attaches to her harness.

The belt buckle came with the seat but can be used independently.

Is the reason for it being in the middle of the back seat because you have two young children in car seats?

If so I wouldn't put any dog in a situation where it can be prodded and poked for hours without any opportunity to escape; even one with the patience of a saint could get ratty.

We have a clip that goes into the seat belt for our JRT. If it's a long journey she also has her bed on the seat.

I have a car seat for my toy breed and use the kurgo crash tested harness and tether. The kurgo harness isn't very comfortable for walking though so I use a soft fleece harness for all walks (similar to the perfect fit harnesses).

This is what we do too!

My dog is bigger than a Maltese, but still small/light enough to go in to a cat carrier for most car journeys. It takes up a whole seat, though (the animal needs space enough to turn round and stretch out, which means travelling crates aren't particularly small)

When we have more people in the car, meaning that the carrier takes up too much space, we have a harness (bought from the RAC) that attaches the dog to the middle seatbelt, and she snuggles on a blankie between the back seat passengers

Thank you for all the advice offered - I will investigate the recommded options. We have a Renault Scenic which has three separate seats in the back - I think there is enough space for a seat for her but will measure the seat and take the measuring tape when I go to the pet shop. Yes there will be children either side of her but they are 12 and 9 years old so I hope there wont be too much poking of the dog!

What did you go for in the end op?

same situation here

In the end we went for a Kurgo Heather dog booster seat - https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/kurgo-heather-dog-booster-seat-for-in-car - we went to our local Pets at home and they had one with a damaged box so we were able to get it for £35. Halfords have it for £50

and of the three or four two hour plus journeys we've done in the last month the dog seems to be fine - we put her, clip her in uand then she sleeps waking after an hour. It sits well in the middle seat and so far hasnt caused any problems with the children.