Securing a greyhound in the back of a car

[harryh31]

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Hello,

We have recently acquired a retired eight year old racing greyhound from retirement kennels, he is very "laid back" and making a wonderfull companion and pet.

(my wife suffers from vascular dementia and this has given her an additional interest......I think the dog understands her problems)

We like to take the dog with us when we go out (although he is very good when left at home)

We have a dog cage in the back of the car but this is a bit restrictive for the dog,when he is inside it...... I would like to get rid of the dog cage and let the dog have the full use of the area behind the back seats of the car............. my question is..... what is the best way of securing the dog so that he wont jump out, when the rear car door is opened, and that he will not get tangled up if secured with a long lead.

It would be helpful if anyone could give me advice or tell me how they cope with this problem.

 

[hanneroon]

this is a problem for me also, my whippet has a harness on, on the back seat, and he gets tangled up all the time! i have an extra mirror to to keep an eye on him so i can pull over and release him.... my friend who has whippets won't let me keep a lead on him if he is in his car with his, as he thinks it too dangerous...

if this were me, i would get a divider to go across the top of the seats and then not have the lead on. I'd then train him to not jump out till you say. This is possible and neccessary anyway, as jumping out while attached by a lead is dangerous too. My dog has done it and it was very frightening for him and me.. maybe it would be possible to get an inner cage door to the boot, if he is really keen on jumping out straight away.... or clip him with a harness and a very short lead so he can't possibly get tangled or near the edge....

good luck!

 

[harryh31]

Hello,

Thanks for your thoughts on this problem.

I want my dog to travel in the boot not on the seats....( large boot 4X4 SUV.)

An additional problem for me also, is that I have to get a wheelchair out of the back of the car, and attend to my wife, before the dog would be allowed out.

I have this morning attached an adjustable strap between the anchor points on the boot floor on each side of the car behind the rear seats.

I have a short dog lead, hand loop one end and clip the other end.....I propose to thread the hand loop through the anchored strap and the clip through the dog collar.

the short dog lead will not be long enogh for him to reach or jump out from the back of the car, but because the loop will slide from left to right and vise versa the dog should not get tangled but will have plenty of freedom of movement, and he can stand up See attached photos. the wheelchair is secured and cannot move.

(In case thats a bit confusing its the same principle as fixing a dog lead to a washing line so that the dog can run up and down the garden but not escape from the garden.)

If this proves successful I will report back in a week or so time.

 

[harryh31]

Since my last post..........system works perfectly.........dog adequently restrained......., has freedom of movement within the back of the car...... he can get comfortable in any position .... and does not get tangled up with the leads...Ive had someone sitting on the rear seats watching him whilst we have traveled......the dog is quite relaxed.........hope this will help others with a similar problem.