Dogs and your Car

Joe10000

Hi,
Baby (human) on the way to go with our two large dogs that we regularly put in the back of the Jeep and head off for walks. We cannot do this any more as we need seats in the back so I am looking for advice on the type of car that I need ?

All I can think of at the moment is an estate car or a passenger Jeep, has anyone found any other solution ? I really don't want a people carrier type yoke.

Thanks

jamesd

Nissan qashqai is good for us and our Akita

peteb2

yeah but the OP will have problem putting two larges dogs in the boot of the Qashqai which is only about the same size of the Ford Focus.

Also curious as to whether the buggy will go!

seamus

Baby in the front, dogs (and adult) in the back?

That's pretty much our plan.

iguana

Have you thought about how you are going to transport the pram as well as the dogs and baby? If the plan is to take the baby on the walks with the dogs, and you aren't going to exclusively use a sling/baby carrier, then you may need a decent all terrain buggy for going over rough ground. So even though modern prams are designed to fold up as small as possible, these do take up more space than regular buggies as they have bigger wheels and suspension in the chassis. Transporting both the dogs and the pram will be tricky.

Our solution is an estate type care with the boot divided into dog space and pram space. You can get dog crates that take up a portion of the boot keeping the dogs safe and secure, while leaving room in the boot for other things. But our dogs are medium sized, not large and we won't have as much of a problem finding one crate that both dogs can go in.

This is an idea of the type of crate available. http://www.zooplus.com/shop/dogs/dog_cages_carriers/carriers/metal_cages_and_boxes/129678

Ayla

We have a skoda octavia & it is amazing how much room that boot has! We can easily fit our Rottie & GSD as well as the two kids in their booster/car seats. When we need to also put in the Great Dane (i.e.: for visits to the vet) we just leave the kids with nanna & then fold the back seats completely flat. All three dogs fit back there with room to spare!

We have also (on different occasions) used the same car to haul young pigs, goats, geese, chickens, ducks, and the feed to feed them all. As well as countless building supplies/tools, etc. That car is amazing!

Granted, we never did prams so I have no idea how it would fit with dogs in the boot.

TooManyDogs

We had a skoda Octavia which should have plenty of room for baby and buggy on backseat and dogs in boot. We had to swap for a MPV cos it doesn't fit 6 in the boot comfortably

RosieJoe

seamus wrote: »

Baby in the front, dogs (and adult) in the back?

That's pretty much our plan.

Just in case you didn't know - Don't forget to switch off the passenger side airbag when the baby goes into the front seat.

borderlinemeath

seamus wrote: »

Baby in the front, dogs (and adult) in the back?

That's pretty much our plan.

While you can* put an infant carrier in the front seat it really isn't recommended. The safest place is behind the passenger seat.

An estate car is brilliant, we've always had estates for transporting various things. Ireland for some reason isn't as popular as in the UK or mainland Europe for estate cars. A couple that we have had are a ford mondeo, a citroen C5 estate (huge) and at the minute we have a bmw330 touring (nowhere near as big as the others)

With an estate you can put the dogs in the back with a grill separating them from baby. Buggy can go in the boot if there's room with 2 big dogs or behind the passenger seat. Depending on the type of buggy you get you might only be carrying the frame to clip the infant carrier directly onto it.

*All car manufacturers state that the front airbag must be turned off if an infant carrier is to be placed rearward facing in the front seat.
Check with your insurance company as they may increase your premium or refuse cover IF you disable a safety feature (it tends to be in the small print). All car seat manufacturers will state that a car seat can be placed in the front seat but from a safety point of view behind the passenger seat is the recommended safest place in case of impact.

tk123

I have a big jeep but I was at a dog thing a few months ago and somebody with an estate had the boot sectioned off with a dog guard - so that might be an option? So as well as the guard at the back seats they had one running down the middle of the boot too - eg the guards made a T.

seamus

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Check with your insurance company as they may increase your premium or refuse cover IF you disable a safety feature (it tends to be in the small print).

Cheers, I didn't think of that.

Rich11

TooManyDogs wrote: »

We had a skoda Octavia which should have plenty of room for baby and buggy on backseat and dogs in boot. We had to swap for a MPV cos it doesn't fit 6 in the boot comfortably

You are telling me you actually filled the boot of your octavia, and needed a bigger car.....:pac:thats a first

iguana

TooManyDogs wrote: »

We had a skoda Octavia which should have plenty of room for baby and buggy on backseat and dogs in boot. We had to swap for a MPV cos it doesn't fit 6 in the boot comfortably

Is baby and buggy together in the front seat safe? How would you secure the buggy because in a crash it would weigh a tonne + and could kill the baby or driver.

TooManyDogs

Rich11 wrote: »

You are telling me you actually filled the boot of your octavia, and needed a bigger car.....:pac:thats a first

Yep We tried to go camping to a dog show the summer the baby was born and realised there was no where for the baby to go!!!! So yeah, have a VW Sharan now, back 2 seats taken out and 6 dogs plus buggy, crate and dog gear goes in the boot, tent and camping crap goes in the top box, and random baby stuff goes on the back with the baby!

iguana wrote: »

Is baby and buggy together in the front seat safe? How would you secure the buggy because in a crash it would weigh a tonne + and could kill the baby or driver.

Our buggy folds fairly flat so I put the seat belt around it!

dharma200

We drive a volvo estate, very safe for babies, we have three kids, two large large dogs who go in the boot. You can get a half cage thing in the boot made, meaning you still have romm for buggy, but there are also very small buggies on the market now, lightweight, which I would defo go for. We got a volvo because it is a very very safe car, solid, and has just about enough room for a family of five and two dogs. hths

deandean

Hey OP, please can you confirm quantities of:
Adults - is it 2?
Dogs - it it 2 big ones?
Babbies, kids etc - the big question - how many and what ages?

mickmcl09

I can't believe that nobody hasn't suggested a hitch and trailer. No vehicle upgrade required. Some very comfy trailers out there now and your car doesn't get soiled after a mucky / wet outing with the dogs.

srfc19

Easy, get a roof-top box. Put baby in that. Dogs get back seat to themselves.

Dogs come first!

Senna

I second the dog trailer, they come up on donedeal every-so-often. It also means that you have more choices of cars and the trailer can be used with any of them (with a tow hitch).

TooManyDogs

mickmcl09 wrote: »

I can't believe that nobody hasn't suggested a hitch and trailer. No vehicle upgrade required. Some very comfy trailers out there now and your car doesn't get soiled after a mucky / wet outing with the dogs.

We had a trailer and its a pain in the behind. There was the issue of where to store it when not in use. It's an extra 10 minutes to hitch it up and check lights are working and as it is it takes forever to load a baby and their gear. Not everyone gets comfortable reversing with a trailer attached and parking can be a pain so if you're going to visit relatives you might have to park ages away to get a space big enough. Same for stopping on the way home for milk or something, local shops rarely have space for car plus trailer. There's also the safety aspect of it for the dogs, i was permanently afraid of another car going into the trailer. Then unhitching it and dragging it back wherever its stored when you get home.

After weighing it all up we upgraded the car and sold the trailer, haven't regretted it for a second

No dog smell in the car was nice though

carleigh

I cant recommend an estate enough. We got one a few months after we got our late dog back in 1999, and it was great. Only downside is that it can be a little smelly

Joe10000

deandean wrote: »

Hey OP, please can you confirm quantities of:
Adults - is it 2?
Dogs - it it 2 big ones?
Babbies, kids etc - the big question - how many and what ages?

2 Adults, 2 large dogs (Alsatian and a Bernese) and one baby soon to arrive.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, i think it will have to be an estate with dogs in the back and baby and buggy (secured) in the back seat.

borderlinemeath

mickmcl09 wrote: »

I can't believe that nobody hasn't suggested a hitch and trailer. No vehicle upgrade required. Some very comfy trailers out there now and your car doesn't get soiled after a mucky / wet outing with the dogs.

The way I read the OP was that they had a commercial jeep, with just the two seats and the dogs jumped in the back - so one way or another the vehicle has to change.

iguana

I just thought I'd update this thread as we got our estate car (Ford Focus) last week and the crate arrived this morning. I tested it out with the dogs today and stuck the chassis of the pram in there to be sure everything would fit. It's a great solution for one big dog or two medium ones. And I still have a good bit of room for the carrycot attachment I'll be using for the first few months, a nappy bag and other bits and pieces. My boys were actually a lot happier in it than they look, they just got a bit depressed that I stood around taking their picture instead of taking them for their overdue walk.



Eta: This is the crate I got; http://www.dogcagesdirect.ie/car-dog-crate-dcg01-b.html

Whispered

we're about to change our car too, but we just can't agree. I think an estate would be ideal. However my husband doesn't want one. He thinks that with our very very limited budget we won't get a "decent" looking one.

Now we've agreed on a hatchback diesel of some sort, with seats which fold flat, or a large enough boot to get 2 travel crates in it. Just to find one now

madrabui

iguana wrote: »

I just thought I'd update this thread as we got our estate car (Ford Focus).............

Hi iguana, this is a stupid question but do you put the cage in the car first and then they jump in?

iguana

Yup. It's really handy. It has doors on both the width and length of it, so you can turn it the way I have it, or move have it width ways across the boot. I like it the way I have it because it means their door is right by the entrance so I can get them in and out whether or not I have different things in the boot. We're going to keep it secured where it is and it can be folded down almost flat when we're not using it.

iguana

Sorry, I just realised I was wrong in my post above. This crate only has one door at the end of the crate, the one you can see in the picture. I was told by the seller that it has two but when I looked at it today I saw it only has one. Luckily for me, that's the door I wanted, but if you'd prefer a side door, then this isn't the crate for you.

TooManyDogs

Your dogs look really comfy in the crate there Iguana!

Here's what 6 dogs and a buggy look like in the back of a MPV

mirekb

I have a renault kangoo - loads of space in the boot for my three dogs plus room for tent etc.. loads of room in the back for my child.. doesn't like speed, or hills though!

peteb2

iguana can i be cheeky and ask was it the old focus (pre-2006) or newer model?