Hey all

Got a funny one here. Baby is due in mid July and my wife and I are beginning to wonder how to fit the baby and dog in the car when we go away for holidays etc!
Currently we have a Focus, the dog fits in the boot next to a box of emergency supplies/screenwash/de-icer etc so filling the boot. Then any luggage fits on the back seats, generally stacked up to the ceiling... and we occupy the 2 front seats.

So, baby comes along and will take up either the front seat or one back seat. Now we don't want to stack luggage on the back seat next to a baby or one of us just in case it all falls over, so I've come up with a plan to swap our car for an estate giving us more room.
However we can't decide as yet wether the dog should sit next to the baby on the back seat (in a harness), or in a cage in the boot. If she was in a cage (and she's a medium size dog) is it likely the cage would take up most of the boot space?

The dog isn't the best traveller, she just pants a lot and trembles all the time - thankfully she's not been sick for a good while in the car though!

So, I'm just looking for any advice/hints and tips on solving this situation - and if you're still reading thanks for getting this far!! :hihi:

:thumbsup:

Get the dog a car harness and get her used to occupying one half of the back seat. Baby occupies the other half of the back seat, luggage goes in the boot.

I can recommend the Ezy Dog car harness, which you can go to Jollye's and get fitted. They're about £14 and once she's used to wearing it and comfortable there should be no problem with her hassling the baby.

An alternative (if you're really concerned with the baby and dog getting too close together) is to put either baby or dog on the front seat, providing you can turn off the air bags on the passenger side, and one adult in the back with the other one.

You may find that the dog travels better when she can see what's going on well- mine does.

Hi

I don't have kids (or a car any more but that's a different story). We found our dog travels best in one of those fabric carriers. Ours is probably smaller than yours but it fitted in one seat space - I think if you needed a bigger carrier it might need two spaces but that still leaves one for baby and the boot for luggage.

If that doesn't work it, what about a roof box for the luggage?

You may find that the dog travels better when she can see what's going on well- mine does.

I'd second that.

Ah now I haven't thought of the fabric carriers, might be an idea - I'll have to have a look at what they're like. I do think she may travel better on the seats and able to see what's going on better.

I've already bought a car harness for the dog, but it just clips into the seat belt clip and so she can still wander a bit on the back seats... can you get harnesses that hold the dog more firmly in one seat? I'll do a search on the Ezy Dog harness too, thanks :thumbsup:

Now the roof box, I had thought of that and it'd be a good idea - except my wife wouldn't be able to reach it!! :hihi:

Ah now I haven't thought of the fabric carriers, might be an idea - I'll have to have a look at what they're like. I do think she may travel better on the seats and able to see what's going on better.

The one we have has mesh windows so she can see us.

I used to pile all the luggage in one half of the boot, and the dog had the other half - I covered the luggage up with a sheet in case the dog was sick. Now that we also have to take Mother in law on holiday with us, I have got a roofbox off freecycle :)

The RAC car harness (jollyes) has a loop that the seat belt goes through before it is clipped in, in this way it is far more secured as it is anchored rather than the ones that clip round the seat belt. We intially had one of these but i found my dogs got tangled so we swapped to the sort you have.
Don't forget though the fabric carriers are easily ripped and really only suitable for dogs who are crate trained or of a very quiet nature and will easily tolerate this.

The Ezy Dog harness only has a really small loop for the seatbelt to go through so effectively it limits how far they can travel as the two layers of seatbelt get too far apart for the loop to travel up it.

You could also get her used to travel facing one direction the whole time so that she's facing away from the baby.

Molly gets in the car using the same back door all of the time and always faces the same door while shes in the car. She loves having the window open for her to stick her head out of too, and because she's held firmly by the seat belt I don't have a problem with her catching the breeze, although I think I need to get a window strip for her so she can rest her head on the edge of the window.

We have always had estate cars, a must for three dogs and a baby. We had a roof rack for the suitcases and soft stuff went on the backseat. The dogs always travel in the back with dog guard.

Don't forget though the fabric carriers are easily ripped and really only suitable for dogs who are crate trained or of a very quiet nature and will easily tolerate this.

Ours is definately not quiet but thankfuly she took to it straight away. I think it helps that we now have it set up in the house as her bed. We have a spare in the living room and she often choses to go in there when the house is chaotic.

There are some cheap ones that get damaged easily but ours have done well so far - look for a sturdy metal frame and good stitching.

Like you say if you get them used to it in the home it is then easier to transfer it to the car

Ailsa hates being cooped up in the boot (well, she did- we have an even smaller car now so she has most of the back seat to herself). Personally, I would be tempted to get a roofbox or try the half boot/half dog thing because much as I'm sure your dog will get along fine with your new baby, suppose baby reaches out and accidentally pokes your dog or you have to break suddenly and the dog gets dislodged from its seat/ harness- even if its the most gentle dog in the world, it might accidentally injure your baby. Occasionally, Ailsa has managed to stand on the seat belt fastener in such a way as to unfasten it...
The fabric carriers are good but again, the daft dobermutt hates to be cooped up and wpould not entertain being fastened in one.

Good advice there, though if said baby poked dog then the dog would just be scared and try to hide behind the seat belt never to venture over that side of the car again!! :hihi:
She's a daft softy and fantastic with kids, however I don't intend to take any chances so currently the getting an estate and her being in a cage in the boot seems the best solution.

Just such a shame to get rid of our car, it's been brill from the beginning, never let us down and doesn't have a thing wrong with it! :(

We went through a rigmarole of changing the car when we got the dog

make sure you get an estate with a flat loading area to it if you're thinking of getting a crate - some still have the lip of the hatchback

We plumped for the Zafira for the massive flexibility of the seats, and you can have the sixth seat out alongside the dog crate if necessary

having a crate in an MPV also allows you to stack other stuff on top of the dog, but we're always careful to make sure nothing can come shooting across the headrests under sharp braking!

Crates are more secure and more comfortable for your dog, and allow more movement than a harness, and if the dog is sick it's easier to clean up especially if you've used a towel as bedding ;)

at the moment you're considering how to manage a small baby and a dog, but soon you'll have a toddler and a dog, and perhaps you'll have the friends of a small child to ferry about too - so if it's at all possible, the boot is the best place for the dog

another thing to bear in mind is what happens during an accident. If the emergency services need to extract anybody from the car, a frightened protective dog is a complete nightmare to deal with, so your dog is best crated in the boot, not alongside your child!

Also, if your thinking of going on long trips it would probably be better for one of you to be in the back with the baby anyway - I know several people who's front passenger seats are no longer occupied due to a very fussy baby :lol:

I say go for the estate and the crate :D

Good advice there, though if said baby poked dog then the dog would just be scared and try to hide behind the seat belt never to venture over that side of the car again!! :hihi:
She's a daft softy and fantastic with kids, however I don't intend to take any chances so currently the getting an estate and her being in a cage in the boot seems the best solution.

Just such a shame to get rid of our car, it's been brill from the beginning, never let us down and doesn't have a thing wrong with it! :(

Know what you mean- we loved our little Ford Ka but when the dobermutt grew up it just wasnt practical so we had to find something more boring instead - bearing in mind parking is always tight where we live. tried an A Class but had lots of electrical problems and eventually got rid- now got a little Kia Picanto which is v fuel efficient, nippy, economical and practical for 2 humans and a mutt + luggage - but so boring! Me, I'd love a Mini but it aint gonna happen.

Well I've already narrowed it down to either a Focus estate, since we already have a Focus and it's been brill. Or a Mazda6 estate, which I'm more inclined towards because they are very nice cars with lots of extras!

Now wouldn't it be perfect if someone happened to have an estate and would now rather have a standard car because their kids have grown up or something and we could just do a straight swap!! ;) :P