Backseat Buddy Question

[corvus]

I have a slight problem.

A certain spirited Vallhund likes to make his own fun in the car on longer trips. This often involves him wriggling over the backseat hammock and down behind the front seats. He is attached to a seatbelt at the time, so he'll end up dangling there, kicking the driver seat and squirming around. He has managed a couple of times to get the clip that attaches his harness to the seatbelt buckle stuck on the hammock and has subsequently got free. Kinda dangerous when going 110.

So I attached him to one of the anchor points in the boot, and it took him all of 5 minutes to somehow get out of his harness and appear next to me in the front. Apparently he doesn't like being in the boot. So I double-clipped him on the back seat again and made sure everything was super tight and he had no freedom to even sit up, and that seemed to sort him out. At least, temporarily. I seem to remember last time I made the seatbelt attachment really short he was still able to reach the edge of the hammock and dive over it.

So, at the moment he's going to be travelling in his crate when someone is driving him on their own. I do not know how this will go or if I will want to make that a permanent. I don't know if I trust its safety. I'd kinda prefer for him to be restrained by a seatbelt. And OH has paranoia about dogs in the boot after being rear-ended last year. The boot doesn't get much of a look-in when it comes to crash safety. He's infected me with his paranoia, now.

My question is, if I got a heavier hammock like a Backseat Buddy, do you think he'd still be able to get over it to wriggle down between the hammock and the front seats?

[poodlefan]

My question is, if I got a heavier hammock like a Backseat Buddy, do you think he'd still be able to get over it to wriggle down between the hammock and the front seats?

Yes. My dogs can do it. If he won't stay put, I don't think you've got much option but to crate him.

If he's going for the rear seat footwell, my guess is he feels car sick. The ride is more stable lower in the car.

Edited June 19, 2010 by poodlefan

[corvus]

Thanks PF. I thought at first he might be feeling sick and let him stay down there. He lasted about 5 minutes and then came back up. Then went back down. Then came back up. Jury's out. He often gets sleepy in the car and will snooze for about an hour. It's when he wakes up after his snooze that he'll get restless and start messing around. He also tries to climb into the front and repeatedly jams his head under the driver's elbow, presumably trying to get leaverage to pull himself into the front. Also not cool at 110. He messes around for a while and then settles down again. I thought he might need to toilet, but apparently not. He usually travels well, likes to watch out the front windscreen. He never looks seedy the way Kivi used to when he was carsick.

Sounds like he's going to have to be crated. Is there some way to secure a crate in a car so it's safe if there was a crash?

[Red Fox]

I've seen some sort of insert that you can put in the footwell. Perhaps that would help stop him from wriggling down in there. Can't remember where I saw it though, Waggle maybe??

eta, here: http://waggle.com.au/egr-b25/seat-extender-p363

Edited June 19, 2010 by SecretKei

[OSoSwift]

I think if you want a crash safe sort of crate you need a solid mesh one, not collapsable and not plastic. It needs to be strongly welded and then bolted to the floor.

[corvus]

Hmm, that insert sounds like it might be a winner. I so don't have a crash safe crate.

Thanks guys.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

An airline crate is fine for car travel. But it must be an airline approved crate rather than just any plastic crate.

Why don't you give him a bit of valium before a longer trip? He'll sleep the whole way or be dopey enough that he won't want to get off the back seat.

I use a harness with a back seat buddy...and Molly goes in her airline crate on longer trips.

[Kavik]

Kaos used to tangle up his harness when it was attached to the seatbelt and spook himself. So I crated him til he grew up a bit - much less stressful I found getting a separate attachment instead of the seatbelt (that still goes into seatbelt clip) better for Kaos as he then didn't have the stretch and give that the seatbelt had to tangle himself. And make it really short. He now rides calmly in the car in the harness

[corvus]

I shortened his tether considerably today and he "rebelled" by diving over the hammock and then trying to squirm back onto the seat through the straps that attach the hammock to the headrests in front. It was only a 5 minute car trip, so presumably he wasn't feeling carsick. Just being a brat. I'm amazed that he could do it considering he didn't have enough length in the tether to get his front paws on the middle console where he likes to rest them. It occurs to me that we have a nice LATCH bar on the back of the seat and a seriously heavy duty ute tie out that has clips that open outwards instead of inwards. Maybe if I use that attached to the top of the seat he will have the freedom to sit up or lie down and change position but won't be able to dive over the hammock. I think it would help if the hammock was sturdier and didn't just fold underneath his weight...

I'm not real keen on valium. The main problem is getting to training, which is nearly an hour's drive. I don't want him zonked out for training. I shall have a look around at airline crates. As though we need more crates in this house!

ETA Good point, Kavik. Maybe it would only take a few weeks of crating him to get him out of the habit in the first place.

Edited June 20, 2010 by corvus

[OSoSwift]

Even if you use an airline crate to be probley crash safe it needs to be able to be fixed in the car. Sitting on the car seat or having a seat belt wrapped around it is not considered properly tethered. If it is behind a cargo barrier it obviously can't fly around the car, but could still get thrown around in the back of the car.

Make is tether very short so he has to lay down on the seat and does have the choice of standing up to throw himself. Obviously this is for traaining only and for short trips so you can hopefully train him out of seat crashing. He will probably chuck a tantrum, but not be able to have all the fun of crashing a hammock and "playing". He probably finds what he is doing very rewarding.

[Bisart Dobes]

Sorry but the vision you give is very funny - can just imagine it

Careful with stuff like valium - it can have the opposite effect on some dogs.

If he gets carsick try a ginger snap treat 1/2 hour b4 you leave and / or raspberry cordial (weak) works on some dogs as well. You can also get a space clearing spray (bush flower essences) which works well with car sick dogs.

Can't you tether him shorter to the back of the seat so that he can just lay down and then maybe give him a kong with something yummy which will keep him happy and occupied ??

I always have extra dog blankets, at least 2 towels, leads, dog water bottles, gumboots, a spare coat and my tracking gear on the floor under my back seat buddy so my dogs would be able to do this even if they wanted to - the space filler is a great idea but I don't have room for it :D.

[corvus]

Thanks everyone. I think I'll just have to tether him shorter and put up with the inevitable barking when he wants to get up and can't. I'll try giving him a Kong on the long trip this week and see if that keeps him busy.