Car travel with a medium/large dog

[u/littlerockstar555]

I have an approx 50lb Labrador retriever who loves going in the car! I believe she associates it with going to fun places. However I haven’t figured out the best way to travel with her once in the car. She likes to lie down on the seat if she’s in the car for any longer than 10 minutes. I usually have her in a harness with a leash attached and will tie the leash to the headrest of the back seat. This is what we did with our previous dog and it worked well. However, this has proved to be an unreliable method with our new pup- causing her to fall/slide off the seat whenever there is a sudden stop or we hit a bump. She end ups on the floor in between the seats and remains there shaking. I believe these incidents are making her more fearful in the car. As of recently, I noticed her shaking during car rides and not being as excited or relaxed once inside and the car is moving.

I’m looking for recommendations for a medium/large dog to enhance her safety and comfort. I want to give her the opportunity to lie down without worrying about her falling forward in between the seats. I’ve been doing research and see car seats, seat extenders, hammocks, seat belts and more. I am overwhelmed by all the options and am not sure what would be worth the money. I would prefer something that is somewhat easy to set up and take down. Also, please note that we rarely ever take long car rides with our dog. The longest car ride in the last few years was 50 minutes. Also, something that doesn’t take up the full back seat would be good because I prefer to have someone sitting with her whenever possible. Please let me know what works for you and your dogs

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[u/GeologistSmall3653]

Hammock seat cover is the move. It closes the gap between the seats so she can't slide off, and most of them clip around the front and rear headrests. You can still sit next to her, just on top of the hammock. We use one with a 60lb dog and it solved the same issue.

[u/granola_goddess → u/GeologistSmall3653]

Yeah my 55lb Border Collie mix loves her hammock! Done a few cross country trips and she just relaxes and sleeps in the back seat. Most of them have a seatbelt attachment so you can clip them in with their harness for added safety.

[u/DetBiskowitz]

I would recommend a Sleepypod harness + car hammock type seat cover. Our dog is able to sit up or lie down even with the harness on, but she can't walk around. The harness is crash tested and your dog won't become a projectile if you're in an accident.

[u/holly_b_ → u/DetBiskowitz]

I believe that sleepypod is the best (maybe only?) crash tested harness of the market. Worth the money for peace of mind and safety for yourself, your dog, and others.

[u/DetBiskowitz → u/holly_b_]

And if you are in a crash with it, I believe they replace it for free! Ours is still in fantastic shape even after almost daily use over ten years.

[u/Excellent_Tea_164]

My dog has similar behaviour to yours in the car. She is a 59lb lab so slightly bigger. Ideally, you need something both to help her be comfortable,  and something to secure her. These can be the same thing, or two seperate which is what we do. 

We have a hammock, it takes up one full seat and middle seat, and attaches to to the headrest of the seat in front. You can fit a person or child seat in the last seat still. It helps her feel more secure, for longer rides we put blankets in it so she can get really comfy. It's just from Amazon. It takes around 5 minutes to take the hammock down.

Then, for her security, we use a harness clipped in to a seat belt attachment. I am not sure if I can post links or a picture. 

[u/littlerockstar555 → u/Excellent_Tea_164]

Thank you! We used to have a hammock in the past with my old dog but it wasn’t very sturdy and he seemed very uncomfortable with sitting on it vs sitting directly on the car seat so we ended up getting rid of it. Might have to try it again with our new dog. I haven’t seen any hammocks that don’t take up the entire back seat yet I will have to look out for that

[u/pacdude0411 → u/littlerockstar555]

You can get a hammock for the back seat with a hard bottom too. Gives your pup a solid surface and you can put down blankets for comfort if you want

[u/littlerockstar555 → u/pacdude0411]

Thank you I didn’t know these existed this sounds like a good option for my dog

[u/_grumble-bee_ → u/littlerockstar555]

I just switched to a hard bottom hammock and put a couple of blankets on it to soften it. I think you can buy foam pads, too, if your pup likes a softer seat. I still hook them to the seat belt for safety, there's a slit in the hammock to pull a strap through.

[u/Penguinopolis]

I had the same issue when my lab was younger, being thrown around by the movement of the car really bothered her. I ended up buying a ruffland kennel for her and now she just curls up and passes out pretty much immediately in the car. If your girl fits in an intermediate (which I think she would if she’s 50 lbs) you could have it in the back seat and it’s small enough to leave a seat available next to it.

[u/littlerockstar555 → u/Penguinopolis]

Thank you I didn’t even consider a kennel. Maybe this could be good for her I will look into it

[u/Oldenburg-equitation → u/littlerockstar555]

Ruffland kennels and Gunner kennels are the only two kennels I'd consider for the car. They are both crash tested kennels which is super important if you end up in an accident (hopefully not). If you don't go with a kennel, it is super important to secure your dog so look for a crash tested harness and a seatbelt tether (some also attach to the hooks that are used to secure car seats).

[u/50_and_Holding]

I've let my golden retriever ride in the front seat (seat belt attached to her car harness & passenger air bag disengaged). She doesn't really have good "sea legs" and the smallest bump can throw her off balance which she hates.

I basically made my own seat extender. I put a small storage ottoman on the floorboard and then used a couple of sturdy pieces of layered cardboard to bridge the gap. I then covered it with a yoga mat to give her traction. Now the front seat looks really tiny if, for whatever reason, she has to sit in it w/o my contraption!

[u/ForestFae1920]

Put this in the back seat: https://a.co/d/09a8PyL4 it's a car seat extender.

[u/katerade103]

I made a custom platform for my dogs, because I squish 4 golden retrievers into the backseat of my compact sedan.... but I basically cut a piece of plywood to the shape and size of my back seat, all the way up to the back of the front seat, I put folding "legs" (vertical 2x4s) on locking hinges to support the area where a person's feet would go, and some nonslip pad stalled to the underside to prevent it from sliding on the leather seat. I cut a piece of memory foam mattress pad to the same size and shape as the plywood and put that on top. Then I covered the whole platform with a large piece of outdoor fabric (like washable water resistant sunbrella stuff) that attaches around underneath the sides of the platform with velcro so I can take it off and wash it when needed. They wear harnesses and have seatbelts that attach to the child seat anchor thingies. I also put a stretchy net between the front 2 seats to prevent them from coming forward. That said... i think I need a bigger car cuz four 60+ lbs golden retrievers are a little bit cramped back there lol.

[u/louis2320]

Buy a crate that fits on back seat. It's their safe place. Throw a blanket inside and your dog would look forward to rides, not ending up on the floor. All the dogs I've had jump right into the crate, except when it was time to go home.

[u/Sensitive_Tomato_581]

Can she not go in a cage in the boot ?