What car to buy for doggy comfort?

DebtphobicDeirdre

I have just had my car written off (not my fault, other side taken full responsibiliy). I need to choose another family-sized car.
Are Zafiras good for doggy comfort and control and how do small MPVs work with dog guard/ extra seats.
Would we be better off with an estate?
Joe is a large standard poodle, 27kg and very tall, he doesn't like cars at all and often cries, especially when wipers are on, when he freaks.
Any advice greatly appreciated- thanks.

pboae

I wouldn't put a dog in the back of an estate car. The boot of an estate is often a designated crumple zone and it will just collapse if you are in a serious accident.

We have a VW Touran, my St. Bernard (91kg) can fit in the boot comfortably. He can sit upright, turn and around and lie down though he can't lie down stretched right out. We have a boot liner and a dog guard, which protects the car and keeps him safe.

It is a 7 seater the other seats are just folded up flat under the boot liner, but because you can carry passengers in that area it has the same protection as the rest of the car.

Buddy_Banana

Hi
I have a Zafira and my Doberman and Golden retriever travel in the boot with the 6 & 7 th seats down to make a big boot (blanket on floor)
It is great because there is loads of room and the back seats are so tall that they can't jump over and I don't need an extra dog guard.

My only thing is that the 6 & 7th seat belts are right at the back and once got eaten by my Springer who I used to own - it cost me £200 just to have one replacement seatbelt!!!!

Got help me if it happens again!

louidog

If this helps you any DebtPhobicDeirdre we have recently got a Nissan X Trail as we needed a bigger car. We have a springer and he loves it....there is a very large boot area!

Dumyat

its worth checking out the boots when you are looking at cars. some cars we found would not take a dog rail, some meant there would be hardly any room left for the dog and others had a high lip to the boot which would have made it difficult to jump in.

we ended up with a ford focus, but our dog is not huge.

DebtphobicDeirdre

Thanks folks- that has been really useful. Joe would definitely chew the seatbelts as he chewed through the special doggy seatbelt we bought him in about 10 seconds so it sounds like an MPV would be a disaster! I think we might have to go for an estate with a special dog crate that could help protect him in a crash- crashes are very much in our minds at the moment and I couldn't bear for him to suffer needlessly.

lil_me

We got a Zafira, my dogs love it, Luke has previously chewed belts but hasn't bothered in this car. Most cars have belts in chewing distance, even if it's on the back of the seat. If you are getting a crate then you don't need to worry about the belts anyway as he won't be able to get to them. Pleased it isn't just me who bought a car because of the dog, what I would additionally look for is a boot where there isn't a drop down to get in (this is where MPVs are handy aswell) or where they are too high, Megan is now 10 and can't manage either.

suki1964

We have a Corsa and a Focus St - both have boots large enough to take the dog crate which a large cocker spaniel fits in comfortably

supermezzo

We've just bought the Peugeot 206 SW for our little yellow donkey, sorry lab ret cross.

Sagaris

I've got the answer to your problems - this morning in the supermarket car park I saw a Nissan Micra with a dog in it - sitting in the front seat, strapped in to a very old (about 15 years+) Mothercare rearward facing car baby seat!
I'm a strong believer in keeping dogs safe in cars, but this........ :rotfl:

pollyanna24

We had the intention of our dog going in the boot, but when we got her, she was so tiny and the car wasn't ours (courtesy car which we had for months!), that it just kinda never happened.

She's now almost fully grown (almost 10 months old) and she still sits in the footwell at my feet (I'm the passenger btw). She fits in fine (Staffie) when the seat is pushed right back, but is this a bad place for her to be?