OK whilst we are still thinking about which car I need to get my head around dog safety!!

We currently manage with a dog guard and a temp home made divider that sometimes falls over - not good enough for my precious cargo,  so I've factored in a budget for proper security this time.  We have two dogs, of different sizes but half and half should be adequate and maybe easier to sell if/when we change the car again.   Can you please give me some info?

As this is going to be a shared car with my OH and his B&Q shopping habits we will need easily removable caging so am I right in thinking I should NOT choose a dog guard, divider and tailgate?

Lintran - do the plastic sides restrict visibility and or light?
Cages - do the custom made ones from Barjo, MMG, Guardsman etc fold flat whilst remaining in the car?
If I had to lift one in and out on my own are they very heavy/unweildy?
What extras are 'must haves' in your opinion?
Does anyone have any personal knowledge of DogPods (Hamster Cages)?  They seem quite reasonable for price...
Are there things you've learnt over the years that would give me a head start with what/how to choose? Or what not to choose!!

If we decide on a car this weekend I was planning to order quickly as I know they all have quite long lead times OR do companies attending Crufts give special offers that might make it worth waiting?

Thanks for your input :)

> Lintran - do the plastic sides restrict visibility and or light?

Fibre glass sides :-)  Depends on the model I think.  Mine is fairly wide mesh at the top, the bit showing above the back seats so does not restrict my rear view to any degree.  Plenty of light getting in too.  I can't lift mine in and out without help so a negative there but I love the way they limit the amount of hair and dirt flying off into the car :-)
Bought mine at Crufts a few years ago and I am sure they were running a deal on them.

If you get a Volvo, the Volvo dog guard is really well designed, it just folds straight up against the roof, takes about 5 seconds.  I used to use a dog guard and a Barjo tailgate guard (still got both if you buy a pre 2000 V70 :) )  With my newer V70 I've got the works (mostly bought from Ebay :) ), tailgate guard, dog guard, full length divider (I''ve only just remembered about that as I've never used it but it came with the tailgate guard) and a cage as one of my lot was scratching the plastic bits by the windows.  The Barjo tailgate guards have all come out pretty easily from my Volvos.

I was always a bit concerned that the Lintran type cages would restrict the flow of air?

We've got a Volvo V70 and yess the guard just fold up against the roof and the Barjo tailgate for it is quick and easy to take out. We even had to do it on Wednesday when we brought a dog home from the vet -he was so groggy from anaesthetic still he wouldn't come out and we couldn't reach with the tailgate in, so hubby took it off, takes seconds, that's all. He regularly does it for shopping -has staff discount at B&Q LOL.

> I was always a bit concerned that the Lintran type cages would restrict the flow of air?

Again, I think it would depend on the model.  Mine just lines the existing solid walls of the bootwell, if you see what I mean, with a mesh front and top so no difference airwise than just sitting them in the well.

Isabel

Is yours a custom made version?  I like the idea of a more waterproof, sandproof solid boot liner with cage bit above for airflow and visibility - we do go to the beach quite a lot and even with a boot liner we live with sand for a while!!  Can you remove/invert the cage bits if you want to load something other than dogs?

Thanks

MarianneB

I'm going to look at a V70 tomorrow so I might get a chance to see a dog guard.  With the Barjo tailgate - can it be removed away from home and stored in the boot?  I'm imagining a time when we've forgotten to remove it, don't have the dogs, and decide to buy a chest of drawers!!

> Is yours a custom made version?

I don't think so.  I can't really remember but I think I just asked for one to fit my Astra Hatchback.

>Can you remove/invert the cage bits if you want to load something other than dogs?

I can't invert anything.  I can either shove shopping in there (not with the dogs in residence if I have any sense :-)) or lift it out but, like I said, I can't do that on my own. 

I got a DogPod for current Citroen, LOT cheaper than others but a little bit of 'you get what you pay for' as it is lighter construction.
Previous cage needed 2 of us to get it out and into garage, this is a doddle on my own.
They are not the 'fold down to a flat rectangle' type but can be dis-assembled,
Mine has a lift up door with catches on either side, sort of bottom left and right of door, catches are sprung clip things that he may be able to shove hard and open so I put padlocks on if I need to leave beastie in car with tailgate open and leave anywhere where I cannot see him. (only done it twice and only 5/10 mins but prefer to play safe!)
I am fairly sure you can get side open doors and divider if you want.
HTH.
Chris

I have a guardsman - downside too bloomin heavy to lift in and out on your own but they are very well made.

Have heard good things about Barnesbrook cages.

dogs a babe - I've had to remove the tailgate guard occasionally when I've bought something too big to fit throught the gateway, it certainly fitted inside the car, but I might have had to put the back seats down (can't remember that bit!)

With the Barjo tailgate - can it be removed away from home and stored in the boot?

Much like Ridgielover, I don't think we've ever put it in the boot without having the seats down as if we've needed it gone, we've usually needed them down too. :) But I'm pretty certain it would fit anyway.

I can vouch for barnsbrook, lovely man, great service & loads cheaper than barjo and the likes. A friend of mine also used them too & they are more than happy with thiers too .
HTH

> can it be removed away from home and stored in the boot?

That is definately an advantage.  I can drop down the back seats and push my Lintran box back onto there to make room for things in the well but sometimes that is not enough and on more than one occasion I have been left sitting on the box outside a shop whilst Hubby ran a surprise purchase home.  One memorable occasion was a two hour round trip when it was decided it would be too boring for the dog to remain with me for company!

Try MMG, Mick & Michele will do their upmost to help you get what you want.

Thank you all

I think, on balance, we are going to have to find something that accommodates the surprise purchase. It's not uncommon in this house and, like Isabel, I've often been left on the side of the road, sometimes with the children, whilst the new purchase gets taken home in style.  On one memorable occasion I drove home with my daughter and my OH and son had to get the train!!

I've asked Barnesbrook, Guardsman and MMG for starters to give me some more info on a custom made, folding crate so fingers crossed.   We are also planning to get a full load liner to manage the hairs, sand and the odd trail of drool :)

I have a Barnesbrook that I bought for my previous car, the Skoda. It folded in the car and was light enough to remove - heavy, but still manageable for me. Things I'd look for in a car cage; folds in the car to maximize space and make removal easy, silent! can't stand rattling and neither can my dog, doors in front and back so if someone rear ends you, you can get the dogs out of the cage.

Now I have a guard from MMG for my Espace. It's very easy to remove it if you have a big load. All you need is a screw driver to flip a metal ring over a post and the guard comes out but the fittings stay mounted. Easy peasy, I highly recommend them. MMG had a lead time of 10 weeks when I ordered but delivered to me by 6-8 weeks.

How about one of these: http://www.thedoginn.com/acatalog/dog_crates.html they fold liek the noraml rectangular cages.

I have this one http://www.doghealth.co.uk/flexi.htm in a mondeo estate.  Folds up when not in use, strong enough and is very cost effective.

Hi, I used to have a 'Trixie' double cage
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160309655096&cguid=dbbedcf111c0a0aad5200fc0ffdc5001
which folded down pretty easily, had differently angled front and back sides to fit better behind the back seats and the bonus of 2 doors on one side, allowing you to sort out the dogs one at a time. I had an Astra Estate and passed the cage onto someone at work who drives a Renault (don't know model).
As I now only have one dog I now have 2 Savic Mobile Residences: http://www.bitsforpets.com/dog_cages.php (The larger one at home and smaller one in the car) which feel like better quality but do not come with a divider. They also fold easy and have front and back doors for easier access.
Good luck

Just edited to say the 'Trixie' has a metal base tray which I found a bit unwieldy to take out and clean but the Savic comes with a plastic tray which is very easy to remove. Also the Savic hardly rattles!!

We have two cars and about 4 crates, a large metal crate lives in his car and folds flat when we do not use it. Dogs usually travel on the back seat in a harness each, then when muddy in the back.
My car I have harnesses again and just the boot (mines an estate) his is a 4X4 Ford Wildtrak.
We also take the crates on holiday as they fold flat until used. Last w/end his lordship was working at a site with a digger so Jake was in the back of his truck in the crate, with the back doors open, allowed out at tea brakes when the digger was not working. He was as happy as a flea for about 4 hours then they both come back to me all muddy and ruined Whistler & my afternoon as we had a sob story video on curled up on the sofa!

> I have this one [url=http://www.doghealth.co.uk/flexi.htm" rel=nofollow]http://www.doghealth.co.uk/flexi.htm[/url] in a mondeo estate.  Folds up when not in use, strong enough and is very cost effective.

We have this one too in a Zafira. I find it easy to get in and out of the car when we need the boot space for something other than the dogs. The opening goes almost to the bottom of the cage so if the car boot has a lip you might not get the doors open. This was pointed out to me by my dad who was looking at new cars a while back as he has a similar cage although his was custom made.

> The opening goes almost to the bottom of the cage so if the car boot has a lip you might not get the doors open.

What helpful advice, thank you, I could easily have missed this.  In fact I was looking at not having too big a lip as one of mine is a twerp about getting in the car (the other gets in so fast he nearly ends up in the front seat :)

We are collecting the car on Friday so we had better spend some time taking accurate measurements before deciding.

I do like the custom jobs from Guardsman and Barjo but I'm not sure I want to spend £583 or £566 respectively (delivery extra).  I will pay if I must but it would be nice to find I like something cheaper!

Edited to say: the doghealth ones in the link are only 36" wide.  We should have room for up to 41" width and length - so big un can sprawl sideways as he likes - that's why custom seems the most likely at this point.