Good evening Board

We are looking to buy a dog guard this weekend to fit into our Ford Mondeo hatchback where our Great Dane puppy will travel until we eventually get the dreaded sensible estate! ;) We've been looking at the Halfords one but that seems better suited to a small/medium dog.  Please can anyone recommend a good sturdy, effective guard that would be suitable for a giant breed (albeit a smallish 9 week old one at present) in a hatchback?

Many thanks

Jules

To be honest I would think your sensible estate will need to arrive very soon after getting you puppy, so the guard may be a waste of money. 

Pups grow so fast.  I don't think any of the guards would stand up to a Dane pup.

I've never found any general guard to work at all, they always fall off, only the proper guards and tailgates etc from places like Barjo.

I agree with Brainless....or perhaps buy a cheapy one to tide you over but you will definetly need something stronger. We have a tailgate guard from http://www.barjo.co.uk and a cheaper dog guard (still saving for the Barjo version) in our's.  Their products are very sturdy.

D you just mean a dog guard to stop your pup getting into your back seats from the boot?  If that's the case, do also consider something that stops him jumping out of the boot until you are ready.

I'd suggest going with a basic car crate until you change your car.  A universal sized affair will cost less than a custom made one and be easy to resell on eBay when you're done with it.

When you have your new car, and an adult sized dog, I'd recommend using someone like Barjo for a Tailgate Guard and Dog Guard custom fitted for your new estate.

i found a universal guard, as far as i can see, identical to the one in halfords, in a shop call WHAT!!  its one of those hypermarket sell everything places, it was £11.  it works fine, its a tension thing, it doesnt attach to anything.  stops my strapping old english sheepdog climbing over the seats.

Personally I'd go with a crate if you're getting a new car, I prefer pups to be in crates. Admittedly your pup will be bigger than my pups, but I'd still go for a crate. As I recall a Mondeo hatchback boot is big.

Once you've got your estate then definitely tailgate guard and 'proper' dog guard.  I had Barjo, very good, but there are others out there and there are quite a few folk who will make custom fit.

A friend of mine got one of the Halfords Advanced Mesh Headrest Dog Guards, I'm quite impressed with it, although it is pricey. However she managed to get hers from someone on Agilitynet for £20.  I think the ones that are tension fitted floor to ceiling are quite useless - they get knocked so move out of position.

Good sites to look at for 2nd hand (and for tailgate & guard when you get around to it):

http://www.agilitynet.co.uk/clutch/fleamarket.htm
http://www.obedienceuk.com/shop/products.asp?id=2&cat=ForSalehttp://www.obedienceuk.com/shop/products.asp?id=2&cat=ForSalehttp://www.dfordog.co.uk/wanted_forsale.htm
and of course check the Bring & Buy on this site and e-Bay.

>its a tension thing, it doesnt attach to anything

Do just watch the fit on the universal dog guards.  We had one in a car we were borrowing whilst ours was being serviced.  The guard was fitted with tension bars from the boot base and the roof.  Our dog managed to move the leg and the whole thing twisted, popped out of position and fell on him.

Luckily he's quite a chilled chap, and just looked a bit bemused, but I hate to think what effect it could have on a nervy pup or anxious traveller...

To the OP, UKDogCages is a good site to see the range of options available to tide you over til you change cars.  Although it's always worth checking prices elsewhere too.

http://www.travall.co.uk/

My beautiful shepherd heads up the testimonials!  Fantastic guards at an excellent price - built to last and fit solidly but easily removed as no drilling/screws required.

Thank you to all who responded - I'm just looking for an immediate solution (ie a dog guard to keep her in the rear of the car) so that we can start taking her out in the car without her sitting on my lap.  We want her to be happy and socialised to being driven in the car and want to use the precious 8-12 week window wisely.

Thank you again.

Jules

Having had medium sized dogs (labrador, dalmatian) I wouldn't put them in the 'boot' of a hatchback, let alone a Grat Dane. Get a crate, fold down the rear seat and put the pup safely in a more suitable space.