Hi everyone... i recently rescued an australian sheppard from the shelter and enjoy carting him around in my brick, even though he makes it a point to climb all over the place and rub his snoot on anything he can. does anyone have a pet/cargo gate for sale so that my dog doesn't destroy/distract?

thanks!
chris

Attention Brick driving pet owners!

THE ONLY SAFE METHOD TO TRANSPORT YOUR PET IS TO TAKE THE SAME OR GREATER CARE THAT YOU WOULD TAKE WITH AN INFANT OR A SMALL CHILD. PERIOD.

Any dog under 10 pounds in weight should be carried in a CLOSED travel pet-crate, with the 3-point seatbelt done up through the crate handle. IN THE BACK SEAT ONLY - and preferably in the centre.

NO FRONT SEAT TRAVEL. EVER!

NO perching out with window, no standing with back legs on the seat with front paws draped over a window sill. NO, no, a thousand times no.

NO SITTING IN THE LAP OF YOU (the driver), NOR in the laps of any of your passengers. No huddling in the footwells either.

Any dog over ten pounds and/or any dog who simply will not tolerate the confines of a carrier-crate should be strapped into a 3-point seatbelt via wearing a proper pet travel neck & chest harness (available for under $25-) through any decent pet store, such as PetSmart, or through a similar device as marketed by the manufacturer. (I believe Saab markets theirs as "Batzi Belts".)
AGAIN - IN THE BACK SEAT ONLY and preferably in the centre. These travel harnesses restrain your pet from too much freedom of movement (but give it enough to see outside) and will distribute the force of a sudden stop and/or crash evenly through the neck, back, ribs and shoulders of the dog.

It is EXTREMELY UNSAFE AND INHUMANE to do either of the following with a dog in your car:

1) Tying your dog's (neck) leash (alone) to ANY point in your car - whether it's cargo tie down rings, a seatbelt or ANY OTHER mounting post: If you are in a collision or must make a sudden stop, ALL the forward velocity/mass of your dog's body will be centred on its neck and it will suffer injuries ranging from soreness to a fatality;

2) Letting your dog roam free in the back of your brick wagon: Similar to the above risk, if you are involved in a frontal or side collision or must make a sudden stop or turn, your dog could be thrown against the cargo cage, side glass or tailgate with enough force to seriously injure or kill it. If you are rear-ended at any kind of speed, the consequences can be equally tragic.

I have a '90 240 Wagon with a pet gate in it. It's metal coverred in black plastic coating. It can stay in the "up" position when not in use, then swings down and locks into place. It came in the car when I bought it used, but it looks like a factory model (if there is such a thing). I would be willing to part with it if you are in the Northeast (I don't think that it's worth sending). I'm in Central NJ right now, but travel between Philly and Maine on a semi-regular basis.

Congrats on your new familyj member. I adopted a 5 year old Labrador from our Humane Society about four years ago. She turned out to be a pretty wild dog that had obviously never been taken for walks on a leash or ridden in a car. Not having a pet gate either I ended up tying her leash to one of the tie down points by the back door. She had enough leash so that she could move around, stick her head over the back seat but no further. Now with age, two sets of obedience classes, socialization etc., she now rides very well in the car and stays in the back area even when left in the car when it is parked.

An added benefit to the short leash/tie-down solution is that your dog will not be able to escape when opening the rear gate. For that reason, we chose to use a short nylon leash instead of the gate. Better rear visiblity, access to cargo area and more fun for traveling doggie also.

I had a similar situation with our Husky and found a nice alternative.

I had a "net" custom made my a manufacturer of race-car safety nets, (I cannot recall the name, but there were several on the web). I just measured the distance between the seat belt posts in the windows and the distance down to the cargo hooks. It was made out of 1" nylon and I fastened it with climbing carabiners. It cost around $85, is easily removable and best of all foldable and storable.

Thought you might like to hear another option - good luck!