I often want to take my dog, Max who is a 110 lb. German Shepherd with me on short trips but worry about the safety hazards of it. I want to take every precaution to ensure a safe ride with my pet. Max is too large to just rely on my Sleepy Pod harness to hold him in the back seat. That’s when I began my search for a way to keep him secure in the back seat for a safe ride with my pet.
Max has always been overly excited about being in the car. It is something he needs to become accustomed to though. He tries to jump in the front seat, sometimes will hit the shifter with his paw, or just simply try to get the driver’s attention. If I was driving with a passenger they can assist in keeping him calm, but he was still overly excited. I had researched some crates I could possibly use, but all were too large for my vehicle and others too small for Max to fit in.
Time to Test Them Out
I decided I would test out some car barriers. The first car barrier I found that has some of the highest ratings were the “Bushwhacker-Paws n Claws Deluxe 50 inch.” This barrier has a lightweight metal tubing to shape around the inside of your vehicle and across the headrest. This secures your pet from squeezing around the barrier. The barrier attaches around each headrest, and then I attached the bottom through the headrests of my second row after it was folded down.
The Bushwhacker did a wonderful job keeping Max in the back. I was able to give him a Kong to distract him and help keep him calm. I feel comfortable driving and not worrying if Max is going to jump in the front seat or move the shifter while I am driving. The con to this barrier is that it is quite large and can obstruct some of your views. The installation was quite easy but the instructions lacked any information other than a drawing. Installing it was common sense if you are familiar with items like this but if not then it could be difficult.
The next car barrier I tested was the “Petego Kar 9″ It had easy instructions and seemed very sturdy. However, I could not fully test it because the hook that was supposed to tighten around my headrest was too small for mine. I would need to create another way to attach it.
The final car barrier was the “WeatherTech Tubular.” This was my least favorite. It came pretty much preassemble however getting it to fit inside the car was another story. When I finally got it into place I took it for a test drive. I didn’t even make it 5 minutes down the road and it had fallen over. Max was not even overly excited at this point. The view obstruction was about the same as the “Bushwhacker- Paws n Claws.”
What Did I Learn?
Overall, I think the “Bushwhacker” provided the most safety for keeping Max in the back seat. It was the quickest and easiest install of all of them. I had no worries about it falling over or Max breaking through it. With an item like this, I can take Max on short trips to help him become more comfortable with being in the car.