Wife and I have been working with a couple of local rescue organizations to find the right dog and finally picked our pup last night and will be taking him home Friday. So now of course I need to buy a couple good rear/front seat covers for him. While the FX will be the main hauling vehicle I want to have them just in case and to protect the leather as best I can.

As far as the shedding/mess goes I'm not really worried about it. I owned a black 350z for 3 years and got all the ****-retentiveness out of my system for the most part. Just looking for some suggestions if there are any floating around out there.

 

I'm looking to get one of these in the not too distant future. http://www.stacksandstacks.com/html/106204_pet-tube.htm

Right now, I have a big "throw" type thing that is made for the rear of an SUV. I just put it over my back seat and use a harness/seatbelt thing. It works quite well but I'm hoping the above will be easier and safer than just the seatbelt harness.

 

I just throw a big comforter in the back seat when ever I am hauling my beast around. It's big enough that it covers the complete back seat in my coupe.

 

I have always used a heavy wool blanket to cover the rear seat. I have done this on all my vehicles and I never had a problem with my pets marking or scratching the leather interior. This also works to catch most of the shedding fur. I just shake the blanket regularly and have it cleaned once in a while.

My pets have always been trained that they must go in the back seat, so they never attempt to get in the front. Besides I think it is horrible when people have their pet in the front causing all kinds of distractions.

 

Same here, I'll be keeping him to the backseat. The comforter idea is a good one as we have a few old ones lying around that done get used anymore. Great idea.

 

i keep mine in their kennels when i travel, the First day i bought my car, i had to drive 5 hours home from TX with two dogs in the back, but i guess if you have big dogs you would need protection. My dogs are pomerainians...

 

I bought bedding for my dog that I put on top of the seat where he sits. I don't recall where I got it (possibly Petsmart or Target), but it also came with a couple of straps that I tie to a seat belt so it doesn't slide off.

One thing that really works well is a harness for my dog that is designed to be held by the seat belt. My dog likes it since he doesn't have to sit inside a crate. Occasionally, I crack the window open so he can look outside (when I'm driving slowly). The harness definitely helps with safety. The harness keeps him in place. There's a couple of places to loop through the seat belt. Which one to use depends on how much slack to give him in moving around. It's also a great safety device. It's kept him safe and held him in the seat when I've had to slam on the brakes in the past. There's different models. The key factor is finding the right size. See:

http://www.ruffrider.com/

When my wife and dog are with me, they sit in the back. But when it's only me and my dog, he insists on riding shotgun. However, he's fairly light (about 20 pounds), and the light that says that the passenger air bag is temporarily deactivated doesn't usually turn on (depends on where he's sitting). So, it's not clear if the passenger air bag is temporarily off or still active. So, it's safest for him to sit in the back.

 

I still let Frank the Bulldog (american) ride in the G, hes only 3 1/2 months old though... maybe 25-30 lbs. I just put a blanket in the seat. My dalmation is about 70-75 lbs, he rides in the beater Jeep. He sheds like a maniac, so no way hes getting in the G.

What kind of dog did you rescue? Some of those rescue organizations can be a REAL pain in the rear, I gave up on even trying. I tried to rescue a dalmatian back in the day, but they made it impossible, so, I went to a good breeder, bought an amazing dog, and he has a great home.... its a shame they have dogs who need homes and yet alienate most people who would be willing to give them just that. Sorry, as you can tell, still a little bitter about it. MUCH MUCH more to the story obviously...

 

Please if you transport your animals put them either in a crate or in a harness or something of sort. I never thought much of it until we went for obedience classes and the instructor showed us a picture of her friend. She was about 5 miles from her home on a road near our house and she was run off the road by someone coming toward her who swerved. Her minivan went down a small hill and rolled. She had 5 dogs in her van all in crates. The dogs were fine though a little bruised but the driver almost lost her leg due to the severity of the damage to the van. The rescue workers were amazed that the dogs were even alive let alone all OK. Please don't just assume they will be fine. I think most people here think of their pets as members of the family and no one wants to see them hurt.

 

We rescued a lab/hound mix pup from a litter that they had just rescued from West Virginia. He was the cutest little guy and according to the foster mom has the most laid back temperament of the 5. He's about 3 months old and we pick him up Friday.

But you get no argument from me, believe me I am the last person in the world that likes to deal with bureaucratic nonsense and dealing with some of these groups has been hard. Yet I can honestly say I have seen a lot of the reasons now why they are that way and why they go out of their way to insure the dog has a good home. A lot of times county shelters and the like will give puppies and dogs to familes (or anyone) that wants one because their 5 year old "wants a dog" - but then the dog gets returned a year later because the kid cant take care of it. Or the mom will say "Oh yeah, we have a great home for a big dog" then the rescue group shows up and they have 14 children running around a tiny trailer with almost no way to pay for dog food. The groups are really trying to ensure this doesn't happen. Like I said, I dont agree with how hard its been and wont pretend that filling out all these forms has been fun, but I can at least partially see now where they are coming from.

Plus I cant wait to get the little guy home!

 

http://www.orvis.com/store/product_c...ubcat_id=10578

First off, congrats on the adoption and huge kudos to you for going through a rescue organization. I have my second yellow Lab through rescue and I am a big supporter of the great work these organizations do.

I bought the product above for my TSX and it worked perfectly - lightweight, easy to clean, easy to install/take out, etc. Unfortunately, the design of my G35x's rear headrests doesn't allow it to be used the same way. So, I attach it to the front headrests as it should be, then I just tuck it into the seam in the rear seat. Since you're mostly interested in preventing the dog's nails from perforating the seat cushion, it works great. Hope this helps, and good luck with your new "baby."

 

be glad you have graphite and not stone interior . The lighter interior shows off paw prints like mad, even when it looks like the dog has clean paws.

My dogs don't shed (shih tzu) but when their fur gets longer, they pick up dirt, sand and dust like mad. I keep a handy shop vac around and leather cleaner for that. On long trips or if we go somewhere we know they'll get dirty at, we toss an old comforter in the back and they just happily sleep on it.

 

I work for a company called Orvis, they're a great out doors fly fishing store. Go to our website, and go to the dog section, we have tons of things for the backseat to protect it from dogs.

Orvis.com

 

Drs Foster and Smith has several. Here is one link
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...1603&catid=575

 

Yeah, I partially understand as well, but like I said, the story went a little deeper. The president of the rescue sent my correspondence email around with her own commentary in it in red to her listserve explaining how I was SO unfit for a dog and absolutely bashing me and making assumptions about me and my lifestyle based soley on the fact that I was a college student. She didnt even remove my name or personal info from the emails that she copied into her big public service announcment. Anyways, the stupid woman forgot I was on her list serve... and at the time my cousin (who married a quadrabigillionaire) was the president of the national SPCA. I don't think this story ended up too well for the rescue woman-