Getting that New Car "Dog Ready"
*I will be updating this with reviews as we spend more time in the car this month*
There are people who refuse to allow their own dog into their car to preserve it. I understand that hesitation, but I also know that it isn't practical to outlaw your pet from your means of transportation. What will you do when you need to drop them off for the weekend while you're away? What about getting to vet visits? How will you get to the dog park?
These are just a few of the reasons to bite the bullet and give up on keeping the dog out of your brand new shiny car; unless you do indeed feel like being completely impractical. That doesn't mean that you have to allow your backseat to turn into a dump though. With a little bit of thought and preparation, you can merge your need to keep your car from getting destroyed and your need to transport your pet without hassle. Here's a few things to try:
Tip: Keep air freshener in the glove compartment for after they get out. Give the backseat a little spray and call it a day.
This is the most obvious place to start in terms of the car as you probably can't stand the ideas of claws digging into that new leather, or dirt getting rubbed into the cloth of the seats. I used to use a sheet in my old car and I spent a lot of time rearranging it before, and during our drive. Usually by the time we got where we were going, the sheet had slipped on the leather and Ben was scratching it up anyways. Fun stuff.
Now, we have a liner in the backseat that wraps around the headrests and is secured under the seat. Little rubber dots on the underside are also supposed to keep it in place, we'll see. But it does currently cover the seat.
We were lucky and got this as a hand-me-down, so I just threw it in the wash and now we're good to go. You can definitely get something that covers the entire back seat like a hammock, and that would probably be super useful if you are planning on driving other people around in your backseat a lot so that you don't have a ton of stuff to rearrange. I am not, so this should be fine.
I wish they had kept the plastic on the reflective parts of my trim, that would have helped to keep it protected. If your pup is anything like mine, they get excited and sometimes stand on the arm rest on the inside door panels as they're enjoying that breeze (or those people who are waving at them in traffic).
The thought of coming across scratched up panels made me second guess how practical I wanted to be in letting Ben in the car.
A quick search on Amazon showed me that other people had already solved my problem, and they didn't just wrap towels all over the door panels (something I was thinking of doing, possibly with velcro involved).
This is what we're waiting
on in the mail, and then Ben will be ready to hop in and take some rides around town.
Do- put some of their favorite toys in the backseat. Keep them there so that they have something novel to play with, and so that you don't have to lug toys back and forth between trips. I like to keep Ben's organized in a box (Dollar Tree!) in the backseat so that he can easily find them, and for easy cleanup when our trip is over.
Don't- give them squeaky, expensive, or long toys with hard objects on the end. Squeaky toys might be annoying or dangerous if they catch you off guard while you're driving. Expensive toys might get flung out the window (Ben threw 2 of his birthday toys out the window last year on our ride back from PetSmart, bye $20). Long toys might hit you or get flung into something if they shake them
To the left is Ben's current setup. That Santa toy shouldn't be an issue since it's plush, but that rope toy with the ball on the end is getting put in the trunk for the dog park so that I don't get assaulted with it while driving. Simple fix.
Don't - get messy smelly treats that will end up all over the place (anything with peanut butter). Avoid feeding them treats every time they follow a command, and definitely not while you are actively driving. Let's use that common sense here. The best schedule for conditioning a behavior is to reward randomly anyways, which keeps them guessing and performing the good behavior in hopes of a treat. Yay Psychology.
Well, this pretty much sums up my tips for getting Fido and your new whip ready to get acquainted, so lets get over that fear and get driving with your buddy!
Follow Ben's Page on Facebook for his updates:
https://www.facebook.com/BensMazda/
Don't forget to SPARQ (like) our picture if you want to support us by clicking the button to the upper left of the picture that says "SPARQ"!
https://www.facebook.com/SportMazda/?sk=app_666845600070979&app_data=url%7C%23/submission/22034
There are people who refuse to allow their own dog into their car to preserve it. I understand that hesitation, but I also know that it isn't practical to outlaw your pet from your means of transportation. What will you do when you need to drop them off for the weekend while you're away? What about getting to vet visits? How will you get to the dog park?
These are just a few of the reasons to bite the bullet and give up on keeping the dog out of your brand new shiny car; unless you do indeed feel like being completely impractical. That doesn't mean that you have to allow your backseat to turn into a dump though. With a little bit of thought and preparation, you can merge your need to keep your car from getting destroyed and your need to transport your pet without hassle. Here's a few things to try:1.) Wash your dog, they probably need it.
Dogs get into everything, and have a lot more hair than we do to build up all kinds of things that they come in contact with. Unless you want your car to smell terrible and get loose fur everywhere, just do it. You'll still have fur in your car, but it will be far less and it won't smell like rotten fish or wet dog (obviously let them dry off before putting them in).Tip: Keep air freshener in the glove compartment for after they get out. Give the backseat a little spray and call it a day.
2.) Get a backseat liner:
This is the most obvious place to start in terms of the car as you probably can't stand the ideas of claws digging into that new leather, or dirt getting rubbed into the cloth of the seats. I used to use a sheet in my old car and I spent a lot of time rearranging it before, and during our drive. Usually by the time we got where we were going, the sheet had slipped on the leather and Ben was scratching it up anyways. Fun stuff.Now, we have a liner in the backseat that wraps around the headrests and is secured under the seat. Little rubber dots on the underside are also supposed to keep it in place, we'll see. But it does currently cover the seat.
We were lucky and got this as a hand-me-down, so I just threw it in the wash and now we're good to go. You can definitely get something that covers the entire back seat like a hammock, and that would probably be super useful if you are planning on driving other people around in your backseat a lot so that you don't have a ton of stuff to rearrange. I am not, so this should be fine.
3.) Don't forget about your door panels
I wish they had kept the plastic on the reflective parts of my trim, that would have helped to keep it protected. If your pup is anything like mine, they get excited and sometimes stand on the arm rest on the inside door panels as they're enjoying that breeze (or those people who are waving at them in traffic).The thought of coming across scratched up panels made me second guess how practical I wanted to be in letting Ben in the car.
A quick search on Amazon showed me that other people had already solved my problem, and they didn't just wrap towels all over the door panels (something I was thinking of doing, possibly with velcro involved).
This is what we're waiting
on in the mail, and then Ben will be ready to hop in and take some rides around town.
4.) Add in some fun stuff with your pet in mind:
So we've got your car protected, on to the fun stuff that your pet will actually notice (Because lets be honest, they don't understand your human attachment to an inanimate object staying clean).
Toys:
Do- put some of their favorite toys in the backseat. Keep them there so that they have something novel to play with, and so that you don't have to lug toys back and forth between trips. I like to keep Ben's organized in a box (Dollar Tree!) in the backseat so that he can easily find them, and for easy cleanup when our trip is over.
Don't- give them squeaky, expensive, or long toys with hard objects on the end. Squeaky toys might be annoying or dangerous if they catch you off guard while you're driving. Expensive toys might get flung out the window (Ben threw 2 of his birthday toys out the window last year on our ride back from PetSmart, bye $20). Long toys might hit you or get flung into something if they shake them
To the left is Ben's current setup. That Santa toy shouldn't be an issue since it's plush, but that rope toy with the ball on the end is getting put in the trunk for the dog park so that I don't get assaulted with it while driving. Simple fix.
Treats:
Do- keep treats with you to reward good behavior in the car such as NOT putting half of their body out the window, and staying in the back seat rather than trying to become a 90 lb lap dog while you're driving. Reward them for sitting and laying down, as this is when they are the most safe. This should help them get used to commands in the car, which you'll be grateful for.Don't - get messy smelly treats that will end up all over the place (anything with peanut butter). Avoid feeding them treats every time they follow a command, and definitely not while you are actively driving. Let's use that common sense here. The best schedule for conditioning a behavior is to reward randomly anyways, which keeps them guessing and performing the good behavior in hopes of a treat. Yay Psychology.
Well, this pretty much sums up my tips for getting Fido and your new whip ready to get acquainted, so lets get over that fear and get driving with your buddy!
Follow Ben's Page on Facebook for his updates:
https://www.facebook.com/BensMazda/
Don't forget to SPARQ (like) our picture if you want to support us by clicking the button to the upper left of the picture that says "SPARQ"!
https://www.facebook.com/SportMazda/?sk=app_666845600070979&app_data=url%7C%23/submission/22034
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