The Right Car For Your Dog Part 2
OK, in my previous post on this topic, I covered the legal stuff to do with taking dogs in cars. Now we get to the fun bit: what sort of vehicle suits your furry friend. Or friends, as the case may be.
When I first started thinking about matching dogs to cars, I just about wrote sedans (saloons) off from the start. After all, you don’t really want a dog on the back seat standing up where it can snuffle down the back of your neck while you’re driving. Nor do you want to have scratchy doggy paws on lovely Nappa leather seats, because that would wreck them (the seat upholstery, I mean, not the paws!). However, I remember taking the Staffordshire Bull Terrier we used to have (RIP, old fellow!) in a sedan without any trouble. He was quite happy curling up in the footwell for most trips and didn’t try to sit on people’s laps (unlike the current bitzer). During longer trips, we also put him in one of those doggy carrying crates that sat nicely between my two children in the back seat of the sedan we had back then (probably a Ford Fairmont), which had the added advantage of stopping them hitting each other during long trips. What’s more, if you do have a sedan with leather seats in your possession already when you acquire a new puppy, there’s no need to sell the car – you can put down a nice blanket or doggy bed for Fido to occupy during the trip.
If you do decide that a sedan is the best for you, then I really do recommend one of those doggy carrying crates. They do stop your dog deciding to stretch his or her legs by bouncing all around the place inside the cabin on a long journey, and you can fit a snack for your dog in there. They’re also easier to clean in the case of little accidents – meaning accidents of the canine kind, not car accidents.
It’s obvious where the dog will ride if you have a hatchback, station wagon, 4×4 or ute. But it’s not quite as simple as that. There is a certain style that one has to consider and it’s nice if you can find a harmonious match between the dog(s) and the vehicle. You don’t see poodles or Chihuahuas standing on the deck of a ute (safely leashed, of course), bouncing up and down and yapping squeaky yaps at everybody going past. Jack Russell terriers and fox terriers maybe. But not poodles or Chihuahuas – or anything else small and fluffy (e.g. Bichons) or super-glamorous (Afghan hounds). The sort of dog that looks right on the back of a Toyota Hilux or a Nissan Navara is something rugged and tough and suggestive of the great outdoors – a farm dog (which aren’t an official Kennel Club breed but we all know what they look like) or a Dobermann or even a Labrador. Conversely, although a Great Dane might fit in the back of a little hatchback – if the back seats are folded flat – this is going to be just too much dog in one car. Besides, where are you going to put any passengers or your shopping where they won’t get slobbered on?
To give you an idea of how this works, here’s a list of the 10 most popular breeds in Australia (2017 statistics – the figures aren’t out for 2018 yet) matched the most appropriate general vehicle type:
Labrador Retriever: Your Labs are medium-large dogs and although they can fit in the back of a hatchback or across the back seat, they look best in something larger. It’s a cliché, but the suburban family SUV or MPV is a good match for the suburban family pooch.
Staffordshire Bull Terrier: A smaller dog that fits cosily into the back of even a 3-door hatch but doesn’t look weird tied on the deck of a ute, so a Staffie suits all vehicle types. However, as a short-coated dog that’s a big softy in spite of the tough looks, a Staffie would prefer to be inside the vehicle on a rainy day. A hatchback suits a Staffie just fine.
French Bulldog: Compact, French and a little bit quirky. I have just described one of the smaller Peugeots but it applies to the dog as well. A match made in… France.
German Shepherd: A big tough dog that is probably just about smart enough to drive the car. Something with lots of space would do the job – maybe a nice long station wagon or a 4×4. Put a German Shepherd in the back of a white Commodore or Falcon and you might get mistaken for a K-9 cop.
Border Collie: Working collies go on the back of grubby farm utes. Show-type border collies are better suited to something classy with a hint of the outdoors – say, a Range Rover.
Golden Retriever: See Labrador. However, as this has longer hair, best to keep it out of the back seat of the MPV or any humans who later ride in these seats will be forever trying to get the dog hairs out of their clothes.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Another breed that looks loopy on the back of a ute and is so small that it will get lost in the interior of a big 4×4. They love to snuggle up, so if the little hatchback is too small for you, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (big name for little dog) will be happy in a basket in a sedan.
American Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Amstaff): Like the regular Staffie but bigger, like all things American. A muscle dog like the Amstaff looks best in a muscle car like your HSV or FPV.
Miniature Schnauzer: A toy dog with a bit more fizz to it than a Cavalier etc., so not the sedan this time. Go for the hatchback of any type or the station wagon.
Rottweiler: Go big. This breed can cause serious damage to a little hatchback if it decides to jump onto the bonnet. A station wagon at the very least; a 4×4 is even better but your Rotty will settle for an SUV. Rotties were originally bred for pulling carts as well as herding cattle, so make sure your SUV has enough towing power that it can pull more than the dog.
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