Custom Dog Bed - Sliding Cargo Area

[CaliforniaTRD]

Hi All - I made this custom dog bed for my hound. Total cost was about $40. $20 for a egg crate topper from Ross and some denim fabric from fabric store.

I left a small fold up flap to cover the bumper top when she jumps in and out.

I'll post dimensions used and pictures.

Let me know if you have any questions or addition ideas.

Thanks!

 

[Trixx]

I really need to see the pup enjoying the final product to form an opinion!

 

[uplusd]

My only suggestion is to use a crash tested kennel instead of leaving your dog free in the back. One collision is all it takes to seriously injure or kill your dog.

 

[Trixx]

My only suggestion is to use a crash tested kennel instead of leaving your dog free in the back. One collision is all it takes to seriously injure or kill your dog.

Not sure I really buy into that $700 kennel. Is your dog strapped to something inside? If not, he's going to hit the side of a $700 kennel with the same force as a $100 kennel..

The safest bet would be getting a dog harness that a seat belt goes through and putting him in the seat. The next safest would be a kennel, and lastly left open.

 

[uplusd]

Not sure I really buy into that $700 kennel. Is your dog strapped to something inside? If not, he's going to hit the side of a $700 kennel with the same force as a $100 kennel..

The safest bet would be getting a dog harness that a seat belt goes through and putting him in the seat. The next safest would be a kennel, and lastly left open.

Consider inertia when in an accident. When the car comes to abrupt stop, everything inside the car keeps moving forward at a high velocity. Fortunately for us humans we have seat belts and airbags. Dogs don't have this luxury. A safety harness connected to a seat belt still has enough slack for the dog to move around freely, thus the dog will still be move forward in an accident. Since typically only the chest is restrained, whiplash is still a major issue.

Now consider the cheap $100 crates. These are not made of solid walls and have crunch zones (especially wire crates). The crunched wires will easily harm a dog. A double-wall rotomolded crate (like the gunner kennel) is the best option. It's strapped down to prevent movement and only big enough so that the dog can turn around and lay down. In a crash there is a greater chance of the impact being spread evenly throughout the dog's body rather than at one specific point (e.g., harness); not to mention the crate won't crunch.

Just my opinion and everyone is free to value their dog's safety as they see fit.

 

[gundrted+t4r]

That is a great dog bed. Nice job.

I find it interesting that people will spend 700-1000 on a dog create but still use a 3 point seatbelt and not question it.

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[Trixx]

Consider inertia when in an accident. When the car comes to abrupt stop, everything inside the car keeps moving forward at a high velocity. Fortunately for us humans we have seat belts and airbags. Dogs don't have this luxury. A safety harness connected to a seat belt still has enough slack for the dog to move around freely, thus the dog will still be move forward in an accident. Since typically only the chest is restrained, whiplash is still a major issue.

Now consider the cheap $100 crates. These are not made of solid walls and have crunch zones (especially wire crates). The crunched wires will easily harm a dog. A double-wall rotomolded crate (like the gunner kennel) is the best option. It's strapped down to prevent movement and only big enough so that the dog can turn around and lay down. In a crash there is a greater chance of the impact being spread evenly throughout the dog's body rather than at one specific point (e.g., harness); not to mention the crate won't crunch.

Just my opinion and everyone is free to value their dog's safety as they see fit.

I find that top photo with the crate example misleading. I drive a 4Runner, not a massive van with no seats. If you have a full sized dog and crate, the crate will likely be pushing up against something eliminating that much forward motion as is in the example above.

It's not about valuing a dogs safety, it's that I don't think the product is as effective as they think. If the kennel is up against Seats/walls it won't break, it'll flex. Try setting a thin kennel wall an inch against a concrete wall and punching a hole through it. It won't work.

 

[nglayton]

I take the safety of my dogs pretty seriously, they are always in a harness while riding in the 4R. I fear the harnesses that Pet Smart and others sell just aren't good enough. Does anyone have a link to a decent harness?

I find that top photo with the crate example misleading.

Agreed, I find both of those photos/video a bit misleading. They are both examples of EXTREMELY rapid acceleration, not stopping.

How fn fast would you have to accelerate to propel the dog completely through the top corner of the crate and completely shatter every single wall of said crate at the same time?

I know no car I have ever owned or driven has that kind of juice.

 

[trey99ek]

Forget the negative comments. You did a nice job on the mattress.

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