Dogs and 4Runners

[TheBlueWave]

Can't say it enough - crate train the dog and use one in the 4Runner. OK, it's not as cool or as much fun as having your buddy ride next to you, but it's the safest place for the dog, and you almost completely eliminate the dog hair/snot/body fluids problems.

My dog (and maybe we) survived a head-on only because she was in a crate and didn't come flying forward - hitting either the driver or passenger's head or the dash. A totalled truck was bad enough - wouldn't want to think about losing the dog too.

My dog is really big, so the crate is likewise big. In fact, its too big to fit in the back without seats folded down, and it almost completely blocks my vision out the back. I agree with you, though, and crate him for longer trips. You just don't know the effort involved in loading the crate back there everytime we go to a local park or something. I am willfully taking the risk there. Yes it sucks but I can't make my dog small enough to fit in a crate that doesn't take up the entire back of my rig.
Thankfully, dog hair cleans up easily off the back of my seat covers, he lays on a blanket back there, and I've never seen him "emit" bodily fluids since I've had him (knock on wood!).

 

[rdb4runner]

done it all

We use a black metal cage style barrier behind the second row seats, it is the best barrier short of a custom offroad/commercial transport installation that I could find(and it looks way better than the tube style). I also have a husky cargoliner and usually keep our labs fleece bed back there. I've used other liners and blankets and tube style barriers but its way more work to keep clean and the barriers aren't as nice. I would recommend a non-porous cargo liner like the husky liner if you have a lab or other dog that likes to swim, I have ours lay on the bare liner after swimming or rain so the wet dog smell doesn't get into his bed or carpeting.

 

[greyghost4x4]

I have 2 weimaraners and I use a barrier so they have the cargo area to themselves. Had to go out and but a cargo mat because my little one liked to chew on my carpet, but no big deal. My dogs have to stay in the back because of luggage and my newborn.

Evan

 

[bcmichael]

The two most frequent passengers in my 4Runner are my dogs and they travel in kennels in the cargo area. The kennels are always in my truck which means the back seat is almost always folded down, fortunately I very seldom haul more than 2 people so it hasn't been a big issue for me.

In those rare instances where I do need to seat 3, 4 or more people I can easily collapse the kennels and put the back seat up. The kennels are designed so that you can fit two of them between the wheel wells of mini-vans, SUVs, etc. They are a very tight fit between the wheel wells, i.e. pulling them in and out will scratch the plastic. Since I plan on owning the Runner until the day it dies I'm not too worried about the scratches.

We travel with our dogs a lot (going to dog competitions, camping, etc) and over the years I've gathered that kennels are the preferred solution to ensure the safety of the dogs and the people in the car. Here's the list of options I've gathered from other dog people, in order from most preferable to least preferable:

1) kennels that are tied down in the car (the debate of wire vs plastic kennels is a topic for K9 discussion boards)

2) K9 restraint barriers that keep dogs in cargo area

3) K9 seat belts

4) loose in the car

 

[mike508]

I guess I am just lucky but my 45# Border Collie causes no problems except some hair left behind. When we travel I put the back seat down and she lays there with her head on the 2nd row seat cushion behind the center console looking at me. She used to pant the whole trip but now is more relaxed. I have not used a harness restraint but know I should. Next trip I plan to put a harness on her like you can get at Petsmart and then tie it to the rear seat back lugs on each side.
Due to a leg injury she is not able to jump on to the deck with the back seat down so I made a ramp by covering a 1X12 board with carpet that is then stored where the 2nd row seat back would be.

 

[G.I.G.]

My fiancee and I have a ~2 year old dalmatian/border collie or cattle dog mix. She is definitely daddy's little girl. We don't use a divider because she is trained to not jump over the back seat, and she doesn't try to. That's the same reason why we don't use a crate. Plus, putting her crate in the back would be a pain for short jaunts to the dog park, hikes, etc. Short of a roll-over accident, she seems to be safe back there.

BTW, I think the rear window being able to roll down benefits my dog more than me. I roll it about half way down for her so she can stick her head out but not far enough down that she could jump out. Again, I want to make sure she is safe.

Below are a couple of pics when we went on a road trip for some spring boarding and tail gating.

4R is a bit messy in this pic....

How could you not love this face?....

 

[G.I.G.]

I forgot to mention (and you can't see it in the pic) but I have the WeatherTech rear cargo liner which helps with the dog hair. When we adopted our dog she was already house broken so no accidents in the car. I originally bought the rear cargo liner for throwing in wet, dirty snowboard boots but it has proved helpful for throwing in a wet, dirty dog as well.

 

[antidentite]

I put a chest harness on my dog, then tie that to the d-ring in the back of the truck. This seems much safer in case of an accident, still allows her to roam in the back of the truck, and prevents her from jumping in the front when we're stopped.

She's an old dog, so I put a dog bed in the back over the Husky cargo liner, and it works like a charm!

 

[chip4]

I just put an old comforter in the back seat and shirt over the center console -for the drool. He sticks his head out the window and thinks he's flyin

Bogey the black lab:

 

[_JT_]

My pup posing

Driving off the beach, we had to fit my golden pup with my parents older golden. Luckily they didnt decide to have a cage match.