car for big dogs

[chirpychirpy]

can anyone suggest a good car for carrying large dogs? plenty of room at the back and low to the ground so they can jump in easily....

[ttfn]

Don't forget that weight of large dogs will reduce further your ground clearance - beware speed humps and the like. When I had my largest dog (Newfi) I had a Montego and then a Vauxhall Vectra - both gave plenty of space for my big dog to lie down, sit up and turn around in. Volvo's are good too.

[wolf63]

Whatever you do don't put an unrestrained bull-mastiff cross in the back of a mini. I don't think that the mini ever recovered from the experience.

;-)

[ttfn]

Susan - my mother's goddaughter had a Newfi bitch which she transported in her mini Riley Elf! Tarqua would stand with her front paws on the passenger seat and rear paws on the back seat. I would not have believed it unless I had seen it with my own eyes.

[paddywak]

How big a dog do you mean to transport? We've got a Ford Focus estate and Max has loads of room,even when we don't have the back seat folded down

[jules77]

Kia Sedona comes top of my list of most wanted cars for space. It is classed as a people carrier and the additional seats can be dropped down out of the way giving additional boot space. I saw one at a show recently with four huge dog crates in the back and room to space.

[jules77]

Sorry, I meant room to spare!

[RATTER15]

We have a Citroen Berlingo and we can carry 3 Irish Wolfhounds no problem, it has loads of headroom and sliding side doors which makes it a lot easier than letting them out the back.

It a great car!

[RATTER15]

Take a look here http://uk.cars.yahoo....-1.6-16v-1003685.html

[thugulike]

I transport my 15 stone mastiff in a Subaru Forester. Plenty of room, safe with a dog guard and comfort for me. He uses a Tesco crate upside down to get in as he can only manage his front paws. Methinks he likes to be lifted in, he's a very tactile dog. If you go for an estate car beware of cars with spare tyres under the floor and the flimsy covers can buckle. You may have to reinforce with plywood.

[RATTER15]

The nice thing about the berlingo is it has a very low step up to the rear and a solid floor.
What sort of dogs are we talking about. We took the berlingo generally because of the headroom for very tall dogs, Irish Wolfhounds are too tall for an estate.

[fredpuli47]

True Ratter! I got the largest Skoda estate when I got my Irish Wolfhound puppy, a dog. Plenty big enough, thought I, thinking of my existing and past bitches. Yes,well, the lad is tall, even by wolfhound dog standards. Still, he curls up in it, which is something ! But next time (next time?) I might get a van type. I notice that breeders all have that type.But I suspect chirpy isn't thinking of a wolfhound . Chirpy doesn't seem mad! Don't start is my advice. Once you've had one it may become an obsession to have several, as we know, and once that happens.....

[RATTER15]

lol fred, you are so right!! when we went to collect the first Wolfie it was decided that we would only have one, by the time we got home with the pup we were planning the 2nd, 12 months after the 2nd we were offered a pup by a top breeder, well we couldnt say no, could we!! :-)

[Dee Sa]

you dont have to have a "low" car you can buy a dog ramp.

[lankeela]

I had a Renault Espace which was easy for the dogs to get into. However the reason most breeders/show people have vans is because they are better for the dogs when you are at a show, as cars let in too much heat and vans are more shaded, and if caged out you can leave all the doors open so the air blows through. I currently have a Transit, although the smaller vans now have side doors, so maybe one of those would suffice.