Help me design a tailgate barrier for my dogs!

[Houndhill]

R

[QUOTE=Marshfield;7599571]
Yes, it’s a big fear for me. My Suburban was rear-ended in 2012 by an asshole driving a pick up truck who ignored a red light. To this day, I regret not punching him in the groin for endangering the dog of my heart. I was on my way to work in ER and declined care for myself to take the girls to the ER where I work. I was sitting there after dialing 911 debating taking them to the closer ER. My rear bumper was crushed in right where Gale was. The next car will have these http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3272&ParentCat=732 Whenever possible the girls ride in a crate behind my seat.[/QUOTE]

I love the concept! If I had more conventionally sized dogs, I would definitely be interested. Unfortunately, they do not make them large enough for Irish Wolfhounds.

I have friends that have a Chevy van, that they have had customized, hired a welder to have bars welded in back and front, and in the middle, so they can convey two groups of hounds. I thought of doing that for the minivan, but guess it wouldn’t be so great for resale value.

Have just finished installing the two xpens, one 42" and one 36", combined to form a 48" x 72" enclosure, with gate at the side door. It required cutting down the corners at the back ( with the wire cutter), surprising how much the back slopes down. Supposedly you can carry a 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood in this, but though it measured 48" right in back of the seats, it does slope considerably, but doesn’t look like it would!

There is still room (maybe 18-24") in the very back to put groceries, etc., outside the xpen. If I ever wanted to convey humans in seats in the very back, I could remove the xpen and bedding and pop up the very back seats. The middle row has been removed, probably forever.

[Marshfield]

Our biggest dogs are still probably half the size of Houndhill’s. The largest GSP is 65 pounds. But, it is the corgi collection who logs lots of miles on the road with me between training class, trialing, and accompanying me to work, the most active girls easily spend 10 hours a week travelling with me. I want them to be safe and since the next car will likely be an Audi diesel wagon for it’s mileage, they’re going to need a reinforced travel space.

[Houndhill]

[QUOTE=Marshfield;7599571]
Yes, it’s a big fear for me. My Suburban was rear-ended in 2012 by an asshole driving a pick up truck who ignored a red light. To this day, I regret not punching him in the groin for endangering the dog of my heart. I was on my way to work in ER and declined care for myself to take the girls to the ER where I work. I was sitting there after dialing 911 debating taking them to the closer ER. My rear bumper was crushed in right where Gale was. The next car will have these http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3272&ParentCat=732 Whenever possible the girls ride in a crate behind my seat.[/QUOTE]

I would be right there with you with the groin punch, Marshfield! How frightening! The next car option sounds great to keep the Corgis (and GSP) safe in the new Audi.

[Bicoastal]

I just PMed a COTHer who is in Europe on what sounds like an internship. I asked if she would consider facilitating bringing UK tailgate barriers back to States for a couple of COTHers. I don’t know this person. I hope she doesn’t think I’m a nut! I’ll let you know if she responds.

I need to figure out what is the most similar European car to a Toyota Matrix 08. I only found this list. Maybe the Verso or Auris?

[betsyk]

Back to the original question: what if you took a web stall guard and had eye-bolts (or similar) installed around the rear tailgate opening, and attach the stall guard to the eye-bolts with snaps? Dogs could possibly shimmy under or around and escape, but maybe not? It would also give you lots of flexibility for using the back of your SUV for other purposes. I have no idea what would be involved with having eye bolts or equivalent installed…

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=betsyk;7639987]
what if you took a web stall guard and had eye-bolts (or similar) installed around the rear tailgate opening, and attach the stall guard to the eye-bolts with snaps?/QUOTE]

That is a novel suggestion! I like your creativity and practicality! Let’s see how this inspires a design.

My first thought is the dog would chew on it. Paws/legs could get twisted. There are closed guards. I can’t envision one being tall enough Oh, a solid guard would block the rearview.

It might be do-able for giant breeds. I have tiny guys who would easily breeze through.

Personally, I want confinement that maximizes the cargo space and keeps the dogs safely contained both in transit and when the rear hatch is wide open all day at a trial. I want that space to be divided or divide-able to transport two dogs separately.

[Houndhill]

Not to hijack, but thought this might work for OP or others. I finally got my xpens arranged in my new Honda Odyssey, and yesterday transported three large Irish Wolfhounds (total canine weight = 480 pounds). I hitched two 42" high Xpens together, forming a 48" x 72" dog containment area that goes floor to celing. I only used one door, opening to the side, but you could use the other door in the back if you wanted. I could leave both side doors and the tailgate open if I wanted, and would feel secure.

I did have to remove a few sections of wire at the top of the back, as the vehicle roof sloped down, but I filed them down and taped them so they are not digging into the ceiling. I’m pretty happy with it.

Three IWs were pretty crammed in, fortunately they manage to fit themselves around one another like pieces in a giant puzzle, but for a short trip it was OK, I would only take two on a longer trip, or if they had any issues with personal space. It would be pretty easy to put a partition in if you wanted to separate them (i.e. had a bitch in heat and a male and didn’t want the trip to be too exciting).

There is enough room in back of the xpen (2’ x 4’) that you can put groceries or whatever in back, and can open the side xpen door and put things in there if you need to. Or you can take the whole thing out without too much trouble.

You could hitch it to various things on the floor of the vehicle to further anchor it if you wanted, but I didn’t feel it was necessary.

[Bicoastal]

Hey LPH, you ever create a custom tailgate barrier?

[vxf111]

I want EXACTLY THE SAME THING.

[vxf111]

OP please update!

[Orchid]

These tailgate guards are incredibly common in Europe. If you go to UK www.google.co.uk (make sure you scroll to the bottom to confirm you want to be on UK google) and search for tailgate dog guards, you’ll find pages of companies that make these.
I think one of the most popular UK makers is Barjo— www.barjo.co.uk

Let me know if you need any further help–I can’t believe these haven’t made it to the States yet as they are soo common here.

Good luck!

[Equibrit]

If you get an SUV with a drop down tailgate and a window above it that hinges up, it should be relatively easy to make a mesh affair for the top section when the window is up.

Just found this; http://www.transk9usa.com/

Expensive answer; https://4x4northamerica.com/product/mim-safe-variogate-universal-cargo-barrier/

[keysfins]

[QUOTE=Lazy Palomino Hunter;7590658]
Someone else posted this too- YES, it is exactly what I’m looking for. Unfortunately it might be a bit out of my price range; I can get the 3 x-pen panels for my design for $20, so as long as the custom weld job comes in under $700 I think that’s the route I’ll go.

Thanks for the link, though!!![/QUOTE]

I would probably go with this from Clean Run:

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3823

Yes, the price tag is :eek: , but it is purpose-made, could be moved to a new vehicle, or even sold on if you no longer needed it.

Alternatively, and a lower price point:

https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.searchResults

[MsM]

Since everyone is trying to discourage people from leaving dogs in cars, it might be difficult for a manufacturer to produce and sell something for that purpose. Also fear of lawsuits.

How long are you leaving the dog in the car and under what circumstances?

I would think you could use ex pen panels with a gate Modify so they fit across the back and add a method to attach to the sides of the vehicle. I would like this as a better, safer way to get the dog out.

[keysfins]

[QUOTE=MsM;8861116]
Since everyone is trying to discourage people from leaving dogs in cars, it might be difficult for a manufacturer to produce and sell something for that purpose. Also fear of lawsuits.

How long are you leaving the dog in the car and under what circumstances?

I would think you could use ex pen panels with a gate Modify so they fit across the back and add a method to attach to the sides of the vehicle. I would like this as a better, safer way to get the dog out.[/QUOTE]

I will respectfully disagree. There are many people with sporting dogs who need/use variations of dog boxes.

The Clean Run site has many items for dogs in cars/vehicles, aimed at agility and showing enthusiasts:

https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?displaycount=1000&fuseaction=category.display&category_id=732

And so does DogsUnlimited, geared for field trialing:

http://www.dogsunlimited.com/d/51/traveling-gear.htm?filter=1&SortBy=disp_a&MaxPerPage=96

I only just realized this thread is from 2014. I hope the OP found a solution and will update!

[Bicoastal]

@Orchid;8858611

These tailgate guards are incredibly common in Europe…I can’t believe these haven’t made it to the States yet as they are soo common here.

So frustrating to me, Orchid. Do you know what it would entail to ship one to the States?

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=MsM;8861116]
I would think you could use ex pen panels with a gate [/QUOTE]

I’ve seen a photo of just this: the door portion and adjacent panels of an expen welded to curve with the hatch. When I asked the owner, she said it is secured to the car via “tabs.” Someone else had a manufacturer of roll cages build one of expanded metal. She says it is secured through suspension only; appears to bolt into the roof of the car in two places.

[Orchid]

[QUOTE=Bicoastal;8862559]
So frustrating to me, Orchid. Do you know what it would entail to ship one to the States?[/QUOTE]

I would speak to the people at Barjo as a first port of call--with the fall in the value of the GBP recently, you may find it surprisingly affordable to buy and ship one from the UK...and most UK companies are used to shipping products out to Europe and the rest of the world, so they should have a reasonable idea of how to best go about it. If you don't have any luck with them, I can try and find out what it would roughly cost to send over privately.

[Lazy_Palomino_Hunter]

Sorry for the slow response, all!

Now to make it even worse - I never got anywhere with this!! :lol:

Hopefully I’ll be competing more with my dogs in 2017, so maybe it’ll come up again… I’ll definitely update if I come up with a good, inexpensive solution. :yes:

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=Orchid;8863219]
I would speak to the people at Barjo as a first port of call[/QUOTE]

I did and they were speedy with a reply. Unfortunately, my vehicle model is not one found there so they were not able to help.