Hi Nick,
See this possibility on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Walky-Guard-Ba...6788042&sr=8-1

combined with:
http://www.amazon.com/Mesh-Car-Barri...supplies_img_b

roofbox.co.uk says it's compatible with the Countryman.

Hope this helps!

 

I have a pic in my gallery of my lab with the poochstyle covers in my CM with the seats down. However I have started putting the seats up and pulling the seats forward to give her all the room possible in the boot. It is plenty of room and the cover goes over the back so she cannot squeeze through the gap. Having the seats down was too much room for her and she would just walk around.

 

The previous owner of one of my former cars (Subaru wagon) had two medium-large dogs, and they pretty much always had the rear seat folded down to give the dogs room. they always used some sort of sheet/blanket to cover the area, as well.
Two problems:
a) the aforementioned projectile issue was always looming over them
b) I had to replace the entire rear seat and all of the carpeting in the rear of the car, not to mention every plastic surface was scratched to heck. This in spite of the precautions they took with covering everything. When dogs are loose in the back, that's just what happens. Needless to say, I got the car really cheap from them - the resale value on the car had been destroyed! Also, years later people still commented on the dog smell in my car - and I never had a dog of my own in it.

 

That's why the shower curtain under the blanket or towel is so important. It prevents the dog dander (or doggy water coming off the dog) from filtering into the carpet. It really slows down the accumulation of dog smell.

 

Has anyone found a cheaper alt than the MINI Accessories $265.95 rear seat hammock to protect the back seat area? I finally realized that the smaller of my (discontinued) Nylabone crates fits in the boot with the seat up and the larger one fits in the back seat area -- which for shows is much easier than trying to fold and cinch down the seats! But the jumping in and out of the seating area is a sand/dirt hazard. Last time, I used a tarp and a blanket, but those hammock things look like they would do the job nicely. I just worry about them being generally too big. Thanks!

 

I ordered mine from this site several years back.

http://www.hunterk9.com/site/870877/...FUsaQgodwQMfBQ

I could not tell you exactly which I have but they have several choices from basic cover to more extensive full back seat area covers. I have been very happy with the product. The cover is now four years old and I've used it in a 3 series, a 6 series, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and now the CM... I wash it about once a month and it still looks good.

 

I have the factory $265 boot liner item. It looks nice, the materials are fine, but the implementation is absolutely terrible, and I cannot recommend it at all.

1. Despite being ostensibly to keep water, mud, etc. out of the car, the liner, which otherwise looks like it would, actually comes in two pieces with a non-waterproof velcro strip down the middle to attach the two pieces. If that weren't bad enough in and of itself, the overlap goes the wrong direction, meaning that the rear section overlaps the front, so that water trickling down the natural slope of the rear seats, instead of cascading over a flap into the flat rear section, it diverts the water below the flap and under the liner.

2. There are two 'bars' made of a flimsy material that are supposed to form the rear upper section that stands up when the zip-out tailgate cover is closed. The bars should connect together to keep the upper edge upright, but they don't, and between their weight and the weight of the material (not to mention 2 dogs) the center point where they meet ends up on the floor more often than not.

3. Part of the way this installs is with velcro, to the carpet in the rear quarters (D pillars). After using this item twice, the carpet is fraying out in little frizzed bits where the velcro doesn't actually stay put well anyway, and now the trunk (cosmetically) looks like I've put 50k miles on the car already.

4. The attachment points seem to have been estimated by someone who had pictures of the car, but not actual measurements. The whole thing just doesn't fit in there quite right, and the straps to hang it from the safety handles and rear panels don't go straight up, as they ought to distribute forces appropriately, but on odd angles, which causes the item to pull away from the carpet, leading to the problem with the carpet fraying.

So really, there aren't any great alternatives, and IMHO, it's a bit better than a shower curtain (my Rottweiler and Shepherd would poke holes through that in a fraction of a second) but this one is definitely not well thought out.

I can't recomend it at $250+... at $100 it would be worth consideration, but it doesn't provide $265 worth of benefit IMO.

If you're made of money, go ahead, but if you're on the fence... keep looking.

Cheers,
Tad

 

Just FYI - I wouldn't just put a shower curtain down. I'd always put a towel over it, precisely to avoid the puncture issue. In six or so years of the towel/shower curtain combo, I haven't had the curtain tear.

 

My Welsh Terrier, Fergus, would simply chew his way out...then eat the good, heavy weight.

 

Thank you for this link. We opted for the bench seat for traveling with our Lab - which we do a lot. She always has a harness and seat belt on though when we do. That being said I'd still like to protect my back seat from scratches, hair etc.

 

How does one prevent scratches to rear bumper top from dog claws when a dog jumps in/out of the boot area?

 

Some of us have this...

http://www.ngpracing.com/store/index...roduct_id=7227

 

My new CM has leatherette seats. Will my french bulldog scratch and tear it up?

 

I have the leatherette seats, as well. My Welsh Terrier is a regular passenger, and "his" seat has shown no signs of scratching, at all. I do keep his claws trimmed and filed.

 

That's awesome. I am picking my pre-owned 2011 CM on Saturday and was disappointed it didn't have leather but I read that leatherette is easier especially when you travel with dogs. BTW.... how are the leatherette seats during the hot summer?

 

How are the leatherette seats in the summer? Because they are vinyl, I understand it doesn't breath so do they get really hot and sweaty?

 

Which seat cover did you end up going with? Just picked up my CM last night and was considering the MINI seat cover until I read the review above.

Edit: Saw this one on sale (ending today) and it looked solid so I figured I'd give it a try - http://www.hunterk9.com/site/870877/product/3110

 

I went with this one:

https://www.storesonline.com/site/87...roduct/OH00679

Our dog swims a lot so this is perfect simple canvas for that. We had this one before and it lasted years. Hopefully it will work again in our new mini. If not the cost is so low it at least gives us time to consider other options. Hopefully we'll know soon! (car should arrive in two weeks!)

 

It's all we can do to keep our pup from motoring on her own! :P

 

I went with a full cover from ebay. It seems like it's going to work well. I ended up putting a carpet on top of it in the back becaue it was a bit slippery. We put on 300 miles with a 210LB mastiff in the back and he seemed to like it.

 

I took a earlier poster's suggestion and spent about $15 at Home Depot on a moving blanket. It works very nicely and fits the interior with the seats folded down. It also covers the rear bumper which protects from claws.

 

this is my work in progress. I already had a cargo liner called a hatchbag for my murano. So instead of trying to buy something new, I just flipped it around and am working on putting in grommets to be able to tie it and have added some suction cups. We did a test run this weekend for our local mini club scavenger hunt and brought the dogs. I found some flaws where it is falling down and needs a little more work but all in all I think it will work pretty good! I will post more once it is truly finished! I think you could do a similar thing with a large piece of canvas or thick painters tarp or something.

 

I don't have a bench seat since I own a '11 CMS All4. I am a proud parent of a french bulldog and he is having a difficult time being comfortable on the seats. He is use to having a bench seat and am wondering if anyone else is having this same issue? If so, any recommendations? When I am driving he usually seats on my lap. After all, he is a lap dog. :O)

 

That seat sling thing works well for medium or smaller dogs. It attaches to the back of the front seats and the front of the back seats.
http://www.amazon.com/Cruising-Compa...2347100&sr=1-5

 

Thanks for the link but I wonder if it would fit in a CMS? Buddy likes to sit up front and is use to being my co pilot. The center railing gets in the way of him laying his head on my lap. I guess we both just need more time in the car together.