Our dog rides in the car quite often...

I am wondering how NAM members are setting up their Countryman for their furry friends...

I am thinking of putting down the back seats and laying a blanket over. I'm just concerned about the the gap between the buckets...

Otherwise, the Countryman accessories list offers a rear seat cover but it seems very steep at $265...

Any recommendations would be appreciated... THANKS!

P.S. I am still waiting for our Countryman to arrive but thinking through some of these things helps pass the time...

 

I purchased the factory seat cover for the CM. I have it, but not the car yet. Think it is well worth the money. Material attracts dog hair, is padded/waterproof and has zip in door panel covers. Attaches to front and rear headrests and can be configured to cover only one seat ( zips apart ).
Way nicer than the bathmat-rug combo I've been using in my TSX. Worth the money for sure!

 

I thought that's what the roof rails and bungee cords were for?

Gap in the folded seat is covered by the fold forward floor/divider - well is covered by optional second floor. I generally find a work floor carpeted mat - rough weave on top and rubber base - and cut to fit. My last one I found at WalMart. It gives them firm footing, holds the hair, and protects the good carpet. Also can be taken out and hosed as needed. Side walls they don't much bother, so I just wipe them down after a trip. If they're traveling with the seats up, I just use a big quilt. I've found that a lot of pre-thinking is counter productive. You have to take them on a couple of outings and see what they get into and then protect from there.

Good luck!

 

I'm thinking about the Countryman because it looks like the boot area is large enough for a medium dog (like mine, a beagle mix), so I wouldn't have to put the seats down. I don't want to have to do that. If others WITH a Countryman feel otherwise, I'd appreciate the feedback.

 

Leave your dogs at home, hell I don't even like to bring my kids out if I can avoid it.

But in all seriousness if you do travel with a dog it should be belted in a seat like any other passenger, not laid out like a piece of luggage, very dangerous if there is an accident, and should simply not be done with regularity.

 

Very good point, JudgeS. Dogs can quickly become projectiles in an accident and injure themselves and/or driver/passengers. Having said that, from what I've seen of the CM, a beagle of normal weight should have no problem in the back without the seats folded down, IMHO.

 

I have to agree. I have been traveling with my Yellow Lab for years in my cars and with any object in the car it will become a killer! In bad weather or if not necessary I will leave him at home. However, on a trip to CA this past Spring I had to take him as we were going to stay for several weeks.

We were cycling and a relative was the "Chase" driver in my Volvo. One day that driver had my Yellow lab in the car and was going to meet the cycle group. The Volvo was broadsided at 60mph in the front left wheel. As the car swung around the Yellow Lab was catipulted/eject through the back window onto a Highway. He took off running scared across the highway for safety. Luck was my side as well as the 12 year old Yellow Lab as he walked away with superficial wounds to his face and a very bruised body!

I have always been aware of the risks of traveling with a loose dog and this was a slap in the face of not taking the necesarry precautions to secure Old Yellar;-(

Don't bring the dog if possible, if you do, secure Fido!

All living creatures walked away that day. Both autos totalled!

 

I fit my 60 lbs Basset hound in the rear with the seats up. If we're taking a longer trip I move the seats up a little bit and put his bed in the back so he does fall into the gap. Next time he's in the back I'll be sure to take a pic.

 

What a beautiful yellow lab. SO glad he was ok...wow!

Check out the poochstyles set up. They are a vendor on here:
http://www.poochstyle.com/photo_gall....asp?PID=27047

They designed a 'filler pillow' for the rail system.

 

I just wanted to chime in here...My family of 3 (me, wife, son) were able to put a weekend's worth of luggage under the floor in the back and there was plenty of room with the seats up for our ~100 pound rottweiler. There is actually quite a bit more room compared to her airline style plastic kennel, and she was perfectly content back there for a 7 hour drive (with potty/water breaks of course.) We just put one end of a fitted sheet over the rear headrests and tucked the other end under the false floor to discourage her from trying to come forward and to provide hair protection. It worked well.

I would love to get one of those pet barriers for the CM if we end up doing a lot of trips that way though.

 

I'm betting we will set the record. We have two male, Great Danes. They weigh 140 pounds a piece and measure 36 inches at the withers. We figure we can fit both of them together in the back of the Countryman. The dogs will have to sit sphinx-like, but that should be OK for short trips. Our Countryman was ordered March 13th and is scheduled to arrive in late April or early May. Photos to follow . . . .

 

My advanced copy of the owner's manual has a blurb on the optional cargo net / divider. Seems to fasten at the roof and floor. I have not located it yet, but it looks like a good idea. The only way to keep Lucy in the back on trips would be to put her under the floor and put a good, heavy weight on top. She travels under the name Houdini.

 

People should resist the temptation to cram a dog in the boot, even with a net.

 

I know this is a bit late to this discussion, but I just got my Countryman yesterday and was able to SQUEEZE the following 2 soft crates side by side in the boot. These crates carry 2 Australian Shepherds (one is 21" at the shoulder and 45 pounds, the other is 18" at the shoulder and 33 pounds). I am able to keep reasonable seating space in the rear seats with this arrangement, but I did have to squish the crates a bit. It does work though and I can still see out the back.
http://www.petego.com/category/24/Ca.../DogBagpettent
24" x 24" x 24"
http://www.amazon.com/Polka-Dot-Coll.../dp/B002P55YGS
23"L x 18"W x 21"H

I am THOROUGHLY disappointed that the "flat-load floor" is not level. A waste of $250!!! It is at a flat angle which makes the idea of riding with the dogs in the back with the seats down a real challenge that I have not yet conquered... We need a rear seat delete kit for the R60!!!!

 

Welcome to the dogs and CM party.

From another post somewhere - on the outsides of the seats, on the floor there are two plastic "ears". Pull off the platic covers and there are tie-down loops. Run a cinch strap over the folded seats and you can get them close to level. Head rests are also removable, if that helps.

 

Does the 2012 Countryman come with a flat load floor standard? We were told that we can purchase a 2nd one but that one already comes with the car.

 

Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh! Flat load floor questions are back.

Lots of posts and confusion on these. Essentially - you get a boot well cover standard. If you want to use the standard cover to bridge the gap in your seat backs, you can buy an optional second cover. As far as we can tell, you can not retrofit it. One person is trying and it is not going well. If you even think you might need it, get it.

Pictures -

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-pictures.html

 

THANKS! I saw those, tried to pull them off, they were on there good and gave up! Now I know it CAN BE DONE!!!

 

Fredo, I have to second what Sealy says about the floor -- it is not level, but it is a flat surface to make up for the gap in the rear bucket seats. It is not standard; it's a $250 option. Probably worth it for dogs if your intention is to put them in the back with the seats down not in crates.

 

Oh, thanks for the clarification Sealy! Sorry, I had done a search on this site about them but ended up even more confused.

 

I have my CM set up specifically for travel with dogs. I compete in dog sports and have outfitted a number of vehicles for these activities.

The seats are down, I used a ratchet strap from the hooks beside the seats (may need a tool to pry covers off) across the head rest rods to compress the seats as flat as they will go.

I have two wire 21" by 30" inch crates pushed all the way up to the back of the driver and passenger seats. the crates are side and end door models, and dogs can be loaded either via the boot or the side doors. I can still access the boot storage. The crates end just before the cover hinge.

I was going to build my own flat load floor, but ended up just putting some foam to protect the folded seats then putting the crates directly on them. The crates also are strapped down with a ratchet strap to the hooks. they are cable tied to each other and the little metal rings in the boot for extra stability and rattle control.

The floor is not completely flat even with seats strapped down, so I have a few shims under the boot side of the crates, but that's just my preference it isn't bad without it.

Obviously, not a set up for everyone, but I am pleased my plan worked out perfectly and wanted to get it on the forums in case someone else is looking to do similar.

I also put the sticky clear plastic carpet protector over the boot cargo cover as it is a hair magnet. Not sure how that will hold up, but you get a bunch on a roll and I can replace it.

If anyone removes their back seats, I'd love to see how much room that would buy for storage (I'd replace it with a platform) I can use the foot wells, and have a hunch there wouldn't be much more usable space with the seats deleted.

Myra and the obedience/flyball (etc) dogs

 

Myra,
PLEASE tell me these are the old discontinued MW 40Z crates that are 30 long x 21 wide x 28 high??? That's exactly what I had in my 2 previous Volvo wagons and an Isuzu Trooper. If they fit in this car, I'd be BEYOND happy for my upcoming agility trial!

Here's what the soft crates look like in the boot space alone with the dogs in them.


Laura

 

These are elite field 21 X 30 X 24. There are pictures in my gallery if you look there. If your crates are 28 inches high I think it will be tight in the corners with the roof contours. I doubt it will clear.

 

We have two Golden retrievers at 61 and 63 pounds, and we take them all over the place.

I have a whole blog entry on protecting your cargo area to share some of the things I've learned over the last ten years of owning dogs and taking them hiking all over New England.

Basically, it's a combination of a cheap shower curtain and a large towel (72"x72"). It's especially useful for when you want to take the dogs somewhere that's wet.

I have another on what we did to fit a ton of stuff and the dogs in order to go on vacation. You can push the back seats forward, make their seat backs vertical, cover the rail with a pillow and the seat area with the shower curtain/towel combo and then put the dogs in the seats. It leaves you a huge area for cargo.

As far as safety, I can't recommend that people leave their dogs in the rear area with no restraint. Unfortunately, there's a real lack of crash-tested harnesses out there, and most crates are not designed to be safe in an impact. I'm not sure a wire crate, for example, is much better than running loose. My gut tells me that a harness clipped to a cargo tie-down or a seat belt would be a lot safer, as long as there are no weak links (like a plastic clip) in the chain. There's no real evidence that a harness is superior, so far as I know, so it's just my gut feeling.

 

I am waiting for some kind of cage or net to be released to block off the front seats from the rest of the car. I'm traveling with my frenchie tomorrow so I'll take a pic and post how I have it set up but basically it's rachet strap down the seats. Then lay down the flat load floor and then I use the boot cover thing to block off the front seats so she can't wander up there. Definitely looking for a rear seat delete kit or something though...