Recommendations and reasons needed. What crate do you like when traveling with your Doberman inside your SUV vehicle. Can a crate be placed on the back seat with tie downs?

Hi D-Gal ! I have been looking at them too - I like the Ruffland Kennel - Then Pam posted up this morning about Gunner Kennels - I really like both of them - The big reason is they are more one piece type and they are about 4 inches narrower than the others - Need to look at the Gunner better - but the Ruff land , you can get front and back doors or front and one on the side .

Your question about putting on the seat - the kennels I have looked at would appear to be to big just to put on the seat .

I tried camper crates, wire crates and the one that worked the best all around was a very large clam shell crate. Bacc wasn't a crate killer but the clam shell was durable and easy to clean. I would just take it to the car wash and drag it out of the Transit and hose it down.

If you are on Facebook, I posted the link to a really informative group dedicated to dog vehicle set-ups in the thread about the Gunner kennels.

My next vehicle will be one I can put crates in. Until then, I have to use seat belt harnesses.

Here is Oct 19 DT thread started by Kenny about traveling with Dobes and my post showing Midwest SUV crates we use for Spock & Eva:

https://www.dobermantalk.com/doberma...ml#post4093153

For securing in back seats, I pass shoulder restraint through top handle of their multipoint harness and take out slack to keep them strapped in.

There are some pretty good reviews online about different crates, especially with crash test ratings. I'd get whatever crate fits your vehicle best, that you can afford. I'd always choose crated over non-crated, if possible, and the best crash rated that you can. I can't personally do one of those types of crates right now because they don't fit in my vehicle, but the next car I plan to upgrade.

We have Trans K9 crates, https://www.transk9usa.com/, in our smaller vehicles and we love them. They are a little pricey, but they are tight and never creak or rattle from road vibrations and they are made to fit your particular model of vehicle.

I would image that you would have to pay a pretty price to have them shipped from the UK! I would think that there would be a company that does the same thing here in the states?!

I use a variety of crates in the car depending on the need and dog. I have a 36" wire crate for traveling with a bitch, but use a 40"/500 sized plastic airline crate for my male. I drove Ford Expeditions for 13 years and could fit those two crates side by side. Now I have a 2019 Honda Pilot, and would need to get one narrower crate to do the side by side.... but found that a 21" wide crate is really a squeeze for any decent sized male.

I take my crates in and out frequently, so as much as those built in type crates look really nice, I don't think I could take them in and out regularly. I would assume that they weigh a freaking ton!!

Gee Mary Jo, you seem to be full of errant assumptions and in a negative mood this evening. If you had looked at the web site, you would have noticed that they are made in Scotland, but have an office in San Diego, so the shipping is from San Diego. If I remember correctly they are around $900. That is not that much more than some of the other upscale brands that are touted these days. It comes with a divider so that it can be either a very large single crate or a double crate

My wife routinely loads and unloads it from our VW Golf wagon by herself.

I considered the kennels listed here as well as many, many others from the FB group that @Rosemary posted about. I ended up ordering a Variocage double XXL+ for my two. Regardless of the politics involved with the different "crash test ratings" I appreciate the engineering know-how that their crates seem to take into account--particularly the crumple zone. Just my two cents. I think different people/vehicles/research/budgets come to different conclusions.

I have a Variocage double XXL and I really like it! I somehow lucked out and found one used in my community though, as I would not have been able to buy a new one. The FB group Rosemary posted is an amazing resource for finding something that will work for you and your vehicle.

For interests sake, my Doberman girls fit well in the crate but my 75lb, 25" Lab balks at riding in it.