My wife and I have four dogs. Two of them are miniature dachshunds, and could probably be transported via Vespa, so aren't really of concern. Our other two, though, are a yellow lab and a german shephard/greyhound mix.

I'm wondering, anyone else out there with big dogs, how does the transportation work? I've been eyeing the cargo/dog cover for the rear, but I very much want some way to secure them so they don't become 50+ lb bullets in the event of an accident.

Also...are there seat covers of any kind for the back seats? Between claws and shedding, I'd rather keep the pups off the black leather if at all possible.

 

Your best bet would probably be to put the back seats down, and put several sheets down. As for securing them, don't they make some sort of doggy seatbelt?

 

It doesn't. There is no way I'm putting 180 pounds of dogs, with their claws, anywhere near the leather seats. In our case, no matter what I tried, at least one would want to be in the front with us. They lather up the interior of the windows and scruff up the interior black plastic on the back of the seats. It just isn't worth it.

I know some others always take their dogs, some with St. Benards! ... we just wont do it.

 

I agree with Chow4Us... It is not hard to take the back seats out.... and a nice touch up is here http://www.rearseatdelete.com

Good Luck

 

I take mine all over the place in the Mazda right now...they've learned that the front seat is off limits, so that's not much of a concern.

And not taking them is simply not an option. Aside from trips to the vet, I take the mix down to the Town Lake trail to go jogging once a week or so, and the lab comes with me to go hiking along the greenbelt.

Taking the seats out isn't an option, either (per the wife).

Ideally, I'd like to put the rear seatbacks down and stick them in the back. Less fuss, and easier to get them in and out as well. Is there a way I could do this and still access the rear seatbelts to secure them? Or, are there any sort of tie-down points in the back at all?

 

Great sig pic. Looks like our dogs would get along famously!

My wife and I are going to try the Boot Ext. Mat and see if that gives Lucy enought traction. She is really calm in the car so I think this will work.

 

I know that Yucca Patrol puts both of their St Bernards in the back of their MINIs. On the rare occasion that my dogs get in the MINI, the rear seats get folded down...I can't think of a good way to secure them there though

 

Hmm...maybe I'll have to wait until Julaugustember, when I can inspect the Mini and see what I can come up with.

Maybe I could just use the boot net to strap 'em to the floor!

 

Trust me, I understand the issue. Folding the seats down is fine but if you dont care about the scruffed up back of the seats and smudges on the inside of the windows I guess you could throw a blanket in the back and cover whatever you could. I do not know of anyone selling one of those sets of bars you see for SUVs.

If they load from the boot into the back, your going to have to worry about scratches to the paint. Claws have a way of just going where they want and my wife would kill me if the dogs scratched the paint. If you load from the door with the seats folded forward, I would imagine that would be easier. However, I know of no method to strap them in (the SUV barrier thing stops them from being a missile).

If you load from the boot, they do sell a vinyl strip that stops the bottom bumper directly under the boot from getting scratched. Even loading grocery or goods in their, that piece of paint scratches very easily hence the vinyl protective strip (a standard OEM part).

I just asked the wife and she said to not forget the back of the headrests are leather and can tear easily too.

If this is your only car, I just dont call it dog friendly and is a concern for us.

And dont forget if you go out on trails or anywhere way they pick up dirt, mud, etc, then you got a cleaning issues to worry about and many MINI owners are pretty fanatical about detailing their cars.

 

First post here. My wife and I ordered a BRG MC yesterday. We have a 85# German Shep. dog that goes with us everywhere. I therefore researched the dog transpo issue b-4 deciding to buy a MINI (we are trading in a Saab wagon that is perfect for dogs, so I had some concerns).

Do a search on the NAM site - "dog divider". You'll see a MINI owner that has used a dog barrier along with a minor floor mod. It looks like it will work well and should save the back of the front seats (you'll still need to clean the windows, though).

There is trunk liner the covers the seatbacks available. You can get the bumper strip to protect back bumper (we did) and there is even a full cargo area cover out there that covers the entire bumper during loading and extends up the back of the front seats.

So bring your pups along!

 

chows4us...I understand all of your points, and guess we're going to have to just agree to disagree on this one.

For me cleaning the windows, vacuuming out the fur, etc, is part of owning a dog. It can be pretty inconvenient, but is it worth it to take Sam running with me? I think so. Then again, we're also willing to let our pooches up on on the furniture.

It is the same with the Mini. Would it be smarter to get something better suited to carrying dogs? Probably...but it wouldn't be a Mini.

I'm thinking right now about going with the rear cargo liner that Helix sells. It covers the rear bodywork during loading, looks like it gives some cover to the front seatbacks, and otherwise covers any delicate surfaces they'd be tramping on.

My only concern with it is securing them, but I figure if no solution exists I can create one...say putting an opening in the cover and running a nylon lanyard through it, with a belt buckle on one end and a clasp hook on the other.

 

sundray - welcome to NAM, and thank you! I did the search, and sure enough, the second picture provided me with exactly what I needed...attachment points!



If you look at the lower middle of each seatback, I'm guessing those bars lock the seat upright. But...they could also be used to help secure dogs.

Problem solved...now I can get back to eagerly awaiting a production number!

 

The only problem I could see with securing to that bar is could they life the back seat up? A way we secure our dogs is to the Car Seat bars at the bottom of the back of the seat (if that makes sense).

Good Luck

 

you cant see it in this photo, but there are two rather hefty latch points where the green circles are. The seats have latches (in blue) where they clip onto from. I use the green latch points for random stuff all the time. As "Hngn on seat" said, even though the seatbacks are heavy, i probably wouldnt use the lower bar either.

 

Oh, good someone else with big dogs and a MINI. We have 2 dogs that travel everywhere with us in the MINI. We also have leather seats, and they are correct dogs nails and leather do not mix!!! We have a back seat cover that we got from MINI, and both dogs have seat belts. They are both really great in the car as they are both MINI enthusiasts. They wear their MINI bandanas and enjoy the sun roof and looking out the windows. Yes we are experts at removing dog hair and cleaning windows after a licking episode. But, leaving them home is not an option. I am a Vet Tech and what you really need to realize is that anything in your car that is not secured is a danger in an accident. They must be secured in some fashion. We use the doggie seatbelts. We also take with us doggie stairs. We got them from I think Dr. Foster/Smith catalog. We have a German Shepherd/Husky mix and an Akita who is 12 years old and has trouble getting in the car. We bought the stairs (there are only 3) and then put them in the boot. The other thing that we do is prior to going anywhere, we check the tire pressure with the added weight of the dogs. Sounds silly but we get great gas mileage and we ensure that we are at optimum safety for all. We live in the Blue Ridge Mountains and need to have optimum control. We also have handi-wipes, a Veterinary first aid kit, extra doodie bags, a roll of paper towels, a trash bag and of course treats stashed in the boot. The dogs are both microchipped, wear their collars and tags, and we have the Veterinary information in the first aid kit.

We have no problems except for people staring and pointing at us with Niles and Fraizer in the back.

Happy Motoring
Mrs. Peale

 

Well...I don't think the dogs would be able to pull up the seats that close to the pivot point...but in an accident, yeah that could be an issue.

Didn't know that there were latch points up high. If there are, problem is double-solved, and all without having to cut any holes.

 

Hmm, I didnt know their was something called doggie seat belts.

BTW, dont get me wrong about cleaning up the dogs stuff in the car. We also have a SUV so we just put up one of the gates meant for the car/truck and I could care less what they do in the back of the SUV.

My wife, on the other hand, want to keep the MINI pristine and who am I to argue with her If you only have one car, then you got no choice.

I would never say dont take your dogs with you, after all sometimes you got to go to the vet. As to furniture, Well, we have had dogs, I guess, since as long as I can remember and If they want to sit on the couch, its fine by me (but usually they dont)