Dogs In Cars

I know that there has been some discussion on how to properly travel with your dogs in the car and I am looking for some suggestions. We recently (yesterday) bought a VW Jetta wagon which I LOVE! One main reason is that my hubby and I both had fairly sporty 2 door cars (we are kidless except for our furbabies lol) and I have always wanted a car with a little more room for the doglets. My question is now, how do we best keep the dogs safe while in my new car? We used to use a harness that attached to a seatbelt but I would like to have them ride in the far back now to keep my seats open. What is the best way to do this? Tether down a kennel in back? Let them be free? That doesnt sound safe to me but I havent ever had such a versatile vehicle!

I have a large SUV and I always travel with mine in a Vari Kennel (a hard plastic crate) in the very back of my car. They share the crate and seem to be comfortable. I feel this is the safest way for us to travel with them; if we were to get into an accident they would be contained in a very sturdy crate and they wouldn't be able to escape and get hurt. I would not travel with them loose in the car, and in my opinion, having them contained in the Vari Kennel is much safer than just putting them in a harness in the back seat. Congrats on the new car, hope that helps!

Carrie, what size Vari kennel do you use? I am thinking of getting one and also have two cavs to transport together.

Yes, sizing would be great! I think this might be the best option!

We have the Atlas 80 for our hatchback cars which is great and the dogs don't mind it but I have never found a way of strapping it down securely. I think I'll look into that now while I'm online. It also worries me that someone might run into the back of the car squashing the crate