Traveling with a dog in the VX

[newthings]

I found a Boxer dog at the shelter in Oregon. A 2 year old lean guy. When he adds some weight he will be about 62 lbs. Lots of energy and loves to ride.
I searched on DOG looking for ideas about a soft barrier betwen the front seats and the back space. I do not have a back seat. I know what I would design, but has anyone found such an item? A mesh hooked to the hand holds on top and the hooks in the floor would be 36" x 32".
Secondly, has anyone padded the sides for off road with a dog. I know of dog seatbelts where a harness is clipped to a seat strap, but the dog is confined. I was thinking of cutting 6" firm foam to fit around the inside and let the dog bounce off the walls (As in padded cell). Ideas?
Thanks, Roy

[Cptnmorgan]

I took my dog off-roading with me when I had my VX. He road shot gun though, and only fell on the floor once. That's cause we got stuck really fast!!! For the most part, unless your friggin nuts, when going off-road you will not be going fast enough to "toss" your dog around. He should be fine back there as is. Maybe lay some cushion down for him to sit/lay on. As for the soft barrier, train him right and you will not need it!!!!

Enjoy your ride......

[Eckstream]

Cool! I have a boxer too.... She just turned 14 the other day. Too old to take with me anymore but I used a dog bed with padded sides... I got the bed from walmart but im sure you can find em other places. Make sure your boxer dosent eat you out of your house... Ive had two and they both were bottomless pits.

[mrtew]

When I go offroading my dogs bounce off the unpadded walls and roof of my VX with no ill effects. Dogs are really tough... they won't feel any pain from a little jostling. (As an example, have you ever seen a dog force a sliding glass door opened with his face while you are trying as hard as you can to hold it closed? Unbelievable; and my dogs only weigh 30 lbs each!) As for keeping them back there I just flip up the rear seat against the front seats to form the wall you want. Maybe you should just put the seat back in!