Are you considering a pet barrier for your car? I’ve just been through this process for the second time and thought I’d share a quick story. The pet barrier I finally chose has saved me lots of time and energy. But first, some context…
I’m an active father of two boys and a dog. We spend a lot of time outdoors in all 4 seasons of the year. The back of my vehicle is often full of sports equipment, outdoor gear, and sometimes, my wet and muddy five year old dog. For the past 6 months, I’ve been using a pet barrier that looks something like this.
Other barriers look like this.
Or this:
Or this
These one-size-fits-all barriers – attached to the seats – do their job and are remarkably affordable. Until you decide to put the seats down…And you don’t realize how often you need to move those seats.
You might be picking up a flat screen TV, helping a friend move, or you’ve just made a big stop at the hardware or grocery store. You just need a bit more room. And it happens more than you think.
In most cases, when you hang these barriers from the seats or headrests, the cage/metal/barrier will hit the top of the driver and passenger seats in the front row and won’t go down all the way. If you want the back seats to lay down at all, you need to move both the driver and the passenger seats up and hope that the driver and passenger can still sit comfortably and safely without scrunched up legs. The barrier simply shouldn’t rely on the seating arrangement. It happens more than you think!
So, the $50 pet barrier I purchased was a good value, but after 2 months, I found myself moving the car seats and adjusting the barrier EVERY time I just needed a little bit more space.
And then I tried the Travall Guard pet barrier. And it’s a game changer. Here’s why:
If I need to take it out completely, it’s quick, efficient and intuitive.
If I ever need to adjust the seating, it won’t affect the dog barrier
It sits securely and safely (no wobbling) whenever I put the seats down.
Last week, I had some poster board that needed to lay flat (summer school project). Yesterday I picked up some long stakes for a gardening project. And I didn’t need to fuss with the pet barrier. See below. Plenty of room.
I put the seats down, filled the car, then put seats back up. It’s worth the piece of mind knowing I never have to worry about the barrier every time I had a move a seat in my car. And I only have two rows of seats…
So, when considering a pet barrier for your car, think through its form, function and design.
Will it stay in place all the time? Pets, kids and adults aren’t perfect. Your barrier will get bumped around no matter how careful you are. This particular barrier doesn’t move.
If you have to remove the pet barrier, is it simple to remove and/or replace? Most barriers can do this. Especially the $50 mesh or wire barriers… Its, well….cheaper.
But, will you ever need to reconfigure the second (or third) row of seating? Yep, more than you think. Chances are, if you need to move a barrier connected to a seat in your car, truck, minivan, station wagon or SUV, it will have a ripple effect because it’s not custom designed for your car. And because it isn’t, you’ll have a lot of mini adjustments to do throughout the car. Every time. The first time you do it, it isn’t a big deal. The third time you do it, you won’t want to do it again..Ever.
Today I had to bring my bike to get fixed. No problem for this pet barrier.
