How to travel with a reactive dog? Best options?

Hi, We have just had Bizzy an 8 year old Kerry Blue terrier bitch since Wednesday. She is on a month's trial at the moment.

Yesterday I took her out on her own with me to my Mum's and she was a little monster in the car! I have always had Cherry and Parker sitting on the back-seat in special dog car harnesses since we had our small car and they were always very well-behaved.

Bizzy is extremely reactive to what is going on outside the car-especially cyclists which she seems to think shouldn't be on the road (or pavement come to that!). She barks at people walking past too and it sounds quite scary. Got glared at yesterday by this bloke coming from Tescos with a couple of bags that she wuffed loudly at.

I think it's because she used to travel in the hatchback part of her previous owner's car and perhaps couldn't see much as it was a quite deep boot. Yesterday when Jamie drove I sat in the front with her on the floor in the passenger's leg-space in front of me and she was fine-no barking at all but she did want to jump up and see what was happening outside but I just said no and made her stay on the floor. This is not a long-term solution though as I don't think it's a safe place for a dog to be as my friends lost a dog in a car accident many years ago when it was travelling in the same place. Parker also was not happy as she was in the front and he wanted to be too!

I wanted to tidy our hatch out and try her in there but Jamie said no as he likes to keep a lot of stuff in the hatch.
Can you get a fabric sort of crate that would go on the back seat? Do you think this would be a good option? If she couldn't see out I think we would all have a quieter ride and it would be safer as it's very distracting having a dog continually going mental in the back! Don't want Parker to join in either!

Anyone else had a similar problem and solved it please?

I don't have reactive dogs but my two smaller ones do travel in a fabric crate on the back seat, however if she was determined to get out it wouldn't contain her as the mesh will rip.

How about some darkened car window shades so she can't see out as well?

Yes I think I will look into that if we decide to keep her as Jamie is not sure yet.

Just for the back windows do you mean? Wouldn't she still be able to bark at what she sees out of the front windscreen?

I seem to remember Victoria Stilwell putting curtains behind the front seats.

Yes I was thinking of this yesterday. It was the episode with the rambuctious Old English Sheepdogs.

Jake travels in the back of our estate in a crate with a blanket over it.

World an ordinary covered crate go on the back seat if you put the seat down?

Obviously you are right, it is not safe for the dog, driver, passengers or other road users for your dog to be in the footwell.

So there are various options/combinations you could try:

Tinted windows
Windowsox
http://www.windowsox.co.uk/
Fabric crates plus seat belts
Calming cap

http://www.dogpartnership.co.uk/equipment.htm
Along with some behavioural modification.

HTH

These might be what you're after?
http://www.roofbox.co.uk/dog-bag/

Might be worth working on the behaviour too, managing it with something like the above in the meantime, so if you ever needed to travel where it wasn't possible to contain her, she may reach a stage where she's no longer reactive

Cover the side windows (binbags & sticky tape) and put a sheet across between the front seats. It won't cost you anything to try!