Dog hairNo

[Clown]

The wife is going to be upset if the dogs mess up the new Pilot. There was no problem in my former car, as it was always a mess, but with the new spotless car with leather, she's laying down the law. Besides shedding from a white dog and a black one, the smaller one likes to stand on the center armrest and drools during rides.

I considered crates, but they take up lots of space and the dogs would whine the whole time they were crated. The bigger dog likes to curl up on the the floorboard of the back seat, the small one likes to look out the windows. Another option was a pet barrier, which would make my car look like a police car cage and would prevent my wife from scooting her seat back.

My solution was to buy 3 yards of fleece at a fabric store for them to sit on and shed (~$15). 3 1/2 yards would have been better, but this works. I cut 5 slits in the fabric to hold it in place--I put the headrests through the slits. Next weekend we'll try it out. If the wife is happy and the dogs are happy, I'll be happy.

[casio]

sounds pretty interesting, let us know how it goes through

[SARDOG]

My dog gets wet and plays in the mud a lot when we go hiking. To help keep the interior of my Pilot clean, I use a clear plastic carpet protector film that you can buy at Lowes. Construction people will put it down on carpets and hardwood floors to protect them from shoe traffic. It's kinda like shrink wrapping the interior where the dog can reach.

I can easily wipe it down with a cloth and the hair/mud/water comes right off. When it gets too nasty, I just peel it off and put a new layer down.

Look for my other postings in this forum and you can see some custom work done to avoid having to use a dog crate. Its worked out fantastic so far.

[carguy07]

Separation net + cargo cover might be a decent solution too.

[SARDOG]

Yes, on my 2004 Pilot I used the net, but the 2010 model doesn't offer the net and the old 2004 one will not work on the newer model. I thought about using the cargo liner too, but it blocked access to all of the rear compartments which I access constantly.

[ltp646]

Originally Posted by Clown

My solution was to buy 3 yards of fleece at a fabric store for them to sit on and shed (~$15). 3 1/2 yards would have been better, but this works. I cut 5 slits in the fabric to hold it in place--I put the headrests through the slits. Next weekend we'll try it out. If the wife is happy and the dogs are happy, I'll be happy.

We have been using a bath towel to cover the seat. A couple of days ago, we found a seat cover from Home Goods that look similar to your homemade seat cover. It's made out of bath tower material on one side and plastic (vinyl) lining on the other side. It covers the middle row very well with straps around the head rests and slits for the seat belt buckles. The dog, a golden retriever (lot of hair), seems to like it.

[tyger9791]

Really helpful info...I'll have to try this. We have 3 big dogs, the largest is a 115lb lab. crating inside the truck is NOT an option. he rides well, but the nails, drool, hair, possibility for vomit, is an issue. he likes to stand on the center console as well. i worry he will break the console and i don't want him hurting himself. i tried belting him in with his seatbelt harness, but he chewed thru it....thankfully he didnt chew thru the actual seatbelts.....got to love labs!
when he was a puppy he'd ride in the civic, but he's outgrown the civic and he has another visit to the vet soon.
i had cloth seats in my other vehicles, and we used to just cover them with seat covers and wash them. but they don't stay on very well. and they are a pain to take on/off to wash.
i've found the leather seats are much easier to wipe clean and don't absorb the mess as quickly as the cloth did.

[Clown]

Its a work in progress. I've used my "blanket" and found many black-lab-mix hairs and many white-jack russell hairs that would have ended up in the car, but it hasn't been a perfect solution.

The little terrier stands with his front paws in the center of the vehicle pushing the top of the blanket down where it is streched between the two front headrests. The overall effect is that it doesn't hold him in the back seat. I thought of using a bungee cord beteen the headrests to make this part of the blanket more rigid, but a bungee cord would simply stretch to accomodate him. I'm thinking of sewing in a plastic rod to do this job.

I had considered the cargo net idea, and I do keep a rubber mat back there for hauling messy cargo, but I don't want to have to empty everything out of the cargo area when I take the dogs. The dogs need to ride as passengers (which they are), not cargo. If a net could be put between the front seat and backseat (like a police car cage), that might work, providing that the front seat passenger could still recline, and provided that the dogs don't destroy the net.

[mikemcm]

Originally Posted by Clown

The dogs need to ride as passengers (which they are), not cargo.

The way you describe that terrier I wouldn't want passengers like that.