Car management - window covers?

[nt4maximusd]

So my little gorgeous reactive baby angel (!) dog loves to bark bark bark at dogs and people she sees when she’s travelling in the car. Whilst we are still working on her reactivity, I would like to black out the rear and side windows so she just can’t see the dogs and people. If she can’t see it, she won’t bark at it!
Edit: I’m in the U.K. after a couple of comments saying this might be illegal, I have checked the U.K. laws and there are no rules about tinting / blacking out the rear windows, only the front ones.

No this won’t solve the reactivity, but she’ll get to rehearse the behaviour less and maybe overall be calmer?!

She travels in the boot (trunk for those from the US).

I don’t want to apply window tints as they’d need to be opaque and I don’t need them when the dog isn’t in the car.

So I’m hoping the users of this sub with similar issues might have a handy hack or homemade car window cover solution that they can share with me?! Or somewhere to buy removable window covers? A lot that I’ve seen on eBay don’t get very good reviews, and I don’t want them falling down mid drive.
I’m not a very crafty person so trying to make something without any initial inspiration is tough for me.

Any suggestions welcome!

 

[kidspray2]

@nt4maximusd

I would like to black out the rear and side windows so she just can’t see the dogs and people.

The driver of the vehicle would then not be able to see out of these windows either. That seems unsafe.

Could you not have the dog in a crate and cover the crate?

 

[nt4maximusd]

@kidspray2 But no different to driving a van, so not that unsafe.

There isn’t really a crate of the right size to fit that boot that’s big enough to fit the dog (31kg / 68lbs).

The other option is we buy a van, but I don’t really want to if we can just black out the windows.

 

[kidspray2]

@nt4maximusd Those vans have an extra, rounded, side mirror to compensate but, yeah, I see what you mean.

Just do a quick check on your local laws first. Where I live, blacking out the rear window of a sedan is illegal, but I don't think that's the case in most places.

Hope you figure something out. Sorry I wasn't more help, but hopefully I at least helped you avoid a citation!

 

[godspurpose07]

@nt4maximusd Unfortunately covering the back windshield would be super dangerous unless you've got one of those fancy digital rear view mirrors, and even then I'm pretty sure it's still illegal?

If you're willing to take her out of the trunk though and keep her in the back seat, we use magnetic window covers that snap on in less than 5 seconds and come off easily once he's out of the car. It doesn't solve everything, as he's still able to see out the front and back of the car, but it really helps.

Ideally, you'd have him in a crate and just cover the crate, but I'm guessing you might be in the same situation as me, where any crate that would fit the dog would not fit in the back seat of our current cars.

 

[nt4maximusd]

@godspurpose07 But covering the back window isn’t any different to driving a van really is it?
She’s 68lbs / 31kg so I don’t really want her on the back seat.
I haven’t found a suitable size crate to fit the car and the dog.

The other option is to buy a cheap van, but if I can achieve the same with blacked out window, then I don’t need to spend a few £1000 on a van just for the dog.

Should add I’m in the U.K., so you’re driving laws might not apply. In the U.K. I’m pretty sure it’s only illegal to change the front windows (windscreen and side windows).

 

[monk58]

@nt4maximusd I would have her in a crate. I did it within days of my dog barking out the car window after getting fright

It works perfectly and he is calm and just sleeps and comes out of the car so much less aroused it helps all training! No practicing the behaviour and he just sees the car as curl up and sleep

I used this fold up crate and in my case it is low enough that he doesn't see out the windows of the car. However if it was higher I would just drape a blanket over the window side

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Petsfit-Tr...sprefix=dog+cloth+travel+crate,pets,97&sr=1-9

There are many options and ways they can be turned and the door openings can be different ways. I like that they are able to be folded and stored in the car

A good crate in the boot is an excellent idea and I personally think no other solution is really as good.

 

[nt4maximusd]

@monk58 Thanks for this link. I’ll take a look and measure the dimensions against our carboot.

 

[monk58]

@nt4maximusd There were lots of folding ones on amazon

I picked one that was as close to looking like the one I bought because I couldn't find the exact. I like the three door options so it can be set up varied to the car. I just put abit of vet bed in the bottom and they seem comfy

I know crates can be hard but the cloth ones seemed more varied in size and sometimes you do need your boot so foldable is good!

 

[prayerorprayer]

@nt4maximusd You might try conditioning him to a calming cap. They are similar to what flighty horses wear. It obscures their vision without completely blocking it. A lot of folks have reported success with them in the car or other high-stimulus environments for reactive dogs. We've always used the covered crate method with great success.

 

[adelmaryamibtisam]

@prayerorprayer Seconding the calming cap.