How to make your car dog friendly

Dog ownership is up and a large percentage of canine’s today live quite a social existence with trips in the car being a very frequent experience.

But cars really aren’t designed with Man’s Best Friend in mind and the end result can be…well, a ruined car!

So we’ve put our thinking caps on in the Behind the Wheel office and came up with some simple ideas to help protect your car from doggy damage.

How to make your car dog friendly:

• Firstly, you need to protect your seats. Dogs not only leave behind hard to shift fur, but also muddy paw prints and let’s not beat around the bush…drool too. You can purchase dedicated back seat car covers at pet stores and we reckon that would be a great investment.
• Don’t forget to also invest in some good quality rubber floor mats. Perhaps you could even go further and buy a large piece of rubber that you can cut to shape and that can protect all the carpet in the back of your car?
• Remember that dog drool? Your cars windows are going to get that familiar doggy slime all over them, so carrying some window cleaning wipes in your glove box would also be a good idea.
• Speaking of wipes, also having some anti-bacterial wipes on hand will allow you to clean things, such as your door trims, on the go.
• Speaking of door trims, most dogs (big and small), love to put their paws up on car armrests and while this gives them a better view of the passing world, it can also spell disaster for your door trims/armrests etc. Consider installing a product like Altrex Skinz to help keep claw marks off your interior trim.
• Dog claws also scratch car paintwork, so Altrex Skinz will also help if you install this on your door jams.
• Finally, yes, all dogs do smell and the odour of a wet canine can linger in a car…well, forever! A good quality air freshener is a must-have.
• If you’re having trouble shifting the distinctive doggy smell, a product like Kleen Air will also help.

And don’t forget to ensure that your pet is also safe and well-protected while traveling in the car, you can check out more pointers on that here.