[Sethd85]

I've been tossing the idea around of buying a 2006 Prius. I was speaking with my family's long time mechanic who told me that he has several customers whose pets (dogs, mostly) refuse to ride in their Prius's. He thinks it's because of all the gadgetry in the car: lots of high pitched wines and sounds humans can't hear but our animal friends can.

Has anyone here had a situation like this? Since I'm a dog owner I'd like to know. I think I'll take my pom to the dealership and ask for a test drive. That should be fun!

Thank you,
Seth

 

[efusco]

My lab mix hops right in. No apparent problem with the sounds and she's a bit of a skitsh dog to start with.

Keeping her out of the back seat is a bit of a problem at times.

I usually remove the cover to the hidden cargo area. It gives her a bit more head room. Also, if she decides she needs to pee in my car it's caught in the plastic tray instead of on my carpet. :? :shock:

 

[BobR]

I've been tossing the idea around of buying a 2006 Prius. I was speaking with my family's long time mechanic who told me that he has several customers whose pets (dogs, mostly) refuse to ride in their Prius's.

My 9-year-old lab mix loves to ride in my Prius. I fold the seats down and have a waterproof blanket I got at the pet store that I lay down.

The only problem is those nose prints on the windows.

Bob

 

[Roger V]

Pets and the Prius

My two Yorkies love to ride in a car, any car. They don't differentiate between the Prius and our Lexus. They settle in for a snooze as soon as we leave our neighborhood. Can't imagine what your mechanic friend is hearing to make him say that about the Prius.

 

[evander]

Our dog (90 pound German Shepherd mix) will gleefully ride in any car. She just loves the action. Those nose prints, though, drive me nuts.

 

[Spike]

We have some sort of lab retreiver mix (don't really know, don't really care, got him at the pound, he was cute). He doesn't give a crap about driving in the prius, as long as we don't leave him.

Mechanic is just worried that you won't be giving him any business, since the Prius is ultra reliable.

Spike

 

[Sethd85]

Thank you everyone! This really gladdens my heart. Yes, those nose prints can be annoying, but I think they're the universal dog lovers mark.

 

[Thomme]

No problems with our Pug. She loves the car, any car.
She also has to bark incessantly to warn us of any approaching danger, such as pedestrians, other drivers, squirrels, trees, signs, grass...

 

[PriusNH]

We've got two german shepherds. I'm sure they'd love to hop right in and go for a ride...but my husband doesn't allow them in the Prius. Too much fur.

They're relegated to being squashed in the back seat of my Subaru.

 

[evander]

We've got two german shepherds. I'm sure they'd love to hop right in and go for a ride...but my husband doesn't allow them in the Prius. Too much fur.

They're relegated to being squashed in the back seat of my Subaru.

I also resolved that my husband would have to transport our dogs in his Saturn--that my Prius would be dog free. ( Also daughters free, food and drink free, and maybe husband free). But when "Annie" needed a vet visit, I put sheets all over the car's interior and everything worked out fine.

 

[suzanny]

back area is big enough for a bull mastiff

Our 80 lb. "puppy" fits in the back with the seats up. I also just remove the trunk cover and drape a towel over the headrests to avoid getting drool all over my new car! He loves it, and has a pretty good view out the side or back. He is trained to lie down before I close the hatch, but he's still got plenty of head room.

I'd lower one of the seats and leave the other up to give him more room, but my daughter doesn't like the dog slobber either!

 

[and_the_dog]

Our australian cattle dog loves riding in the prius. I think she misses the little 'dog window' on my Insight though. She loved to be able to lie down and glare at motorcyclists who would tailgate. Sadly the Insight lost a battle with an SUV a year and a half ago (which led to the Prius). Thankfully dog was not in the car at the time and I was only very slightly injured. The Insight is an amazing design in terms of crashworthiness for such a small/light car. Thankfully I've not had an opportunity to test the same on the Prius.

-Henry

 

[paul16451]

Mechanic is just worried that you won't be giving him any business, since the Prius is ultra reliable.

Spike

Not to mention that most mechanics are not hybrid-certified and likely wouldn't be able to do much work on the Prius if something did break down. Though he could still do the basic maintenance stuff like oil changes and tires and wheel alignments.

 

[KTPhil]

My lab mix LOVES the back of the Prius. He has his own little window to check out the view behind the car while he is lying down.

 

[bshef]

I was speaking with my family's long time mechanic who told me that he has several customers whose pets (dogs, mostly) refuse to ride in their Prius's. He thinks it's because of all the gadgetry in the car: lots of high pitched wines and sounds humans can't hear but our animal friends can.

YES.....my dog refuses to ride in any car with digital read-out gadgetry.....! I'm gonna sell my Prius and get a '67 impala. :roll:

PLEASE......you have to be kidding.....? I hope your friend doesn't take his mechanic's advice seriously......

 

[salsawonder]

Pets in cars!

My dog loves my 2005 Salsa Red Prius. She was having difficulty jumping into the Sport Trac (as was my 89 y/o mother). I fold down the seats and she hops in from the back (the dog not mom!). Sammie is 73# and a sheperd/retrevier mix. The cat doesn't like anything.

 

[KTPhil]

"The cat doesn't like anything."

Of course not. It's a cat.

 

[Eisenson]

I had leather seating installed - and a runway covered in matching vinyl. The runway is about 9" wide (notched for one seat), and goes all the way from the back seat to the front of the armrest. It's solid, and gives good footing to my 33# German Pinscher. Laying on that platform she can see where we're going, and can help with the navigation.

No problem with the leather (Katzkin).

H

 

[Godiva]

My dog loves the car.

In fact, on the way back from my parents house, he often curls up on the front seat with his chin on the armrest and goes to sleep.

 

[dogtag]

Geeze...everyone on the planet seems to own Labs....J/K
I don't know if our guys would like it or not. They would never fit
inside anyway.
Our smallest adult is 120 lbs and the biggest is over 200 lbs.
We have 11 Great Danes.

http://theranch.5u.com