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lookin' for ideas on dog proofing rear door panels


muttmobile
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the mutts need to travel in the back with the rear seats down in my '01 LE, but the rear door panel tops are made of a somewhat 'cushy', soft material that will be destroyed when my mid-sized mutt balances on it with her sharp little claws in order to get her head out the window.

 

i'm thinking of hooking something to the inside lip where the window recedes into the door and perhaps draping something from that over the door. this is my vague idea...but i haven't got it to fully materialize yet. the hooks'll need to be plastic, or coated metal so as not to scratch up the lip and window...my creativity just isn't sparking on this one...

 

any ideas?

 

unfortunately nissan uses nicer materials than ford (my expy has non-scratching cheap plastic door-panels that i don't have to worry about).

 

useful ideas will be greatly appreciated by the mutts and I,

 

al

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Two ideas:

 

First, I was thinking about your problem and happened to look at the door to my office... I have one of those clothes-hook thingy's that hangs over the top of your door. It's plastic and is approximately 30cm wide. It has 5 "pegs" on it that you'd hang clothing off the back of your door... you know what I'm talking about?...

 

... anyway, I looked at it and the pegs could be cut off with a dremel drill or some other type of cutter. Then a guy could cut down the overhanging tabs that help hold it onto a normal door and make it fit the lip of the window sill. You could even reshape them with a dremel drill sanding bit (yea, I'm a fan of that tool... Magyver was great inspiration...) if you needed to make the tabs slimmer.

 

I would think that might solve your problem as it would give a durable, easily cleaned cover. They're cheap and available anywhere that you'd find closet organizers and hangers. You could even attach some type of heavy material or fabric to hang down further if you wanted to cover more of the door panel from puppy's prints.

 

I also have a metal one which I thought would work too, just because the tabs on it are much slimmer, but it would be a little harder to work with, just because it's metal...

 

Second, I was looking at this expanding accordian filefolder I have, you know the kind that you might keep bills or personal papers in. It's plastic, and they come in 8.5X11 and 8.5X14 sizes from any office supply place like Office Depot and I'm sure Wally World. I thought you could cut off the flap from one of those and slide that into your window sill. I'm not sure how secure it would be, but maybe with the addition of some type of grippy tape like tennis racket handle tape along the bottom edge, it would grip at the window enough that it wouldn't slide out of the sill.

 

... that's my 2 cents... if it works, I get the patent, okay?

Edited by maxbaby
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Tranquilizer darts?

i've done extensive research on this idea, but the problems are:

 

a) too expensive

 

B) hard to get the dosage right (ie, either they wake up too early, or their still out long after you get to your destination

 

c) tend to miss when shooting and hit the cat

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Two ideas:

 

First, I was thinking about your problem and happened to look at the door to my office... I have one of those clothes-hook thingy's that hangs over the top of your door. It's plastic and is approximately 30cm wide. It has 5 "pegs" on it that you'd hang clothing off the back of your door... you know what I'm talking about?...

 

... anyway, I looked at it and the pegs could be cut off with a dremel drill or some other type of cutter. Then a guy could cut down the overhanging tabs that help hold it onto a normal door and make it fit the lip of the window sill. You could even reshape them with a dremel drill sanding bit (yea, I'm a fan of that tool... Magyver was great inspiration...) if you needed to make the tabs slimmer.

 

I would think that might solve your problem as it would give a durable, easily cleaned cover. They're cheap and available anywhere that you'd find closet organizers and hangers. You could even attach some type of heavy material or fabric to hang down further if you wanted to cover more of the door panel from puppy's prints.

 

I also have a metal one which I thought would work too, just because the tabs on it are much slimmer, but it would be a little harder to work with, just because it's metal...

 

Second, I was looking at this expanding accordian filefolder I have, you know the kind that you might keep bills or personal papers in. It's plastic, and they come in 8.5X11 and 8.5X14 sizes from any office supply place like Office Depot and I'm sure Wally World. I thought you could cut off the flap from one of those and slide that into your window sill. I'm not sure how secure it would be, but maybe with the addition of some type of grippy tape like tennis racket handle tape along the bottom edge, it would grip at the window enough that it wouldn't slide out of the sill.

 

... that's my 2 cents... if it works, I get the patent, okay?

finally, a useful suggestion! (not that i don't appreciate the humor (or attempts at it :D))

 

thanks maxbaby, this gives me something to work off of. both your ideas sound great (though i don't have a dremmel). i can't quite picture the plastic accordion file holders though, so i'll have to go to an office-depot to check it out.

 

unfortunately i'll have to wait till after christmas to shop around for this stuff since it's hell out there in the stores right now.

 

thanks again - i appreciate the thoughtful reply.

 

alex

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There was no attempt at Humor in my suggestion....

 

All animals traveling in a Automobile should be in Kennels... This keeps them safe and eliminates a potitial major distraction for you while in traffic...

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You'll find those accordian files at any office supply shop, I'm sure. They expand and have like 10 slots inside to organize your paperwork. You can find them made out of heavy paper but obviously you'll want one made out of plastic. The plastic is thin and flexible, but should be durable enough.

 

... and in your original post you mentioned that if it was metal that it'd have to be coated... I can't remember what it's called but there is that stuff that comes in a small paint can that you can dip items into, which then covers them with a rubber coating of sorts. I've seen it at the hardware store, and a buddy went nuts with the stuff dipping a bunch of tools into it.... just in case you need rubberized tips on whatever you come up with.

Edited by maxbaby
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Kennel is a really good idea. Would also prevent dog fur from getting everywhere and prevent your leather from getting scratched, if you have leather that is.

 

My friend try to put his mutt in my pathy but i just locked the doors so he couldn't get in, didn't want my mint 93SE leather interior ruined. :hide:

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Kennel is a really good idea. Would also prevent dog fur from getting everywhere and prevent your leather from getting scratched, if you have leather that is.

 

My friend try to put his mutt in my pathy but i just locked the doors so he couldn't get in, didn't want my mint 93SE leather interior ruined. :hide:

thanks for the suggestion but i'm not interested kennels. the leather will be fine once the seats are folded down, plus i'll have some heavy duty blankets covering the rear. just need to cover them door panels, but i'm hopping one of maxbaby's suggestions will pan out.

 

al

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how about travel-booties for the dog(s) like the ones we used for rescure work. Thick rubber w/ velcro straps. Easy-on, easy-off. Take a bit for the dog to get used to wearing them but they'll keep teh interior from being scratched

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how about travel-booties for the dog(s) like the ones we used for rescure work. Thick rubber w/ velcro straps. Easy-on, easy-off. Take a bit for the dog to get used to wearing them but they'll keep teh interior from being scratched

not a bad idea, but it would be a bit of a pain since we take the mutts out quite a bit. i'll keep it in mind as a plan B.

 

thanks,

al

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I've got an update (since I know you'all are at the edge of your seats, nose pressed against your LCD screens (or CRT screens more likely since you spend all your extra dough on path mods)):

 

finally took the mutts out with the pather yesterday. i got some heavy duty suctions cups from BBB (bed bath & beyond) which I stuck to the windows and then draped some old towels over them. worked pretty well, looked pretty ghetto.

 

they had some over-door hanging stuff at BBB but nothing was quite the right size. I also searched home-depot but didn't find anything useful. I've yet to look for those accordion file holders, but for now the suction cups'll do.

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Well it finally happened to my Pathfinder -- my lab chewed the end of the park brake handle, the plastic bits. The dog chewed the same part on my Mazda3 last year. I was pissed and needless to say punished the dog.

 

Since I've had the Pathfinder I have wanted one of those metal gates that goes behind the rear seats to keep the dog in the back. Does anyone have one of those? How much did you pay for it?

 

I imagine they are gonna be hard to find for a '91 Pathy. I also need a new park brake handle.

 

Thanks.

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Well it finally happened to my Pathfinder -- my lab chewed the end of the park brake handle, the plastic bits. The dog chewed the same part on my Mazda3 last year. I was pissed and needless to say punished the dog.

 

Since I've had the Pathfinder I have wanted one of those metal gates that goes behind the rear seats to keep the dog in the back. Does anyone have one of those? How much did you pay for it?

 

I imagine they are gonna be hard to find for a '91 Pathy. I also need a new park brake handle.

 

Thanks.

ouch, that stinks. i have no personal experience with those gates myself, but i doubt they'd be too hard to find. the one's i've seen have adjustable legs so i would think you just need to get the dimensions you need and find one that adjusts to within that range.

 

gl

alex

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