<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Seagull @ May 2 2007, 04:32 PM) [snapback]434263[/snapback]</div> Leave it to a dog to make a fool of you. My Schnauzers like to get in the front seat, too - know better than to do it when I've driving, but let me stop to run into the store, and they hop up front. The black one learned to honk the horn for me on my Prizm, and now I worry he'll start the Prius as I'm coming back to the car. I've got to buy some kind of a barrier!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Seagull @ May 2 2007, 04:32 PM) [snapback]434263[/snapback]</div> LOL. That's why I have a bumper sticker: "Dog is my Co-Pilot". He sits in the passenger seat, belted in with a harness. Of course, he likes to ride so much he'll also sit in the back if my parents' dog is going with us. He prefers to sit in front and has jumped up there but I can still get him in the back and buckled in with little resistance. But he does prefer up front. I like to think it's because the view is better. But I'm sure he's watching my every move out of the corner of his eyes. I think I better start hiding the fob.
most dogs are somewhat smart and they remember the last trip. I think sometimes they may associate a particular car with going to see the vet.
I have 2 'large' dogs, and for trips in the Prius I usually fold down the back seats and spread a sheet over the space for hair/dirt. I don't take them for long trips because of the potential of 150 lbs of dogs in an accident, but our vet is literally about 2 miles away, and thats the primary destination. (though the smaller of the two has been coming to work with me for the last week or so.) I eventually want to get some sort of barrier to go between the front seats, but haven't had any luck. Any suggestions? (sorry for the quality, it was a cam-phone at night.)
My dog rides in the hatch as well. She'll dangle her legs over the top of the back seat and watch me drive. Also after a long walk she can curl up and rest back there while watching the world go by in the lower window. Seems like a good place for dogs.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Al S. @ Apr 29 2007, 07:05 AM) [snapback]432080[/snapback]</div> He wanted to drive it, of course. He is wondering why you don't have an EV button, and could probably install it for you. (Border collies are very, very smart)
My German shepherd mix has been fine for two years in the back seat of the Prius V. Two months ago he started not wanting to get in when we were going home from something fun, like a hike or agility or doggy freestyle dance class. This week he doesn't even want to get in at all to go anywhere, not even the front seat. The best treats in the world still don't get him in. Someone suggested that the electric magnetic field from the battery could be causing him problems. Nothing special happened two months ago.
Make sure the vent near the rear seat is clean and unobstructed. Your dog may be sensitive to inadequately vented gases from your battery.
Geez, I cant keep my 7 year old Black Lab/Rottweiler mix OUT of the Prius, lol. Every time I open a door BAM hes inside. Sometimes I think he has figured out teleportation....
Dogs are such nuts, aren't they?! We foster for a rescue and have a continual rotation of dogs. Never had any of them express any aversion to the Prius. They're very hard to keep out of the car, like above. Most automotive dog barriers for use behind the rear seats also work behind the front seats. I had a grid-type barrier installed behind the front seats of the '07 for a while, with a a kennel divider panel attached near the bottom of it to block the gap above the center console. In the case of a dog no longer wanting to get into a car, I wonder if he's experiencing some joint or muscle pain. Does he still do other, similar-height jumps? I think it's more-likely a physical or mental factor with the dog than a factor with the car.
While I do not have Dogs, I can confirm that for some of them, it is conceivably possible that they might be sensitive to the rather high pitched (perhaps ultrasonic?) sound being given off by the inverter during the operation of the Prius. I don't know about humans, but - my goodness, it is very loud to me! Not unpleasant of course; indeed, I consider it the sound of the sound of the future. But...usually when running in EV mode, combined EV + ICE or during prolonged regenerative braking, that sound is surprisingly, clearly audible to me - and I'm 54 years of age! So I can imagine what it must be like for some animals that can pick up ultrasonic sound emissions.
Took my Labrador Retreiver out in our new (to us) Pious for the first time yesterday. Didnt seem to faze him at all. with some swearing, an angle grinder, and copious quantities of knuckle blood I made a CRV dog guard fit the Prius and managed also to retain the load cover.
Wow! This is a REALLY old thread ~ Our black lab has since passed away - waited a full year to look for a puppy, and now, the pup (silver lab) is 11 months old! The black lab loved the Pri - the puppy is kind of ambivalent .
Your pooch probably just doesn't want to get dog hair in the HV Battery Fan. Golden retrievers are very protective, you know.
Holy thread revival, batman! We have a prius and a golden as well, fwiw. He's not afraid of the Prius, but he absolutely does hear it. He can hear a Prius driving by in the street without being able to see the vehicle, and he'll go to the window or the door to look and see if it is either one of his humans, or his best friend humans who also have a prius and come over from time to time. So for him, the sound means something excellent is about to happen. Even when he rides in it (while we do take him to the vet in that car, we also take him to dog parks and doggie beaches and other thrilling places). So, just to confirm that YES, the ultrasonic element must be what they're picking up, and YES, they're associating it with something, be it good times or bad times.
Our two Australian Shepards love to ride in our Prius. They ride in the extreme rear interior with their dog seat belts.
My dog Casey loved car rides in both first and third generation Prius. (She never got to ride in the G2.