Customer Reviews

Kurgo Backseat Pet Barrier for Small Cars and SUVs

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I bought this barrier because our dog is very excitable when in the car. If left to her own accord, she would be jumping to and from the backseat to the front - which is dangerous for me as the driver. So, I saw this barrier and I thought it looked like the best one out there. I had seen all these different harnesses, but I knew Pralines wouldn't like being forced to sit still for that long.

First off - one of the reasons the barrier is getting four stars. It's a little difficult to put together. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it certainly took some time for my husband and I to attach it to the seats.

For the first month or two, it worked like a champ, but then our dog got a little sneaky and was able to jump over the barrier. After you see the barrier installed, you realize that's not an easy thing to do. But our dog has a lot of energy and jumped right in the front seat with us. I don't blame the barrier at all - it really does do what it's supposed to. And for normal, calm dogs - it would have worked fine.

I still use the barrier with Pralines - I just had to tighten it a bit more on the seats and we're back in business.

While the main portion of the barrier is well made, it's too short and flimsy to keep my Border Collies and Golden Retreiver from jumping on top and over it. The upper netting won't stay in an upright position, partially because the two stabilizer bars holding it up broke the stitching holding them in place, so they are now useless. Get the Outward Hound version for less than ten bucks and save some money.

Once the barrier was installed, my dog respects the boundary and now sits nicely without trying to come between the front seats. However, it was a bit difficult to install. First problem was understanding what straps went where. Second problem was the upper net barrier. It came zipped on but it is not possible to get the bars in with that section in place. When I unzipped it, inserted the bars and tried to zip it back on which was very difficult, the zipper pull came off. Wanting the barrier and not wanting to send it back and wait for a replacement, I went to the hardware store and we solved the broken zipper problem by taping it together (both sides) with black Gorilla tape. So far that is working fine. But I couldn't find a place to hook the bottom straps under the seat. Since I had a car service appointment the next day, I asked them to see what they could do and they did find a place to hook it. The car is a Pontiac Vibe, a small crossover vehicle. My dog is a large Shepherd/Lab mix but he does respect boundaries so it works for him, but it might not for a more aggressive dog. The product could be improved by addressing the installation problems I encountered.

I read all of the reviews before deciding to purchase this pet barrier. After looking at everything available and comparing price this came up as my best option. The seats in my Honda Civic are relatively tall so I thought I could attach this thing a little higher on the seats and I'd be good to go. Well, I left my german sheppard in the back seat for a few minutes and I came back and she was sitting in the front seat. Even though there was only about 6 inches of clearance she managed to get over. The top part of the barrier with the window was crumpled down when I looked at it. If you have a dog who wants to be in the front seat I recommend getting one of the metal cagelike barriers for the car. It will save you a lot of time and hassle.

IMPORTANT:
The bottom of this barrier attaches under your seat with a closed plastic hook. Make sure you have a place under your seat to attach a hook before purchasing this.

Before I bought this, I had the "hammock-style" barrier in my back seat. It kept them from falling on the floor and was supposed to keep them contained in the back seat. My dogs quickly figured out they could jump over it and into the front seat.

So I bought this Kurgo Backseat Barrier, which is higher and sturdier. I don't understand why everyone is having such a hard time with installation. I read the directions, and it was self explanatory. I thought it was easy to install, but the clips that are used to hook under the seat aren't very big and are kind of flimsy. It still works though.

It has kept my dogs in the back seat, however, I have one energetic pup who has figured out she can put her paws on top of it and peer over. Although she hasn't jumped over it yet, I'm very sure she could.

Overall I'm happy with it. It looks good, is durable, and does the job. It's not 100% guaranteed to keep your dogs in the back seat, but it surely has cut down on their crazy back-and-forth jumping that used to drive me nuts while driving. I do think it's a little overpriced though but there's not much else out there to choose from in the way of backseat barriers, at least for sedans.

Subaru Forrester with sunroof.

When the dogs ride the back seats have to be folded down. They like to take turns leaning on the center console and would slide forward when stopping. She sometimes makes life uncomfortable for the Giant and he tries to escape to the front. Not good, nor safe.

The metal bar barriers have legs with extenders from the floor to the roof, they would hit the glass of sunroof. Those seem to be semi-permanent. Whether that is because take up to much room to store, or to hard to install and remove I do not know. All don't buy decision makers for me.

When I discovered Kurgo pet barrier it seemed it would meet our needs, IT DOES!

Easy to install and remove, even folds and slides back into storage bag easily.

Dogs were happy they could still look over headrests and we're all riding safer.

We're happy and have already recommended to someone in the parking lot!

This pet barrier works great for our dogs. They don't even try to come through. It fit perfect in my Dodge Calliber.
Our dogs are not small one is 110 lbs. and the other is 80 lbs. I think for the price it works great.

I put this behind the front seats in my xtended cab pickup truck. My standard poodle just climbed right over it. Since then, the material is tearing where the metal stays are poking through. Might work for a small dog, but not mine.

There seem to be few choices in front seat barriers for pickup trucks. I have never seen one of these in a pet store in my area, and I looked everywhere. That probably explains the price. This one has been effective keeping my dogs out of the front seat. It was easy to install. The top part that looks like a window does not need to be installed if you have a small dog that won't try to jump over it. There are flat metal bars that slip down inside and provide stiffness and height. it seems pretty expensive for what it is. One of the cheap plastic hold down clips has already broken.

Update: I called Kurgo and they happily shipped me a new plastic clip. They also were able to provide me an extender strap to allow me to fit the barrier into my new bigger truck. The people at Kurgo were friendly and helpful. I enjoyed working with them. Add a star.

i have a 100 lb lab mix who likes to play co-pilot while i drive and cuddle. he likes standing between my seats which is dangerous for me and him and we've bumped heads too many times, so i've been shopping for a barrier. i have a 4 door sedan and therefore i cannot install one of those big metal barriers (which are very unattractive).

my only complaint is the installation. it was a pain and difficult to understand and i'm not sure if it's installed correctly. instead of hooks for the bottom straps they should have just provided straps you could wrap around the bottom of your seat. other then that, it's not as tall as i had expected/hoped. my dog sits tall and can still rest his head on my shoulder while i drive, but at least he's contained to the back seat.