Vehicle: Car: Climate: Cooling
Dog Sunroof "Wind-Rider" Cage   (+3)  [vote for, against]
Dogs walk up ramp from back seat when they want to ride like the wind on top of the car.

Dogs love sticking their heads out out windows feeling the wind in their face. I think it gives them the feeling of running with the pack, one of the best things about being a dog I imagine. With this they could climb completely into the air- stream without having to hold their head at an uncomfortable angle.

This looks like a very tall ski rack / cage that the dog can ride on top of the car in. It's got a ramp from the back seat so the dog can enter or exit the cage as it likes. The sunroof could be opened by the driver when it's OK for the dog to go outside. The top is solid metal so it's shielded from the sun and it could even be re-enforced metal so it acts as a roll cage in the unlikely event of a roll over accident.

The dog would be able to adjust their "flying" experience to suit their comfort level as well. The bottom half would have a wind guard so the lower they put their head, the less wind in their face.

Put a treadmill in it too.

If only dogs could bun.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 02 2019

Don't do this if you're running for president. https://abcnews.go....etting-a-book-tour/
Candidate slammed for putting dog on top of a car. [doctorremulac3, Jul 03 2019]

Hundreds of links, artwork, rants etc. https://en.wikipedi...Romney_dog_incident
Don't be putting dogs on car roofs is the message. [doctorremulac3, Jul 03 2019]

Dogs will stick their heads out of the windows of light aircraft too, with great enthusiasm, despite the fearsome slipstream.

Fortunately, custom-designed goggles for dogs are available. Useful for Cars, motorbikes, microlites, and other forms of high speed travel; particularly recommended on steam-hauled railways like the R&E or the RH&D with open-top carriages, where smuts and cinders are an ever present risk.

[+]
-- 8th of 7, Jul 02 2019


Got it!

See through Venetian blinds that close above certain speeds.

They might be a bit noisy though as you got going faster.

Maybe just a window with an air scoop up top that blows "enough" air so the dog gets the effect. Less noisy.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 02 2019


This seems like quite a complex way to save the dog having to just turn its head sideways through a back window.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 02 2019


Even that may be an excessively demanding mental challenge for some Labradors.
-- 8th of 7, Jul 02 2019


//This seems like quite a complex way to save the dog having to just turn its head sideways through a back window.//

If you were a dog would you rather stick your head out the window or fly through the air on top of a car?

Only one way to find out, do a test. Do they climb up on top of the car and fly like an eagle (sort of) or just stick their head out the window looking stupid?

Put a treadmill on it too.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 02 2019


Oh, I'd probably prefer being on top of the car. Whether I'd expect a human to bolt a huge piece of hardware onto their vehicle, maybe less.

I have this theory that what dogs enjoy about the experience is the rapid succession of smells - probably the equivalent of inhaling a 50-course wine-tasting menu in 30 seconds. If so, they'll probably be happier closer to the ground where the best smells are.

However, in the interests of science, I am prepared to glue one of [8th]'s ShitZus to the roof of my car, and one to the wing, and see which looks happier. Remind me not to go through a car wash.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 02 2019


//I have this theory that what dogs enjoy about the experience is the rapid succession of smells.//

Maybe, but cats like smells too and they go nuts if you try to drive them somewhere. Although lions do hunt in prides they don't run in packs for fun. I've seen dogs gather and just run for the sake of it. House cats are lone hunters who have no reason to go running with lots of other cats so they might not be wired to get together with others and go fast.

Whatever it is, dogs are certainly hard wired to like cars.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 02 2019


I still say the ShitZu experiment is the only way to get a definitive answer.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 02 2019


We agree; but glue does not seem the optimal method of fixation.

Therefore, having replicated several representative support structures in steel, we intend to attach them to your vehicle using a variety of methods so that the best one can be identified. Having removed all loose paint, and all other paint, from the bodywork by a combination of shotblasting, oxy-acetylene, and an angle grinder, we will attach the evaluation structures by MIG welding, pop-riveting, 2-part epoxy and polyester adhesives, M12 x 100 tensile bolts, and a range of plain and galvanized nails. In the Mythbusters tradition, we will also use duct tape, bubble gum, and tree sap for comparison.

After the vehicle has been dropped, rolled, and driven into bits of landscape at moderate speeds, we can then check how well the attachments have petformed. We have received assurances from Mr. Clarkson, Mr.Hammond and Mr. May that you will definitely receive a percentage of the royalties and repeat fees, plus a proportion of the scrap value when filming is complete, although auctioning off the remains for charity has not been ruled out.

When the evaluation process is complete, we will call round for your new car and re-run the tests with our volunteer Shih Tzu, who have already been fitted with their kevlar and titanium body armour and helmets, and very smart they look too, like a squadron of Ewoks kitted out as Imperial Stormtroopers.

// they go nuts if you try to drive them somewhere. //

Herding cats is never easy. Turning down the voltage on the prod a little sometimes helps, and reduces the stench of singed fur.

// they might not be wired to get together with others and go fast. //

Florist's wire works quite well and keeps them together in a clump for loading into the trebuchet, but for a cannon it's better to wrap them into a ball with brown parcel tape - wire can scratch the bore, unless you use a sabot.
-- 8th of 7, Jul 03 2019


i heard about a black cocker spaniel once (not mine, another one) who liked to ride on the roof of the family vehicle without benefit of any kind of cage, and was not at all discouraged by the hard landing at the end of each trip. I have no idea how he held on going round corners.

The same dog was also, apparently, a strong contender for "world's worst house-guest".
-- pertinax, Jul 03 2019


He'd lose to Sturton in the semi-final.
-- 8th of 7, Jul 03 2019


I love it. Instagram would go wild with pics. Who has the doggy that smiles the biggest. I would like this for my cat too. but then he'd kill me in my sleep.
-- blissmiss, Jul 03 2019


He's going to do that anyway; the reason you're still alive is that the opportunity hasn't arisen yet - or more likely, you're useful for preparing food and he just can't be bothered.
-- 8th of 7, Jul 03 2019



random, halfbakery