Carrying a Dog in a Car

Kilree

I've been searching the net since my wife saw a notice in the vets about restraints for dogs being mandatory and I've found nothing that answers my query.
We have a small Shih Tzu who is about 6 Kg. He travels at all times on my wifes lap in the front passenger seat where he sleeps for most of any journey. He is restrained by a combination of a dog harness clipped through and attached to my wifes seatbelt. Does anyone know if this setup (which to my mind is safer than any other I can think of and less traumatic for the dog) is acceptable for whatever legislation has been introduced?

Tallon

For safety, he should be in a cage / carrier in the back / boot

If her airbag goes off, the dog could be very seriously injured

tk123

Is there actually legislation on this yet - I thought it was in the pipelines?
Anyhoos what happens if god forbid you crash and are knocked unconscious, paramedics need to treat your wife but the dog gets protective of her and won't let them near her - this is why they want to bring legislation in? Safer to have the dog contained in the back imo - you can get small crates that clip in like baby seats which might be an option as it's a small dog - not an option for me as I have a retriever lol!
Also I'd be worried about airbags going off with a dog in the front?

Whispered

I also heard that if there is an accident the emergency services cannot attempt to remove the dog unless it's crated.

I don't know how true this is but it makes sense.

Zulu

Boot. Dogs love it.

DamagedTrax

yup, dolly loves the boot. we flip one of the back seats down and we have 1 side of a crate bungie corded on so that it covers the area but she can still see us. she just lies down and is calm, whereas before she was jumping about the car a lot.

planetX

My dog travels in the boot of a hatchback, but I'm rethinking it - a while ago we came very close to being hit by a car behind, and he would've been crushed. Scared me enough that I want him in the back seat, so I need to find a harness .... and seat cover

MissRetro

As far as I know the proposed legislation refers to these..

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_cages_carriers/car_harness/?gclid=CILV37eF564CFdJX4Qod7GKTgg

I have my dog in the car and he's mostly very well behaved but I agree that these harnesses once perfected are a way safer alternative for my dog and everyone else in the car. Personally I wouldn't put my dog in the boot (unless in an estate), I find it too similar to hooding birds but that's just my opinion. The crates could cause more danger than their worth as I would think alot of people aren't going to go to the effort of securing them in case of a crash.. you really wouldn't want one of them flying towards your head at 60mph!

Discodog

I don't think there is a specific law to restrain dogs. But an unrestrained dog could constitute a distraction & you could be stopped.

My little guy is with me all day & he is in a big crate. The other advantage with the crate is that I can open windows, sunroof etc without any fear of him escaping so it is essential in warm weather.

Whispered

Discodog wrote: »

I don't think there is a specific law to restrain dogs. But an unrestrained dog could constitute a distraction & you could be stopped.

I was bringing a whippet pup from the pound a few weeks ago, the little fecker wiggled out of the harness in the back, I was driving along and felt a little pokey nose on the back of my head. :eek:

As I was slowing to pull in, he hopped into the passenger seat, curled up and went to sleep. I honestly think a crate, properly secured would be the safest thing, at least then wrigglers are still secure.

My two are great, the climb into the footwell and lie there until I stop.

Raminahobbin

I have a HR-V and my dog loves the boot so I just use a dog grille. I would like to be able to transport her with a harness, but she has an absolutely awful fear of them for some reason. I've had her since she was 9weeks old, so it's not like she's had a traumatic experiance of them, but no matter how fun I try to make it, she just hates harnesses with a passion. I gave up when it got to the stage she was hiding and urinating with fear as soon as she saw me holding it

Whispered wrote: »

I was bringing a whippet pup from the pound a few weeks ago, the little fecker wiggled out of the harness in the back, I was driving along and felt a little pokey nose on the back of my head. :eek:

As I was slowing to pull in, he hopped into the passenger seat, curled up and went to sleep. I honestly think a crate, properly secured would be the safest thing, at least then wrigglers are still secure.

My two are great, the climb into the footwell and lie there until I stop.

I was transporting a few dogs from the pound on Saturday, and had them all crated bar one. Everybody was secure- even the uncrated dog was penned in by the other crates- and then the one on my passenger seat managed to chew through the plastic door on his little plastic crate, literally snapping it in half! Cue much, much fun for the next half hour as I had no way of restraining him and just had to keep going and hope for the best. I had to keep pulling in as he kept crawling all over my head and on top of the other crates. At the last second, just as I pulled into the car park, he fell off the crates and onto the un-crated dog...which was fun.

Moral of the story: if you're going to crate, get METAL crates! Plastic is useless when a dog is determined!!!

Kilree

Thanks for all the advice. It seems that the notice in the vets was their own typed up information sheet which arose because one of the vets assistants was travelling in the passenger seat with an unrestrained dog (breed not known) on her lap.
The car was stopped by a garda and the driver apparantly received three penalty points and a fine for the offence. I was not talking to the person in the vets office but apparantly this is the story. As I said in my original post I can find nothing on line about the legislation including the RSA site.

Cherry Blossom

Crate is only used for travelling now for my dog, have been wondering whether to buy one of these now as she is well used to being in the crate. The only thing is that she'll also be crated on my bedroom floor when new pup arrives and I'm not sure she'll be very happy about that and could have a go at escaping, I could swap the crates over though if it poses a problem I guess!

FoxyVixen

I've an American Akita and drive a Polo.

So I got a dog blanket/cover which has holes for seatbelts. I put on her harness and attach to the seatbelt. She lies down quite content and falls asleep. Have driven good distances with this system and it works effectively. Have even tested myself on our road putting the brakes on sharply and works a treat.

What's more, Lidl have them in tomorrow

http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/SID-B74AD552-7D34D4E3/lidl_ri_ie/hs.xsl/offerdate.htm?offerdate=18920

Mine got a bit mouldy so will buy 2 tomorrow me thinks

dmg10

After writing off my car on the only day of black ice we got this winter, I'm a complete advocate for either a crate or a grill. It terrifies me when I see dogs loose in a car as my one would most definitely have been killed if she'd been loose as so many things were shifted around while we went through the spins. Fortunately she came out completely unharmed but there was a big outward dent in the crate where she'd obviously been flung. It also meant that I knew she was safe while I got things sorted.
Secure your dogs people, it'll keep them and you as safe as possible.

I started out using the grill but it meant I couldn't keep anything else in the boot which was a pain, the crate has definitely been the best thing for her and she's perfectly happy in it.

A loose dog in a car is a nightmare for the emergency services and I think (not sure though) they will wait until someone comes along to secure the animal before treating the passengers thereby potentially delaying necessary treatment. Another aspect, if the dog escapes, it can cause more problems and run off.

With a loose dog, not sure about the law, but they might be able to get you on failing to secure a load...?

Wouldn't recommend securing a dog on a lap in the front especially if you've an airbag, as the impact of the airbag will probably kill the dog and possibly the passenger. Better to crate or secure in the back than to switch off the airbag.

Good luck with figuring it out, took me a few different trial and errors to get it right for what suited me. I also did try a harness in her young puppy days, and after a while of her being really really quiet in the back on one journey, I stopped to check only to find she'd been busy chewing her way through it, that was the end of that one... :-)

tk123

I use a grill and also have a connector belt plugged into one of the buckles in the back then it's fed in between the split in the seats and have the clix car harness connected to this.

toadfly

I have a harness that clips into the seatbelt for Lexi when I am bringing her in the car but when we are bringing the jeep they all go into the crate. Have individual cases for the two small ones as well so we have all bases covered

As far as I know Noel Brett (RSA guy) brought this in in Mayo a few years back to trial it.

Zapperzy

My aunt and her fella were in an accident with a loose springer x on the back seat, he flew forward and hit the fella in the head, ended up with slight concussion because of it. Hate seeing loose dogs in a car, especially the people that leave the window down for the dog to hang out of. :eek: Seen one guy driving right through town on a busy road with a jack russell hanging out the window, just the driver in the car, if the dog jumped out after a cat he wouldn't have been able to do anything and the dog would've been a pancake and could have caused an accident on a busy junction. People like that deserve to be done. At the very least a dog should be connected to a seatbelt via a harness or collar.

_Lady_

I actually got a fright myself recently - my pup is growing so fast that he got too big for me to control too quickly. When he was eight weeks, he would curl up and snooze wherever we put him so he would just creep into the passenger seat and lean his little head across onto my leg so some part was in contact so we never thought of it as an issue.

But recently, I was driving to the forest and in the space of two seconds he jumped up on top of me, hit the window button with his paw and almost caused me to crash because when the window rolled down he was straining to get out.

Needless to say padded car harness and seat belt purchased next day. And even better again, he's in the back now. He's not too happy about it (our own fault spoiling him in first place and not introducing boundaries) but at least I can breathe easy travelling again after the fright I got.

Aside from any potential harm you can cause - your insurer would never cover any person travelling with an unrestrained animal in the car. And the cops could easily do you for being reckless by having him there. There are a number of ways they could apply.

Anyone got any advice on the whole crate thing for larger dogs? Freddie's a Labradoodle and growing growing all the time - 17kg and counting already at 5-6 mths. He sleeps in an open kennel in our back garden at night so I don't know how I would train him in on being restricted to a crate?

Kilree

Our little guy was trained to a crate when we got him and he sleeps in it every night. It's a great idea but I' not quite sure how a crate in the boot of a car or on the back seat would enhance a dogs safety when travelling. Surely in any impact it would be bounced around inside the crate whether the crate was secured or not. It seems from our point of view that a harness in the back seat is the only solution although we tried this some time back and he just kept sliding around. That's why I doctored the existing harness to attach to my wifes seatbelt in the front passenger seat when she is sitting there. I have never had the dog in the car when I am on own so restraining him in a seat never arose. I take the very valid point regarding the airbag though and we're going to have to do something about our present arrangements.

dmg10

Kilree wrote: »

It's a great idea but I' not quite sure how a crate in the boot of a car or on the back seat would enhance a dogs safety when travelling. Surely in any impact it would be bounced around inside the crate whether the crate was secured or not.

Yep bounced around inside the crate (and probably pretty hard too with the dent outwards that was left in my one) but at least it's confined and they're protected from being hit by flying bags, boots, suitcases etc, as well as them not becoming a loose cannon themselves. Apart from getting a big fright at the time (her side took the final impact) she wasn't hurt and has had no issue with going in the car since.

The harness wasn't an option for my one as she just chewed through it, but would be as good a solution although still at risk of being hit by objects moving in an accident. In the very beginning, in the absence of a harness or crate, I tied her by her collar to a ring in the boot, but on the first journey was thinking about it and didn't do it again. The risk of a broken neck due to whiplash in an emergency stop was enough for me to change travel arrangements immediately.

The other advantage of a crate I find is when you open the boot, they are contained until you are ready especially if you have a very excitable pup who momentarily forgets the rules of sit and stay until she gets the command to come out. And I have half my boot space back again for weekends away!!

_Lady_

Hey all,

I was just searching for any tips on how to get your dog used to travelling in the car and came across this thread from not too long ago. Didn't want to go starting another along the same lines so just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to get him to travel quietly?

He used to be very relaxed in the car as a young pup but now at six months he cries and whines as soon as we start the car. He travels in back seat and is clipped into seatbelt with a padded harness. I've tried giving him treats to sniff for and chew on in the back seat but as soon as he's done with those he just starts crying and howling again.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks a mill

Zulu

If possible, for the next say 20 trips, put the dog into the boot, with some treats & fav toy! Take short trips to somewhere it love (like beach or park or wherever). Ignore the crying.

Dog should learn that boot = treats + magical transporting device to my favourite place!

My own dog, has twice now, jumped into the boot upon hearing the central locking activate. Sadly, but hilariously, I hadn't managed to open the boot yet. I din't know whether to laugh or cry. I settled for laughing so hard I cried!
(She didn't mind, she didn't get hurt, but looked at me with a "WTF!?! buddy, you're supposed to have that shit open. Come on!")

_Lady_

Thanks Zulu - is there much difference in having him in the boot or having him in the back seat?

There's no barrier between back seat and boot so he would just climb straight through I would say. Also, not sure if the seat belt connector to the harness would reach and he's too big to let him be free in the car - dáinséarach!

Zulu

Estate is it? Ok, that won't work so. I've a saloon, so the boot is a separate compartment. She's safer in there than loose in the car. It's like a den for her. Sorry, no idea for the estate. sorry

littlebug

Dog Guard

I have one of these in a hatchback and it keeps the dog in the boot compartment.

_Lady_

Thanks anyway for the tips!

I don't find that it's an issue for him to be in the back seat - he's secure, has room to stand up, sit down or lie down but he can't get through to the front seat to me. I drive a small hyundai, so I wouldn't feel comfortable with putting him in the boot anyway, it's rather narrow and he's growing bigger all the time, so by time he's used to it, he would be too big for it anyway - the back seat is really the only safe option as he isn't crate trained.

But what I'm really wondering about is how to settle him. I'm wondering if he's actually frightened or just kicking up a fuss about being attached to the seat belt and not up on my lap etc!

I'm defo going to try the toy thing though - thanks!:)

tk123

What I did was have somebody drive and sat in the back with him and did lots of short trips with plenty of praise and treats. EG a trip to the pet shop and in to get a biscuit or small treat - short trips that have some element of fun so he associated the car with a fun place to go or a special treat. Once he was settled with me then I started the short trips on my own and eg when we were stoppped at the lights throw a treat back to him. He was really unsettled crying and barking at first but the more we practised the more he settled.

_Lady_

Thanks tk - it's fine whenever I'm sitting with him and my oh is driving, just whenever one of us has him in the car on our own. I think he feels safer when he's in contact with us and probably wobbles a bit when the car moves and he's standing on his own - he's only sat down or lied down a few times despite the fact that he knows these commands. Hopefully the toy thing might help distract him a bit. Or maybe even a new bone!

beveragelady

When I had just one dog in a saloon car I bought the very best harness I could afford. I used a carabiner clip to attach it to the seatbelt so that he was free to move about on the back seat, but in the event of a sudden stop or impact the seatbelt kicked in and prevented him from going through the windscreen.
This worked perfectly until I got a second dog, because when they were both belted in they got tangled up with each other.
I bought a Focus hatchback and they were perfectly happy to travel in the boot with their heads up in the car. They're both medium sized collies, so they could sit comfortably and admire the back of my head.This was fine, until I crashed my car in December. One dog ended up (uninjured) in the passenger seat, bewildered as to how he got there. If I had had a passenger in that seat at the time, there's a real possibility that he or she could have been injured not by the impact but by the flying dog. The other dog was still in the boot, but she broke a rib or two somehow. (She's grand now, the wee little hero.)
Now I drive a small van. No matter what they won't go through the windscreen, but I'm not too happy with how loose they are in there. (Ideas welcome...)
The fact is, cars weren't designed to transport animals safely and comfortably. It's up to us to find practical solutions so the dogs can come with us on our adventures without endangering anybody.

ABajaninCork

My Shih Tzu has a safety harness which the seat belt threads through and I clip him in that way. He's fine in the back of the car, can see us, and has enough room to lie down and have a snooze if he wants.