Dogs and long car journeys

gagiteebo

Hi all,
Just a quick question... I have a two year old golden retriever, I live in wexford but my parents live in cavan and when I go visit them in a few weeks I want to bring him with me. Just wondering what are the laws regarding animals in cars on motorway and if it is allowed can you give me advice on what I need to put in car for him etc
He has been in car many times but only for an hour max and I just want to make sure he will be comfortable and relaxed.
Thank you,
L

ISDW

Yes, dogs can go in cars on motorways, there are no special laws, they should be restrained, as they should for any car journey, so either a crate or an appropriate restraining harness. We do lots of long journeys - are heading over to the UK in a few weeks, and its usually 6/7 hours for us just to get to Rosslare for the ferry. lol I don't feed the dogs before we travel, give them a good walk before we go, small amount of water to rehydrate after the walk, but I don't want them to need to wee while in the crate.

gagiteebo

ISDW wrote: »

Yes, dogs can go in cars on motorways, there are no special laws, they should be restrained, as they should for any car journey, so either a crate or an appropriate restraining harness. We do lots of long journeys - are heading over to the UK in a few weeks, and its usually 6/7 hours for us just to get to Rosslare for the ferry. lol I don't feed the dogs before we travel, give them a good walk before we go, small amount of water to rehydrate after the walk, but I don't want them to need to wee while in the crate.

Thank you for the reply. My car has quite a spacious boot and I usually put him in that going to the beach etc. I will need to get the appropriate restraints for him though. I have seen people who have like a cage type thing in the boot that stops dog jumping into back seat. Would that do?

tk123

gagiteebo wrote: »

ISDW wrote: »

Yes, dogs can go in cars on motorways, there are no special laws, they should be restrained, as they should for any car journey, so either a crate or an appropriate restraining harness. We do lots of long journeys - are heading over to the UK in a few weeks, and its usually 6/7 hours for us just to get to Rosslare for the ferry. lol I don't feed the dogs before we travel, give them a good walk before we go, small amount of water to rehydrate after the walk, but I don't want them to need to wee while in the crate.

Thank you for the reply. My car has quite a spacious boot and I usually put him in that going to the beach etc. I will need to get the appropriate restraints for him though. I have seen people who have like a cage type thing in the boot that stops dog jumping into back seat. Would that do?

You can use a guard like that or a car crate. I use a mesh guard because the boot is quite big (SUV) and I use the boot when he's not it it - mine attaches to the headrests so I can still use the load cover/blind when he's not in there. I also use a car harness - I have it plugged in the back and fed thru the split in the back seat if that makes sense.

kylith

I've brought mine from Dublin to Kerry a couple of times. Take a few breaks on the journey to let him stretch his legs, wee, and get some fresh air.

ISDW

kylith wrote: »

I've brought mine from Dublin to Kerry a couple of times. Take a few breaks on the journey to let him stretch his legs, wee, and get some fresh air.

Definitely agree with some breaks, to let them stretch their legs. Thats actually why we go from Rosslare usually, even though its a few hours further than Dublin, it has a great beach to walk the dogs on just before they get on the ferry.

OP, is it a hatchback or a saloon car that you have? Hopefully a hatchback, when you say you put the dog in the boot, I have unfortunately seen dogs put into closed in boots, hate seeing that.

As tk123 says, you can get a guard just to stop them jumping through, or a travel crate, including soft, fabric ones. not sure how much of a chewer your dog is, one of mine got out of the soft crates very quickly. :rolleyes:

Sigma Force

He'll be grand maybe take him for a good walk before hand but dogs once comfy will generally snooze away, if you can stop once or twice on the journey even better at least once anyway. You can use a car harness and just place some pillows or a thick blanket so the dog can rest his head, being a bigger dog the back seat might be more comfortable for him.
Often brought my dogs for a 2 and a quarter hour trip up home with no stops..although when they were puppies I would stop mainly to clean up doggy puke but an adult dog that's used to the car will only need a quick pee break. Now mine are adults unless one gets car sick I generally stop once at the most, unless there's been long traffic delays.

gagiteebo

ISDW wrote: »

kylith wrote: »

I've brought mine from Dublin to Kerry a couple of times. Take a few breaks on the journey to let him stretch his legs, wee, and get some fresh air.

Definitely agree with some breaks, to let them stretch their legs. Thats actually why we go from Rosslare usually, even though its a few hours further than Dublin, it has a great beach to walk the dogs on just before they get on the ferry.

OP, is it a hatchback or a saloon car that you have? Hopefully a hatchback, when you say you put the dog in the boot, I have unfortunately seen dogs put into closed in boots, hate seeing that.

As tk123 says, you can get a guard just to stop them jumping through, or a travel crate, including soft, fabric ones. not sure how much of a chewer your dog is, one of mine got out of the soft crates very quickly. :rolleyes:

Oh it is a hatchback, do people really put poor dogs in saloon? How awful, dexter is a nosy bugger ha ha

aquascrotum

Just wondering, does anyone elses dog get car sick?

My O/H's family has a wee JRT, when we visit we'd often as not take it out to the beach in the car for a good walk (he needs it), but quite often on the journey home he'll chunder.

Never a problem on the outbound journey, but thats normally because he's delighted and has his head stuck out the window - on the way back he's normally knackered from the walk so lies down, suspect he just gets motion sickness.

If you keep him active and looking up he tends to be OK, but on longer journeys this can be a problem...has anyone any ideas?

lucky john

gagiteebo wrote: »

Hi all,
Just a quick question... I have a two year old golden retriever, I live in wexford but my parents live in cavan and when I go visit them in a few weeks I want to bring him with me. Just wondering what are the laws regarding animals in cars on motorway and if it is allowed can you give me advice on what I need to put in car for him etc
He has been in car many times but only for an hour max and I just want to make sure he will be comfortable and relaxed.
Thank you,
L

A friend of mine travelled all over the place with his dog sitting quitely on the back seat. Until one day when the dog decided to move up front. My friend gently pushed him back but in that second he had moved on to the wrong side of the road and was yards away from ending up under a lorry.
Surprisingly you are breaking no law by having your dog free in the car but you are right to want to restrain him. No one (I hope) lets their kids roam free in a car these days. The same reasons why applies to the dog. For their own and your safety. there are loads of products on the market to solve this for you. It just a matter of choosing the one that fits your car best.

[ Quote; Definitely agree with some breaks, to let them stretch their legs. Thats actually why we go from Rosslare usually, even though its a few hours further than Dublin, it has a great beach to walk the dogs on just before they get on the ferry.[/QUOTE]

I came accross a UK web site that showed a map of loads of dog friendly walks all less than 1km from the motorway network. I know the journey times here are less but with the improved motorways now that might be a useful type of site here as well.

noddyone2

Hi,
We take ours to Connemara, Cork, Limerick. A stop and a walk, drink (the dog, not you), keep the car cool, should be fine. Make it an adventure for him.

candy69

we use 2 cages in the back! we usually walk them 1st then give them a drink. they usually sleep but we stop along the way for toilet breaks and drinks!:)

ISDW

lucky john wrote: »

A friend of mine travelled all over the place with his dog sitting quitely on the back seat. Until one day when the dog decided to move up front. My friend gently pushed him back but in that second he had moved on to the wrong side of the road and was yards away from ending up under a lorry.
Surprisingly you are breaking no law by having your dog free in the car but you are right to want to restrain him. No one (I hope) lets their kids roam free in a car these days. The same reasons why applies to the dog. For their own and your safety. there are loads of products on the market to solve this for you. It just a matter of choosing the one that fits your car best.

I came accross a UK web site that showed a map of loads of dog friendly walks all less than 1km from the motorway network. I know the journey times here are less but with the improved motorways now that might be a useful type of site here as well.

I've used that UK site, its a great resource, we've stopped at places a good few times now that I never knew were there.

I think the law has now changed, and dogs have to be restrained.