Most dogs love traveling by car. Dogs are natural nomads; they want to be with their humans all day long. The car is like a house on wheels for them. Safe dog car travel has several options.
- For really calm and obedient dogs, the personal padded car seat is a comfortable choice. Seatbelted down, it elevates, cushions and soothes. Your dog can see out without standing up with paws on the window. Look how much fun agility and therapy dogs Chloe, Cara and their sister Bella have in the car. They train well and enjoy taking their special places before driving off.
- For dogs who tend to roam about the car when bored, consider a closed carrier. The carrier, for small dogs, can be either a soft sided pet airline carry-on bag or a small crate and either should be strapped to the seatbelt so it cannot move in the case of an accident or a swerve. The back center seat is the safest location.
- Larger dogs can be secured in the cargo area of a van, SUV or station wagon by the installation of a safe, strong wire mesh fence that prevents them from being launched into the seating area in the case of a sudden stop.
- Larger dogs can also use dog sea belts. Various companies manufacture padded, seat belt straps for dogs that are similar to the “Y” straps on infant car seats. None of these have proven to be entirely safe or comfortable as the straps can dig into the dog’s skin during an accident.
Obviously when driving we all should be as careful as possible and bear in mind that canine travelers cannot be secured as well as human passengers, to let’s take those turns slowly and drive defensively to avoid a quick stop and a bad accident during this happy and frantic time of the year.