Wow! I wish this weather would make up it's mind! (if you live in a warmer climate this probably doesn't apply to you) It is making my dogs nuts. One day they want to go out and stay out, the next it's so cold they look at me like I'm crazy when I suggest a potty break outdoors. Really it is quite exhausting, especially if you have small breed dogs which have to get dressed before venturing out into the cold. I am reminded of when my children were small and it took fifteen minutes to get them ready to go out (we won't mention that someone always had the inevitable urge to pee as soon as everyone was dressed and ready to go because it doesn't apply here.) Of course in this weather if I am getting the Chihuahuas ready for a car ride, I have to remember the car blankets as well.
Hmm, thinking about dogs and car rides brings me to a pet peeve of mine, unsecured dogs in vehicles. How many times have you been driving along and you see a pickup truck pass you with a dog running around in the truck bed unsecured? This is extremely dangerous for the dog, but yet we see it all the time. Don't these owners realize (or care) that going over one big bump in the road could be enough to throw their pet right out of the truck bed and onto the road in the middle of traffic?
I know we have all seen cars passing by with dog heads sticking out the window. Let's face it, dogs love the breeze in their face, but is this really safe? Quite frankly, the answer is NO. If your window is rolled down enough for your dog to stick their entire head and neck out the window, the window is open too far for safety. While the dogs in this picture look like they are having a great time if one gets a little too enthusiastic about hanging out the window he could end up on the road trying to dodge traffic. A breeze through the car is great for the dog but roll those windows up high enough that your dog can't get out through them.
Humans wear seatbelts while riding in cars (well at least the law says they are supposed to and if they have half a brain they do) but will place their dog in the car unrestrained. The idea of wearing a seatbelt is to prevent you from being thrown around the inside of your vehicle should an accident occur. Doesn't it make sense to restrain your dog in some way to prevent them from being thrown around the vehicle should an accident occur? We place our babies in car seats, doesn't it make sense that our dogs should be restrained in a similar manner? There are both carseats and seatbelt harnesses available for dogs these days, perhaps it might be prudent to purchase one or the other to keep your pet safe while traveling in the car?
I use an old baby car seat, but there are commercial car seats available made specially for dogs. When I don't have the car seat in my car I make sure my dogs are safely restrained using a harness and short leash hooked to the car's seat belt. This allows my dogs to look out the windows but prevents them from being thrown about should we stop suddenly or get into an accident.
If you are anything like me and many of my friends, then ensuring your pet is safe when you travel is important to you. Right now some of you may be saying "my dog is little, I just hold her on my lap, she's safe in my arms." But you would be wrong. Ninety percent of cars on the road today contain airbags as a safety device. In the event of a car accident these airbags shoot out of your front dash at the equivalent of something ridiculous like two hundred miles an hour. We have seen some pretty horrible injuries caused by airbags. So just think about that for a minute, then tell me again about how your little dog is safe in your arms....yeah, I thought that might make you rethink things. If you get into an accident sitting in the front seat of a vehicle with a dog in your arms, that dog is going to bear the full force of that airbag. That force could kill a small breed dog. So perhaps your lap while comfy for Fido, is not the best place for him to travel.
So before your next roadtrip re-evaluate how your dog travels in your vehicle, maybe you could be traveling just a little bit safer, and as we all know, it is always better to be safe than sorry!
Happy Travels!
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