Dogs in Car

Merry_Wanderer

I am wondering how everyone deals with having their dog in the car - in terms of safety harness or whatever. We have a small 3-door Punto, and our greyhound just lies on the backseat. We only ever take her about in the car locally, and she loves the car, and behaves herself - however I wouldn't want to go on a faster road or motorway for example without any kid of seat belt. But then I want to make sure she is comfortable. Any recommendations? She is hardly out in the car very often, but this is something that is on my mind that there is a safer way.

chris_n_tj

We use one of these and a harness on Ollie. It works well and keeps them safe x

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/universal-seat-belt-restraint-by-mypet-86209

trolleyrun

I don't use a harness or anything, but I did teach my dog to lie down in one place in the car. It took a while, but she's fine now. Putting her on a harness in the car would freak her out. She just curls up and goes to sleep

skintandscared_2

Your dogs might be happier laying in the back without a harness, but if you had an accident and they were laid behind you, they'd potentially decapitate you as they sailed through the windscreen.

trolleyrun

Pipsqueak is tiny, so I don't think she'd decapitate me to be honest. I'm a careful driver and don't go terribly fast.

~Chameleon~

trolleyrun wrote: »

Pipsqueak is tiny, so I don't think she'd decapitate me to be honest. I'm a careful driver and don't go terribly fast.

And what if someone was to run in the back of you or you had to do an emergency stop? We can't all control what happens on the road when other people are also using it. There's a potential for your dog to be launched straight through the windscreen if not securely harnessed or placed behind a dog guard in your car.

krlyr

I use guards to make sure mine aren't flung around in an accident. When they weigh 75kg combined, it's a lot of dog to hit into me/a passenger!
There's an interior guard that sits on top of the rear seats, folded flat, and a tailgate guard that means they're still secure should the boot pop open. I didn't go for an emergency exit, as the position of the interior guard allows access through the rear doors. Downside being that if the rear windows were to smash, the dogs could potentially escape..but I weighed it up against the space available, and I'm not keen on shutting dogs completely in the boot area since it's at risk of crumpling on impact.

There are pros and cons to various methods. I find guards work well, I previously used harnesses and tethered them to points in the car but found with two dogs they were forever getting tangled. Having the leads short enough to prevent this stopped them being able to get so comfortable. The guards mean I can leave leads on but unattached at the other end, so no tangling, and the dogs can settle into whatever position they find comfortable (with the rear seats down there's plenty of room for them both to stretch out if they want).

The guards do remove when I need to use the car for 'normal' purposes!

chris_n_tj

trolleyrun wrote: »

Pipsqueak is tiny, so I don't think she'd decapitate me to be honest. I'm a careful driver and don't go terribly fast.

Tiny as she maybe hitting a windscreen wouldnt do her much good.
You might be the best driver in the world but accidents happen to the best of drivers xx.

Better safe than sorry is my motto x

con1888

I use the above method with the guards for my GSD

skintandscared_2

trolleyrun wrote: »

Pipsqueak is tiny, so I don't think she'd decapitate me to be honest. I'm a careful driver and don't go terribly fast.

Sorry, but do you really believe that??! Depending on your speed, an object will project between 30x and 60x it's weight if you break suddenly or hit something (or get hit!) You can't legislate for other people's driving. And you don't have to be going "fast". Anything or anyone in the back seat should be belted in or tethered down!

elsien

Harness and the same type of seatbelt clip as chris n tj, except they're cheaper in Wilkinsons than at PAH.
Not only to keep gitdog safe in a crash, but also to ensure he doesn't cause a crash by trying to lick my ears and jump on my head while I'm driving.