Driving with a Dog in the Car – Safety Tips

October 20, 2022

As a responsible driver and pet owner, you need to make sure that you are taking good care of your dog when you are in the car so that you can focus on the road ahead and the traffic around you. Here are some of our safety tips to help you manage this task safely.

Get the Dog Used to the Car

You need to make sure that the dog is as used to the car as possible. There are many other experiences that you will have to prepare the dog for, and you yourself will have put precautions in place to help look after your dog. For example, you could have bought a harness and lead so you can walk well with them without putting stress on their neck.

So, why would you not let the dog investigate the car? Let them climb all over and have a good sniff around. If possible, try to leave the engine running and potentially have music or the radio playing as you usually would. Dogs can often react because the environment is unfamiliar. Letting them explore it on their terms can be the best way around this, and it can result in them being much calmer passengers when you do head out together.

Lastly, although we hate to think about them, accidents do happen, you might have taken out a dog insurance just to make sure they’re covered in case of an accident.

Restrain the Dog Properly

Just as you need to ensure that human passengers are strapped in safely – potentially with the aid of seats or boosters for children – so must you ensure that the dog is properly restrained. A panicked dog might try to climb into your lap and even a small dog doing so could cause you to veer off the road, never mind trying to keep control of the car while a medium to large-sized dog does so.

If your dog is harness-trained, look into harnesses that can attach to seatbelts. They allow a dog to still have some movement in the back seat if they need it, but will keep them safely restrained in one place.

Crate Them in the Back

The harness method can be great but it is still not the safest way to do so. The best way to travel with a dog in the car in terms of safety is to crate them in the back. If your dog is already crate-trained, this can be a much easier experience than having to train them from scratch.

There are many crates out there that have been designed to fit properly into the backseat of a car. Should you then be involved in a crash, your dog will be well-protected and much more so than if it was just loose in the back. This is definitely one of the safest ways to travel with your dog in the car. If they are nervous, the crate can provide a dark and safe space for them to be in, and you can add to this with the addition of a blanket over the top or something that smells like you in the crate to help calm them down.

Sometimes, there is no way around it except to travel with your dog in the car with you. As a responsible pet owner, it is down to you to make sure that your dog is safely restrained for them, you as the driver, and the safety of other people on the road with you. Even if you are just driving around the corner to your local park, you need to make sure that your dog is travelling with you in the safest manner.

Driving with a Dog in the Car – Safety Tips

As a responsible driver and pet owner, you need to make sure that you are taking good care of your dog when you are in the car so that you can focus on the road ahead and the traffic around you. Here are some of our safety tips to help you manage this task safely.

Get the Dog Used to the Car

You need to make sure that the dog is as used to the car as possible. There are many other experiences that you will have to prepare the dog for, and you yourself will have put precautions in place to help look after your dog. For example, you could have bought a harness and lead so you can walk well with them without putting stress on their neck.

So, why would you not let the dog investigate the car? Let them climb all over and have a good sniff around. If possible, try to leave the engine running and potentially have music or the radio playing as you usually would. Dogs can often react because the environment is unfamiliar. Letting them explore it on their terms can be the best way around this, and it can result in them being much calmer passengers when you do head out together.

Lastly, although we hate to think about them, accidents do happen, you might have taken out a dog insurance just to make sure they’re covered in case of an accident.

Restrain the Dog Properly

Just as you need to ensure that human passengers are strapped in safely – potentially with the aid of seats or boosters for children – so must you ensure that the dog is properly restrained. A panicked dog might try to climb into your lap and even a small dog doing so could cause you to veer off the road, never mind trying to keep control of the car while a medium to large-sized dog does so.

If your dog is harness-trained, look into harnesses that can attach to seatbelts. They allow a dog to still have some movement in the back seat if they need it, but will keep them safely restrained in one place.

Crate Them in the Back

The harness method can be great but it is still not the safest way to do so. The best way to travel with a dog in the car in terms of safety is to crate them in the back. If your dog is already crate-trained, this can be a much easier experience than having to train them from scratch.

There are many crates out there that have been designed to fit properly into the backseat of a car. Should you then be involved in a crash, your dog will be well-protected and much more so than if it was just loose in the back. This is definitely one of the safest ways to travel with your dog in the car. If they are nervous, the crate can provide a dark and safe space for them to be in, and you can add to this with the addition of a blanket over the top or something that smells like you in the crate to help calm them down.

Sometimes, there is no way around it except to travel with your dog in the car with you. As a responsible pet owner, it is down to you to make sure that your dog is safely restrained for them, you as the driver, and the safety of other people on the road with you. Even if you are just driving around the corner to your local park, you need to make sure that your dog is travelling with you in the safest manner.

 

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I believe in making the impossible possible because there’s no fun in giving up. Travel, design, fashion and current trends in the field of industrial construction are topics that I enjoy writing about.

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