CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => General Cocker Spaniel Discussion => Topic started by: Bella & Poppy on April 28, 2012, 07:06:31 PM
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hi,
im currently looking for a new car and wondered what everyones opinion was on safest way to travel with dog.
In the boot of an estate with a dog guard
or
on back seat with a seat belt harness on?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts
p.s we have 2 cockers ;)
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We have 2 cars and my OH's is a LR defender so the "Boot" space is not dog friendly (different levels and corners) so we always use a back seat harness & seat belt clip in there. However I have a small 4x4 with normal boot space and Jazz will happily travel in there too. She seems to know which car is which but I have to say I think she particularly like to look out of the windows when on the back seat on the OH's car!!!!!!
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Dog Guards give no real protection to the dog - they only prevent the dog being flung forward and injuring people in the car.
Either go with a harness attached to a seatbelt, or a crate secured (not just loose) in the boot. :D
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Ozzie used to have a harness on the seat but after a few occasions of coming back green from walks after rolling in wet cow pat we changed and she now has a crate in the estate car. Leather seats do not take kindly to cow pat. :lol:
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We have Posie on the back seat with a harness - and waterproof seat cover ;)
We were soft with her so wanted her close to us when we were driving, bu I would never put her in the boot/tailgate area, crate or no crate. Have you seen what happens when a car gets rear-ended at high speed? Plus, how quickly do you think you could get to the crate if you were in a big crash, even if no other cars are involved.
I understand the practicalities of it for many people, and yes I am a bit paranoid, but I've seen some nasty things in my time.
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i have two cars and the dogs are always in a secured crate in the boot in both, IMO its the safest method as this protects them and others in the car in the case of an accident but also stops them escaping at any point as they cant get out until i open the crate...
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Atlas car crate in the boot. They settle much better in there. Well mine do anyway
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Crate in my estate, a dog bag pet tube on the back seats of my hubby's saloon.
If we're going somewhere with the 2 of us and just 1 dog they may travel in the passenger footwell.
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Atlas 80 carrier in the boot, with 2 children and a smallish Peugeot boot I don't have the space inside for Odie. Hubby has an estate so he goes in between the girls in his harness on the back seat.
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I should've been a bit more specific. I meant in the boot space of a hatchback. Estate cars have so much more crumble zone, and most 4x4s are too high to be the same problem.
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Having a dog in the boot is not a safe way to transport your dog.
Why
These days a cars are designed for the boots to crush if something hits your rear end. It does this to reduce the impact giving the main seated part of the car to stay as intact as possible.
I have seat covers that i use if the dogs are in the car they really are very good and waterproof. Slide over the seat in less than 1 min job done.
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We have an 8 seater mummy bus Toyota and an estate Audi .
Flo is usually in the Toyota and although put in the boot when the car is full of kids, she jumps over the back seat and works her way to her favorite position in the foot well of the front passenger seat, there she sits happily and safely, so now straight into the front and " lay down" on the foot-well .
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Charlie sits on the back seat with a seat belt and harness. I just have a throw on the seat so it can be washed easily.
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I first had Bob in a crate in the back of my 4x4 as you can see there is a lot of room to one
side for shopping and any thing else you may need to put in the boot
and Bob is very safe in there
(http://i41.tinypic.com/5un0q8.jpg)
I sold my 4x4 and got an Alfa Bob now sits in the hatchback... i don't have a dog guard but
he has never jumped over.. there is not much room in the boot for any thing else only Bob
i don't think he is as safe as he was in the crate.....
when it is time for me to get a new car i will go for a 4x4 type so i can have a crate again
(http://i55.tinypic.com/15g74vk.jpg)
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IMO mine are safest in harnesses on the back seat. I went so far as to buy a dog guard to put in my hatchback but then someone on here put me off the idea of them being in the boot space in case of a rear end collision so I sent the dog guard back and bought 2 clix safe harnesses instead and a cover for the back seats.
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On the subject of dog guards and crates. Why do people think they are safe ? Yes they stop the dog running about the car while your driving. If you had a dog that did that. However if your pooch is loose in your boot how will a dog guard protect it if you crash ? It would get flung about the boot. A cage will probably be the safer option as the chance is teh dog might not get thrown as far as the crate is smaller.
However i really think these are both still very bad options ref my previous post. I class my dogs as a part of my family. I wouldnt drive with my daughter not strapped into her seat for obv reasons the exact same reasons apply for the dogs.
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Sorry I still think dogs in a well designed dog cage or crate with an escape hatch door is the best option as long as it is secured and not too large that they have too much space to roll around in.
I rolled my car a couple of years back and it was the fitted dog cage that saved my dogs, we ended upside down after rolling down an embankment on ice the back hatch flew open so they could have escaped and got run over had they not been in the cage.
I know harnesses are also good but when I was upside down in the car I found it hard to get out of my seat belt plus the belt had caused me some minor injuries, not sure how the harness would respond if the car rolled and the dog was in it :dunno:
I know what people think about re end smashes and the impact fact but in people carriers we have seats that children sit in :fear2:
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We have this RAC one for Willow and its great. The only prob is the sizing we had to get her a large, they come REALLY small.
(http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g413/maddykea/P1010131.jpg)
(http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g413/maddykea/P1010209.jpg)
We often leave it on her and use it as a walking harness too (see above)
See the link below. We got ours from the vets and it was only about £8.
http://www.mrpets.co.uk/p10502/RAC-Travel-Dog-Harness-Small.php
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Wendy (wenco18) had a good looking harness for one of her dogs...
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Bella travels on the front seat in a harness secured to the seatbelt. She either sits on a lap or if it's just her and me in the car, she edges across the seat and insists on touching her muzzle to my hand or arm. Dopey dawg. ph34r
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Wendy (wenco18) had a good looking harness for one of her dogs...
This is the harness I have for Lottie, Lola has one that attaches to her red dingo harness but will probably get her one of these as well as it can be left on and the lead attached to it when out of the car.
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-accessories-dog-harnesses-c-628_408/clix-car-safe-dog-harness-p-2954
I do have a guard on the back of my car for when they are muddy, but when going any distance ie: Bamburgh Castle and driving on motorways like to have them strapped in the back.
I can't bear to think what could happen to them ph34r
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theshrew - I'd love to know your evidence for saying that a crate in the boot is not safe.... as that is what I have always been told is the safest way for a dog to travel (as long as the crate itself is secured) and is certainly how "professional" dogs are transported....
With 2 children under 2 on the backseat, there is no option for Honey to use her car harness anymore, so we have secured her spare crate into the boot. :D
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I have a Honda Jazz and have the back seats permanently folded down and have invested in a tailgate guard and guard that goes behind the driver/passenger seats. they have a selection of cushions and blackets to snuggle in.
Having them on the back seat with harnesses on is fine for Taz, but Kira (lab) really struggles. You have to the harness short enough to give protection, which means then than she can hardly move to get comfy, esp on long journeys. But if we had to stop quickly there is enough "give" in it for her front legs to fall off the seat, which could be dangerous in itself.
My travel arrangements may not be perfect, but i think it is a decent compromise, and at least they are not sitting on my knee (which seems quite common!)
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theshrew - I'd love to know your evidence for saying that a crate in the boot is not safe.... as that is what I have always been told is the safest way for a dog to travel (as long as the crate itself is secured) and is certainly how "professional" dogs are transported....
With 2 children under 2 on the backseat, there is no option for Honey to use her car harness anymore, so we have secured her spare crate into the boot. :D
I'm guessing the evidence is any of the cars that have their rear end crushed in a shunt. As somebody else said; modern cars are designed to crumple to absorb the impact energy.
No car is 100% safe - for people or dogs - but statistically you are more likely to be rear ended than roll your car over.
With regards to this, and many, many other areas of life, I don't do something just because lots of other people do. I make an assessment of the facts and decide what I feel is best for me and mine. If I had a Land Rover I would probably use a crate. If I had a Smart I probably wouldn't drive it over 30mph.
Seat harnesses aren't ideal either and have drawbacks in other situations - such as a rolling car - but I'm working on a new option to the standard harness. Hopefully I'll have a product on the market before the end of the year. It will still have situations in which it won't be ideal, but then that's down to each of us to assess the risks based on our own vehicle and driving experience.
Just out of interest: has anybody ever been in a rearranging crash in a hatchback and ended up with an unopenable tailgate? Its happened to me, but fortunately before I had a dog.
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I have the same ones as Wendy for my 2
This is Bobby in his
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m634/Janet_Davies/IMGP1296.jpg)
They are simple to use and the dogs seem comfy in them. Think it's all a matter of personal preference as petepreston said
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I had a crash when I was 21 with dog on the backseat with a car harness on sitting on his bed. Car flipped over after having done a 360 at 70mph. Dog was fine and in fact had a lovely time at the hospital being treated like a prince in the nurses quarters whilst I waited for 2 hours to be seen!
I thoroughly recommend harnesses for dogs in cars :-)
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Just got one of these;
Large pet tube from Doghaus.
It folds down flat and zips up
so you can move it about.
Ellie is fine in it.
steffxxx
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Reading some of these makes me not want to ever get in my car again :fear2:
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Nowhere in a car accident is safe, pro and cons to crates and harnesses. I personally prefer Flo to be in the front passenger seat foot- well where rear end shunting will not affect.
With a full on nasty accident well I don't think any situation can claim to be the best unless the dog has seatbelts and airbags like human passengers. Another reason I like Flo to be in the front footwell is that the aircondioning flows through there and if in the boot/hatch the air-conditioning doesn't work so efficiently.... Here on 0z.
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Milly mostly travels in Dot's Jazz. The rear seat behind the driver is folded up and her bed is on the floor of the vehicle. She wears a harness that's clipped into the centre seatbelt catch. This allows her the freedom to lie in her bed or on the unfolded-up portion of the rear seat. (Not a very clear description but Jazz owners will know what I mean ;))
As ClareB has said, nowhere is completely safe in an accident but we feel that, being within the passenger compartment rather than in a crumple zone, we're happier that she's getting as much protection as we can provide :luv:.
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Dexter is in the boot of my hatchback with a harness on. I have split back seats and an extension lead so the harness it locked into the back seat clip.
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Will and Nerys travel in a crate in the back of our estate. I did try Will in a harness on the back seat but he got very stressed, they are calm in the cage. having said that they don't travel in the car often.
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Back seat with harnesses on.
I have an estate, but with all the dog walking associated stuff that's in there, I'm not sure I'd fit them in, as I'd need at least 2 crates, as Ms Daisydoo would pick on the boys if crated together! Also, alot more window there if travelling on a sunny day (back window & 2 small side windows) & nowhere for them to escape the sun - on back seat, one in the middle's ok anyway, & the ones on either side have worked out as long as they don't move suddenly, the seat belt extends enough so they can get in the footwell at the back out of the direct sunlight .... I had those mesh things that attach to the window with a sucker, but they couldn't nosey out the windows properly, so kept pulling them off!
Just a thought for anyone travelling with their dogs on the front passenger seat, my daughter used to do this when she just had one dog, until it was pointed out to her that she would need to disable the passenger airbag, otherwise, if they were in an accident & it was activated, it could suffocate her dog!