Reminder To Restrain Dogs In Cars

[dee lee]

I have to admit to not using a seatbelt/harness.

My dog is car phobic and will only lie on the floor in the foot well, or in the back in the hatch.

She never moves from where she lies- she is too nervous.

I'm very confident that she is safely wedged in.

[Sheridan]

Those that are saying it is the law in NSW for them to be restrained - can someone provide the link to the law that says this?

Only thing I have seen published is the new road rule which came in, in July 2008 which had 3 demerit points and $400 fine attached to it.

The RTA schedule of offence of 1 August 2010 has no mention of not restraining a dog in the car but does include intefering with control and dog in lap.

To me, it doesn't matter if it's the law; it's simply commonsense.

he even raises one paw to "help" me put the harness on.

One of my dogs does that too!

I say, 'Foot' and then 'Other foot' and on goes the harness.

Edited December 8, 2010 by Sheridan

[karly101]

I have to admit to not using a seatbelt/harness.

My dog is car phobic and will only lie on the floor in the foot well, or in the back in the hatch.

She never moves from where she lies- she is too nervous.

I'm very confident that she is safely wedged in.

Consider watching some videos of what happens to occupants in a car accident, from what you've written you haven't been in a bad one. Your head smashes into the glass, your arms get thrown around and there's nothing you can do to stop it, cars also can roll and flip in an accident - she won't stay where she is either in the footwell or the hatch she will be thrown around ... violently.

You may also be surprised once you harness and buckle her in, all the dogs I've had are 100% more comfortable and better behaved in the car when they are securely placed in a harness/crate and restrained. After being in an accident myself and not even a high speed impact ... has changed how I looked at dogs in cars (no dog in mine at the time but most of the car windows smashed and an unrestrained dog would have been very badly injured) .

[fainty_girl]

You may also be surprised once you harness and buckle her in, all the dogs I've had are 100% more comfortable and better behaved in the car when they are securely placed in a harness/crate and restrained.

I agree, my dogs are definitely better behaved when they are harnessed in.

[Baby Dragon]

Video of what can happen to unrestrained dogs in a car (don't worry, the video doesn't show real dogs)

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I think Sleek Geeks did a show where Adam held a "baby" under the influence of gravity and Karl added weight to demonstrate the force at different speeds ie if the crash happened at 5km/h, 10km/h etc. And I think Adam dropped the baby at 25km/h or some really surprisingly slow speed.

I've had to stop suddenly from something less than 50km/h on a street close to home, when some idiot decided not to give way at a T intersection - how you can not-see a white toorak tractor beats me. And dog fell off back seat, no major damage but after that I decided I needed a harness for her especially if we were going anywhere at all fast.

I had to stop using the kramar one when the plastic buckle prong part of the clip broke though. Got a better brand of harness with nice wide straps, but still use the kramar plug in the seat belt bit clip on the harness, so much easier to use than the ones you thread the seatbelt through. Dog is reasonably co-operative. She doesn't move much or try to help me drive at all. Never has but she's the first dog I've driven around that doesn't try to get in my lap.

A previous dog I used to drive around once stood on the electric window open button, she enjoyed sticking her head out the window. Fortunately I could fix that with the child lock.

It still upsets me when I see dogs or children or adults hanging bits out car windows. I saw one guy on the hay plains with his feet out the passenger window. Obviously hadn't hit a locust swarm yet, but only a matter of time out there. Yuck. And hitting bugs that big at 40km/h hurts (I know from treadly riding).

[Dju]

I feel embarrassed to say that we don't restrain Hugo. He sleeps in my lap whenever we drive anywhere. Of course I'm not stupid enough to open the windows if he's in my lap unrestrained though.

Don't be embarrassed, I'm absolutely sure many others do as you do. Just think though about what would happen if you/someone else driving had to slam on the brakes, or god forbid, got in an accident..

There is massive force involved and however good your intentions, you probably couldn't restrain Hugo. I'd suggest a seatbelt harness, I just got mine from the supermarket - KraMar car harness, size small, which I've had on Sax from when he was a 1.8kg puppy to a 5kg adult, adjusting the size - we've used it with the booster seat, just on the backseat with the seatbelt, and now in the footwell.

I know pups want to be with you, and can freak out in the car, but seriously, I feel like it has to be worth the effort to teach them to deal with being strapped in. Look at the research about humans, especially babies, without seatbelts - surely animals need the same protection!!

I wanted to get him a booster seat but with mom in the driver's seat and me in the passenger side seat, I didn't know how to attach the booster seat! I will get him a harness when he's a bit older though--right now the only time we take him with us in the car is when we're going to puppy preschool.

And how does your only taking him to puppy preschool protect him while he's in the car in your care?

Have you not got a crate? A travel crate (airline approved) is recommended for smaller dogs and you can even put the seatbelt around it for additional protection in the event of emergency braking. How do you think you'd manage in a crash with an unrestrained and probaby terrified pup? The minute a door opens or a window is smashed, what do you think a frightened pup would do, wait calmly for someone to pick it up? Of course not.

This is one of my pet hates...I mean it's not as if the dog can harness itself into a seatbelt, nor can it put its crate in the car and then put itself in the secured crate. It's up to us to make sure our dogs and cats are SAFE while we are transporting them - would it be okay with you if an airline allowed your dog into the cargo hold without it being crated?

Uhm, because puppy preschool is ten minutes drive on a 50 km-an-hour suburban road away from our house?

I have a crate, but it's a metal crate that is too big to fit in the car's boot, let alone the back seat.

It's weird, from the PMs I got, some people are acting like every time me and Hugo step into the car, we're all like ten seconds from being in this massive road collision and witnessing our pup go flying through the windscreen before shattering into a million pieces, then spontaneously combusting mid-air. People have just got to stop.. freaking out. Chances are if by some unlikely event that my mother has her first accident in thirty years and it happens to be while driving on a Sunday to and from Puppy Preschool, and that accident is big enough to cause any impact that isn't just a little bump on the fender, not only will Hugo probably be launched into the glovebox (considering how low my seat is and the fact that Hugo is fast asleep the very second he climbs into my lap when we get in the car) and fall onto the floor, but any worse than that and we're all dead, there's no airbags in our car and if something bigger hits it with enough force, it's going to be utterly destroyed anyways.

He will have a harness, as soon as he gets a bit bigger.

[raz]

He will have a harness, as soon as he gets a bit bigger.

Good for you.

Look your mum might be the best driver in the world but you just cant account for all the idiots out there behind the wheel. God forbid she should ever be in a car accident but you can just never be sure some twit might not come out of nowhere. It's just safer all round if your pup is restrained.

[Henrietta]

Yes, it's harnesses here. Whether it be a four hour drive or a four minute drive. Call me paranoid but I'd much rather spend the time strapping the dogs in (or crating, depending on the dog) than have tragedy strike in a second.

I have one dog here who is absolutely 100% reliable in the car. She would sit up and look out the window and then just lay down and fall asleep and not move. Regardless of restraint. But it isn't about behaviour in the car for me, it's about safety. Have I been tempted to not harness her in on occasion? Yes, very much so. When it's late and cold and raining and you know that she will just curl up asleep on a towel, it can be tempting. But I always think, what if?

The other dogs are not too bad either, but I can imagine unrestrained they could put me in some sticky situation whilst driving if they decided to have some fun. I cannot fathom how people can drive with dogs on laps or hanging out of windowns.

Edit - the above dog I mention loves the car so much, that I use it as a training reward. It is the most powerful reward for her. If it's pelting down rain and I'm over being drowned on walks.... pop her in the car, go for a drive and she thinks is Christmas.

Edited December 8, 2010 by Henrietta

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Uhm, because puppy preschool is ten minutes drive on a 50 km-an-hour suburban road away from our house?

I have a crate, but it's a metal crate that is too big to fit in the car's boot, let alone the back seat.

It's weird, from the PMs I got, some people are acting like every time me and Hugo step into the car, we're all like ten seconds from being in this massive road collision and witnessing our pup go flying through the windscreen before shattering into a million pieces, then spontaneously combusting mid-air. People have just got to stop.. freaking out. Chances are if by some unlikely event that my mother has her first accident in thirty years and it happens to be while driving on a Sunday to and from Puppy Preschool, and that accident is big enough to cause any impact that isn't just a little bump on the fender, not only will Hugo probably be launched into the glovebox (considering how low my seat is and the fact that Hugo is fast asleep the very second he climbs into my lap when we get in the car) and fall onto the floor, but any worse than that and we're all dead, there's no airbags in our car and if something bigger hits it with enough force, it's going to be utterly destroyed anyways.

He will have a harness, as soon as he gets a bit bigger.

I would suggest that firstly, you have never worked for a car insurance company (thereby seeing just how many people have low speed crashes which are not their fault) and secondly that you have never seen the results of even a low-speed crash caused by someone else's failure. Have you NEVER seen someone come out of a driveway or intersection and FAIL to give way??? Have you never seen anyone crash because they were distracted by their phone/passenger/radio control etc?

Why not get your poor little dog a harness now?

People think it will never happen to them. Well guess what? It does happen to them.

My mother's cousin and her son were driving in country QLD where they live; their farm dog (also their pet) was loose on the back seat. Driving on a quiet country road, the dog decided to jump through to the front of the car. Mum's cousin tries to shoo the dog back. Son who is driving then has a go at the same thing, turning around for just a split second, he loses control of the car, his Mum and dog are both killed.

Yes, it can and does happen. How the bloody hell do you think you'll feel when it happens to you when you could have prevented it?

Get your precious dog a harness or airline crate NOW. A metal crate - not necessary and not usually suited to car travel. An airline crate takes up very little room for a dog the size of yours. I have a PP20 and it fits neatly on the front passenger seat where I use the seatbelt to strap it in. It also fits in the middle of the back seat easily (this is only when I don't have my other two dogs in the back seat, harnessed in).

ETA - Mum's cousin took her seatbelt off to shoo the dog into the back seat. That's why she was killed as she (and the dog) were thrown out of the car as it rolled. Speed at which the car was travelling was estimated to be 70kms/hr so not exactly high speed.

Edited December 8, 2010 by lillysmum

[Boronia]

My 3 are all harnessed in along the back seat and all in a tidy row when we begin, by the time we get to where ever we are going they are all twisted up from turning round trying to make little 'nests' it's a pain in the ar#e.

[megan_]

He will have a harness, as soon as he gets a bit bigger.

Good for you.

Look your mum might be the best driver in the world but you just cant account for all the idiots out there behind the wheel. God forbid she should ever be in a car accident but you can just never be sure some twit might not come out of nowhere. It's just safer all round if your pup is restrained.

I really don't want to harp on the point but if you buy him a little harness now (they come in XXS) he will get used to it and be much better in it. He is the perfect age to get used to those things (still a puppy). Much harder to get a dog used to it.

Mine cost $15. If I still had it I'd post it to you, but alas, I gave it to someone else.

That, and the teeny harnesses are very cute

[raz]

I really don't want to harp on the point but if you buy him a little harness now (they come in XXS) he will get used to it and be much better in it. He is the perfect age to get used to those things (still a puppy). Much harder to get a dog used to it.

Mine cost $15. If I still had it I'd post it to you, but alas, I gave it to someone else.

That, and the teeny harnesses are very cute

Really good point, megan.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

I really don't want to harp on the point but if you buy him a little harness now (they come in XXS) he will get used to it and be much better in it. He is the perfect age to get used to those things (still a puppy). Much harder to get a dog used to it.

Mine cost $15. If I still had it I'd post it to you, but alas, I gave it to someone else.

That, and the teeny harnesses are very cute

Really good point, megan.

Yeah, but I don't think the poster cares...they want to wait to buy a harness in the possibly false belief that nothing bad will happen because they are only going to puppy preschool in a residential speed zone. Of course that's protection enough, isn't it? Poor little puppy.

[aussielover]

What size is the dog? you can buy a small travel crate fairly cheaply. Some vets also hire out those cat carry cages which are usually fine for small breed puppies as well.

Otherwise, yeah harnesses are really cheap, you can get them for less than $20.

With looping the seat belt thru the car harness, doesn't this allow them to roam around a lot and potentially get all tangled up? I am currently using a car harness and just clipping the seat belt/lead attchment thingy to the harness. The lead thingy is only about 30 cm long so she can't really wander around.

[smooch]

I have Smooch with me when doing our paper run doing approx 40kph at best. I had to swerve to avoid being T boned. IF I didn't have Smooch restrained by the seat belt he would have ended up on top of me when I swerved and I would have most likely lost control of the car. This all happened 1k from home. We do about 30k on our paper run all of it within a 5K radius from home. So if you are only going half a klm from home you still really need to buckle up your dog.

[raz]

Yeah, but I don't think the poster cares...they want to wait to buy a harness in the possibly false belief that nothing bad will happen because they are only going to puppy preschool in a residential speed zone. Of course that's protection enough, isn't it? Poor little puppy.

Cut her a bit of slack, LM. It seems she might be a youngish person still home with mum. She knows now it isnt a great idea to have an unrestrained pup in the car.

[Baby Dragon]

I don't know if they're still doing it, but Ruff Rider Roadie used to have a puppy program. You could purchase a small harness for your puppy and then get a discount when you upgrade it to a bigger harness as it grows.

ETA Just noticed they don't ship to Australia though

Edited December 9, 2010 by Baby Dragon

[Dju]

Yeah, but I don't think the poster cares...they want to wait to buy a harness in the possibly false belief that nothing bad will happen because they are only going to puppy preschool in a residential speed zone. Of course that's protection enough, isn't it? Poor little puppy.

Do you want to harpoon me because I carried one of my chickens in a box on my lap to the vets when she had an injured head instead of strapping her into the back seat with her standard grade chicken car harness?

For doG's sake, it isn't even any of your business whether I buy a harness now, later, or not at all. How about I look after my poor dog and you look after your poor dog? Does that sound okay to you? I said I'm getting a harness, but Hugo will have to brave those four traumatic car trips until then, but for now, just back off me please.

[W Sibs]

Poor doggie

Charlie has his booster chair and Emmy has her car seat carrier (kinda like a soft crate but it opens from the top).

Even with those, they have to be harnessed and clipped to the booster car or car seat (the comes with their own clippy thing where you can clip the harness to it). Just cause it's the LAW.

From 1 July 2008 in NSW... dogs have to be restrained riding in cars.

$285 fine and you will lost points off your drivers license (most probably 3).