Your dog should ride in the back seat when belted air bags can be as deadly to canines as to young children. (See “ (Seat) Belt Your Dog,” February 2004). Each has strengths and weaknesses, so be sure to study up and select the one you think best meets your dog’s needs. If you prefer seatbelts, there are several good products on the market. If, despite your best efforts, your dog hates crates, a harness and seatbelt will be easier for you and less stressful for him. If your car is smaller than your dog’s crate, you have no choice. There are times when seatbelts are a better option. When that’s working well, you’re ready to start the engine. When he’s happy to run into his crate and stay there, and when he’s happy to hop into the car on cue, then put the crate in the car and work on them together. Just don’t put them together until he loves both. If your dog, like Bonnie, finds the car aversive, you’ll need to work on that piece first – but you can work on it at the same time you’re teaching him to love his crate in the house. (See “10 Quick Crate Training Tips”.) When your dog has come to love his crate, it’s usually a simple matter to transfer his crating behavior to the car, especially if he already loves car rides. If your dog isn’t already crate-happy, you need to start there, with crate-training at home, before you can expect him to be happy about being crated in the car. I can’t imagine how mothers of multiple small humans do it! With five dogs, I’d have to put the two back seats back into the van in order to use seat belts, and anyway, I find the prospect of getting all five into harness and buckled in place a little cumbersome. One small exception is Bonnie, who came to us with an aversion to riding in cars and sometimes still needs a little extra coaxing to “go to bed” in the car. My dogs are all quite accustomed to crating, so it’s simply a matter of loading and securing crates in the van – that’s an important step that many people carelessly skip – and finally, putting the dogs in crates. I personally prefer crates to seat belts I think they’re safer.
Easy rider car harness free#
So how do you take a dog who is accustomed to free range of your car when traveling, and turn him into an “easy rider?” You start outside the car.
Also, loose, protective dogs can deter rescue workers from helping injured humans in the car.Īt the very least, with a carload of crated dogs I don’t have to worry about someone forgetting their “Wait” training at our destination, leaping from the car when the door opens, and possibly getting hurt or lost. Years ago, my brother lost his lovely Australian Shepherd this way she survived the accident unscathed, but ran into highway traffic and was killed by a car.
Easy rider car harness windows#
In case of an accident (heaven forbid!), loose dogs can become dangerous free-flying projectiles, slamming into seats or passenger’s heads, smashing into windshields, or escaping through broken windows to face highway hazards. Loose, they are a distraction, which decreases my driving safety. Other than Bonnie, who pants a lot and sometimes Even so, they’re safer in crates. They don’t sit in my lap, leap over seats, get into fights, hang out the windows, do laps around the back of the van, or bark at everything outside the car. Granted, my dogs aren’t the worst in the car. Other than Bonnie’s panting, it was an experience in car-ride serenity, and I vowed to crate everyone, always, on future rides. Just recently, however, my husband and I loaded up all five of our dogs for their annual well-pet visit to a veterinarian, and I did take the precaution of crating everyone rather than risk canine chaos on the highway. I don’t always use crates and seatbelts on short trips to town, although I always do on longer travels.
Contrary to the advice I offer to clients and Whole Dog Journal readers, I admit that I’m sometimes careless about taking my dogs in the car with me.
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