# How does your dog ride in the car?



## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

At the moment, loose, but we're planning to buy Sleepypod Clickit Sport.


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## Tennyson (Mar 26, 2011)

Deaglan rides shot gun with me. I modified the seat belt and disengaged the passenger side air bag.


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

My last golden Ginger was loose in my SUV. She used to stick her head out of the sunroof. It was hilarious. I only had to hit the brakes hard a few times in her life. Nothing major. My current golden Caleb is 13 months old. We were coming back from the park at night last month and this buck ran right in front of us. Caleb was standing on the arm rest in between the front seat. I had to hit the brakes hard. As I hit the brakes hard I put my arm around his chest and held him in place. The buck was within a foot of my hood, maybe inches. It was the hardest I ever hit the brakes in my new car.


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## mddolson (Jul 10, 2012)

Previously our dogs rode behind a barrier in our SUV. However since Bella came along we drive the SUV a lot less (it's a gas hog). So we have a harness that we clip to the seat belt in the back seat. 
Bella happy lies across the back seat on her pillow.

Mike D


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## Brads035 (Apr 1, 2014)

We live downtown so we usually ride the subway and streetcars, but if I'm taking a roadtrip - Cody curls up in the back seat and sleeps.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

I am curious, the current data above says 44%+ of people travel with their dogs loose in the car. What about their kids? Do they also travel loose? If not, why would they put their dogs at risk like that? If they do the 'loose' with dogs and kids, God help them!


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## Bigjohn (Apr 8, 2015)

Emma used to love the floor of the passenger side seat. She'd just curl up. She'd pop up onto the seat now and then, especially at stoplights. miss her so much, but she's in a better place.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Chloe has a seatbelt harness. It keeps her safe and the driver safe. Especially if my mom has her alone in the car.


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## Michelleyk (Aug 16, 2014)

Sherlock has a dog hammock and a seatbelt harness, which he's recently outgrown. I really like the dog hammock as a barrier, but still felt he needed something to protect him from serious harm in case of an accident.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

I was just thinking about this today. We had a car accident where two people and a dog was involved. The dog ran away from the scene of the crash. He was missing for like six days. They found him with a injured leg not far from the crash. He had surgery and is fine. But it makes you think about keeping your dog safe in the car.


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## Jim and Hank (Jun 29, 2011)

goldlover68 said:


> I am curious, the current data above says 44%+ of people travel with their dogs loose in the car. What about their kids? Do they also travel loose? If not, why would they put their dogs at risk like that? If they do the 'loose' with dogs and kids, God help them!


Because dogs are not humans!


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## NHman (May 15, 2015)

Most of the time I will use a seatbelt harness and put Noah in the backseat. Though sometimes if for a short car ride (within 2 miles) and if I'm short on time, he'll just climb in the backseat. Though I know I need to be more consistent. 

People will often ask me "why not just put him in the cargo area" if I'm driving the family SUV or "just put him in the backseat". Well for two reasons. The safety of my dog who is part of the family and the safety of everybody else in the car. Imagine an emergency stop or getting into an accident and having a 85 lbs dog being launched into a person. This would not produce a favorable result for either the dog or person.


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## kellyguy (Mar 5, 2014)

Ninety percent of the time we are taking short drives under 5 miles and Duffy will ride shotgun. I am looking for a safety harness but so far haven't found one that says it will work in the front seat. The rear isn't an option in my "work" vehicle as it's a tool storage area and would be a hazzard.
When we travel in the SUV it's Duffy in a travel crate strapped in the back.


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## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

NHman said:


> Imagine an emergency stop or getting into an accident and having a 85 lbs dog being launched into a person. This would not produce a favorable result for either the dog or person.


I think that's what people often miss--the danger of the dog becoming a flying projectile


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Hank & Jim in NB said:


> Because dogs are not humans!


Well, no they are not. Just because they aren't human doest mean they don't have value. There are plenty of reasons to keep dogs safe and I'm pretty sure that given a serious crash most of us would be heartbroken if our dogs suffered life threatening injuries that could have been prevented had they been restrained. Not to mention what happens when a 50 or 60 pound dog becomes a projectile in an accident. We have access to so much information on safety now that we didn't have years ago, how could we not take simple steps to protect our dogs?

I'm in my 40's and when I was a child my parents never forced me to wear a seatbelt, it didn't mean they didn't love me, they just weren't as informed on what a difference it could mean in an accident. Now I know better and my kids are always buckled. Yep, I am guilty of being lazy sometimes and if we're just driving a couple blocks to my parents or an errand close by, I will let my dogs ride shotgun, but mostly I crate them because losing them to avoidable injuries would break my heart and I don't have extra thousands of dollars laying around for medical treatment that could be avoided with an ounce of prevention.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

Buddy travels in the boot behind a dog barrier. But he gets sick and we can't travel far. Would he be better up front strapped in? He is just losing his puppy coat and even if I put a sheet down I can not imagine the state the car will be in if he does ride up front. Any tips for travel sickness? I just don't feed him if we are going on a longish trip to the beach.. but then I can't feed him when I get there because he will be jumping around so he doesn't get fed till evening.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

My thinking on this has evolved over time. Our first Golden rode shotgun, the second rode unrestrained in the back seat, the current one rides in a crate in the back of our SUV. She jumps up into it herself and seems happy enough to ride there. It's just safer for her and everyone else in the car. These days when I see a dog loose in the front seat or even worse in the drivers lap between the driver and the steering wheel, I just wish the driver would think of the possible consequences of that. Same thing with dogs hanging out the windows of cars or riding loose in the back of pickups.


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## rooroch (Nov 7, 2012)

Grit and Glitter get car sick in the back of the car and are much better on the back seat. Git is really bad in the car so wears a thunder shirt. Since he has the shirt he has not been sick. I also changed cars and have a Volvo estate V60 and the roof in the back is quite low. They are better in this car than my Citroen as the suspension is much harder. They wear seat harnesses.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

rooroch said:


> Grit and Glitter get car sick in the back of the car and are much better on the back seat. Git is really bad in the car so wears a thunder shirt. Since he has the shirt he has not been sick. I also changed cars and have a Volvo estate V60 and the roof in the back is quite low. They are better in this car than my Citroen as the suspension is much harder. They wear seat harnesses.


I have never heard of a thunder shirt? Am going to look it up now on internet.


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## rooroch (Nov 7, 2012)

I read about them on here and then found one in a garden center/pet store that was closing down and everything was half price!!! It is a size XL chest size 76-94 cm 30-50 kg dog. Grit weighs 43 kg - he is a big dog.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Before it was in a hammock now he wears a safety harness from "USA K9 Outfitters" that is tethered to the middle seatbelt in the backseat. He has room to go to each side window but he is protected in case we have to slam on our brakes or get into a accident.


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## Pdljmpr (Apr 4, 2015)

goldlover68 said:


> I am curious, the current data above says 44%+ of people travel with their dogs loose in the car. What about their kids? Do they also travel loose? If not, why would they put their dogs at risk like that? If they do the 'loose' with dogs and kids, God help them!


No kids and when I was one there where no seat belts. The dogs are loose in backseat for now. We don't go a lot of places with them so haven't thought a lot about holding them in place.


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## Gwen (Aug 9, 2007)

All of my goldens are crated and safe. I honestly don't understand why anyone would allow their dogs loose in their vehicles....would you do that to your kids?


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## Bigjohn (Apr 8, 2015)

Gwen said:


> All of my goldens are crated and safe. I honestly don't understand why anyone would allow their dogs loose in their vehicles....would you do that to your kids?


I grew up jumping and moving around the family station wagon. My brother and I grew up just fine.
I never wore a seatbelt until my wife nagged me into it.

A GOOD attentive driver, who's aware of all that is around him(her), should need to use the brakes only when there is a traffic signal (or a traffic jam, most often caused by a moron who would not qualify as a good driver...). And in those circumstances, a dog and a person (persons) would be safe.

Having said that, caution with a pet in the car is a good thing, and I think they should be comfortably secured. I can't get a crate in my mustang, so having her on the floor of the passenger side with my wife or son holding her is what we do.


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## NHman (May 15, 2015)

Bigjohn said:


> I grew up jumping and moving around the family station wagon. My brother and I grew up just fine.
> I never wore a seatbelt until my wife nagged me into it.
> 
> A GOOD attentive driver, who's aware of all that is around him(her), should need to use the brakes only when there is a traffic signal (or a traffic jam, most often caused by a moron who would not qualify as a good driver...). And in those circumstances, a dog and a person (persons) would be safe.
> ...


Bigjohn, I think that you are limiting your scenarios to what you, as the driver, can control. As a driver, you can be situational aware of the environment but you cannot control all aspects of it. What happens, if at a stop sign or light, another vehicle hits you from behind? What happens if an animal such as a deer, moose, etc. unexpectedly enters your road and, as a "good" driver, you are able to avoid the collision but it requires immediate braking and/or an aggressive maneuver. Though I can think of many more, these are only two examples where securing your puppy or dog in the car would be essential to not only your pet but all occupants. 

Your statement of "my brother and I grew up just fine. I never wore a seatbelt ..." could be true for a lot of drivers and families from several decades ago. However, as a society, we have learned a lot and a seatbelt does save lives. Most modern vehicles have improved safety systems including airbags, ABS, dynamic traction control, blind spot monitoring, etc. but without the use of a seatbelt, the driver and other occupants can still get injured or worse. 

In the end, when driving, there are so many variables that you cannot control, wearing a seatbelt and securing your pet (not be holding him/her or on the floor) is the best insurance for being able to walk away from when an unplanned event (i.e. accident) happens.


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

Bigjohn said:


> I grew up jumping and moving around the family station wagon. My brother and I grew up just fine.
> I never wore a seatbelt until my wife nagged me into it.
> 
> A GOOD attentive driver, who's aware of all that is around him(her), should need to use the brakes only when there is a traffic signal (or a traffic jam, most often caused by a moron who would not qualify as a good driver...). And in those circumstances, a dog and a person (persons) would be safe.
> ...


I agree with you about being an attentive driver. I like to call it a defensive driving. I'm always aware what is going on around me. I've avoided so many accidents because I was paying close attention to the idiot drivers who simply aren't paying attention or are being distracted. I've never secured my dog in the car. My last golden lived to 10.5 and I might of hit my brakes hard a half dozen times. No one ran into me either. Securing your dog is definitely the safer way to go. I never have either.


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## Shiloh Fryloh (Aug 9, 2013)

If I let my dog loose in my car (which I wouldn't do) he would be trying to drive the car himself!
I'm strict about my human passengers wearing their seatbelt. Shiloh is my baby, and I don't want something to happen to him, so he wears a harness that attaches to the seatbelt.


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## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

I came across this today on my way home from work. I hope this old man does not have to stop suddenly or that shitzu dog will be in trouble.


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

My last golden used to stick her head out of the sunroof. I would only let her do that at slow speeds in town.


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## GandCharlie (Jul 15, 2015)

Charlie started out in a kennel in the back of my suv. As he grew out of the small kennel i moved him to the seat in a puppy seat belt (bought at petsmart). He did well with that for about 2 weeks then he would get himself tangled up and would whine until i had to pull over and untangle him. 5 more minutes down the road he would start whining again. 
Currently he is loose in the veh. I am looking to get a car gate between the front and rear of the car so he can not come up front and will see about getting him another seatbelt of some sorts or try the belt when he is a little older and less squirmy. 
When he is in the car i drive extra careful and make sure to do my best with no sudden stops. He loves the ride though and is happy looking out the window or laying down on a towel.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

I usually will not be critical of how other people handle their dogs, but allowing your dog to be 'loose' in the car is the same as allowing your kids to travel without seatbelts. If you get hit or hit something....you kids and dogs are dead or injured! Why would anyone put them at risk like that?

I have been driving since I was 15.5 and I am now 65. I or one of my immediate family have been involved in 6 fender benders and 3 major accidents in all those years. You probably will have a similar experience + or - maybe 50%! Half of those will have the potential to kill or seriously injure anyone not protected by belts/harness/crate....think about it next time you go.....

I once had a Patrol Officer tell me that he had been involved in helping with 100's of serious auto accidents, many of them fatal! He said that one thing always sticks with him in that he has never had to unbuckle a dead person from a car!


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## Kora2014 (Sep 15, 2014)

Kora is harnessed into one of the seats in my mini van. I wasn't thrilled with the way that the hook was attached to the seatbelt because she would always get tangled up in it. So I attached the hook to the head rest and it works great! 
My last golden was always loose in the vehicle and I really didn't think anything about it. 
The reason why I harness Kora is because she is constantly jumping back and forth from seat to seat!
I totally agree that our dogs are precious cargo much like our children and if anything ever happened to either my daughter or my fur baby I would be horrified.
You can't control what others do...so why take unnecessary risks?


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

You also risk your pup running away from the scene of a accident. We had that happen here and it took like six days to find the pup. Luckily he survived but he did need surgury on his foot.


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## JimboGG (Jul 15, 2015)

My car cannot fit a crate. My puppy sits in the back seat with a water proof hammock


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