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On The Road With Rover!
It’s so nice to have a dog who enjoys car rides ????, but some can be so excited that they bounce all over the place, creating an unsafe situation for you and for them. Thankfully, there are options for keeping a dog contained during car rides. Some offer protection in the sense that the dog is not moving around freely in the car, while a few have been independently crash tested and offer protection in the event of an accident. For example:
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A dog can ride in a crate that is bolted or strapped in place. Some crate designs, made by Gunner and Lucky Duck, have been crash-test certified. Many others will keep your dog contained but will not offer protection in the event of an accident.
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A dog can wear a harness designed for car restraint, which is then clipped into the car’s seat belt system. One brand, Sleepypod, has been crash-test certified.
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Smaller dogs can be contained in soft-sided carriers that are buckled in. A few designs, made by Sleepypod, Diggs, and Paravel, have been crash-test certified.
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Smaller dogs can sit in rear-facing car seats that include a harness that gets clipped into the car’s seat belt system.
If you’re serious about safety, be sure any product you consider has been independently crash tested (many are not), such as by the Center for Pet Safety (CPS).
If your dog is new to confinement in the car, practice first, before you hit the road. Make confinement pleasant by offering treats, a stuffed Toppl, or a special chew.
How does your dog travel while in the car?
[Photo from Sleepypod website]
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23 Replies
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I love this post! Each of our three dogs has a different “car personality” and safety is always on our minds. One dog is an over excited traveler, so she is contained during trips. One sits quietly in the back, and one ***cough cough – Toki – cough*** insists on sitting on my lap in the passenger seat. Not a wise option, and I am looking into a cozy way to help him feel swanky in the back seat.
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I hope you find the perfect solution for Toki in the back seat! There are some pretty nifty options these days. Being on our laps in the front seat is probably the most dangerous place if an airbag deploys. Keep us posted on what you find, @LisaOMy !
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Yes, absolutely! It’s a weird habit I allowed us to get into and I am admitting it here so that I can hold myself accountable. What might be cozy for a pup on a short trip could equal disaster just as quickly! ????
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If your dog is small enough to sit on your lap, I presume it is a smaller dog.
My little dog would howl continuously until I purchased a Kurgo booster seat for her. Now she can see out the window and she is happy. Maybe this would work for your dog in the backseat.
I think Kurgo did many things well as far as the dog being harnessed to the seatbelt and the booster seat being strapped to the car seat. The strap that attaches to the seatbelt has a swivel component to it so she doesn’t get tangled up and can move around a bit.
But they missed the boat when it came to my dogs chin being omfortable when traveling for hours in the car. She likes to have her chin on the corners of the booster seat so that she gets fresh air. Kurgo simply made the top restraint metal- like you would put your hanging file on in your file cabinet.
So I decided to bling it out and make it more comfortable by cutting the backside of a pool noodle and attaching it to her booster seat. I then glued the pool noodles together with GOOP.
Because the pool noodle is cut on the bottom and the noodles are glued together, the pool noodle does not roll on my dog when she stands up and puts her front paws on the pool noodle.
Because my dog is in a booster seat, there is no weight on the seat, and consequently, the front airbag will not go off.
I realize she would be safer in the back, but I don’t know that we would be safer ???? because her continual howling was distracting me with driving.
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I love the pool noodles you put on! ???????? ????
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So incredibly cute!! ????
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What a happy cutie! The pool noodles are such a great idea!!
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What a great modification and so compassionate for your dog – way to go, @minid21 !
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This is such a great post. I have been looking for a good harness, now I will be looking into the options you have mentioned. My Berner sit really well on back seat and I have been looking for something to hook into seat belt of car itself. He also wears goggles from rexspecs to keep his eyes safe during most rides looking out the window ( sometimes I forget to grab them) Thank you for the suggestions!
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I bet he looks smashing in his Rexspecs, @pawsup !
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Just in case you really wanted to know????????
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OMD!! Ridiculously cute!! ????
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Thanks guys! That was fun to train and make him comfortable wearing:) He has darker shades on because of sun, but they have clear too! Love that brand worth the money!
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@pawsup – I’m featuring this in our DD newsletter today… do you mind sharing your training steps here in this discussion, so folks have an idea of what you did?
Thank you!
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Sure Catherine obviously this is a quick version. I had to go realty slow have a not so confident dog, and it’ was an object going on his face!
We started in the house. Goggles just on floor Threw food near them. Then waited for him to investigate click and reward for any interaction. This went on for awhile. Then I would pick them up and move towards his face ( not putting on) click and reward. Again slow process. Then start along the lines of conditioning a head halter. There is a loop the dog puts his nose in. I would lure with food at the level he was comfortable. Not letting it actually lay on face yet. We did this step a lot. Nose in gets treat. Then it was nose in. Laying on muzzle. Click and treat and release. Start over. Then I would make the movement of putting one strap up with it on his muzzle. Click and reward and release. Next step doing same thing but adding other strap. (Not clipping) click and reward. Then actuality clipping and click and reward and it came right off. After we physically had the object on. We started on duration. In house still. Starting with 1-3 seconds. Then once he was cool with it all and had some good duration in, we played games and toys inside the house. Eventually going outside to play fetch or run around. Then…car training. I would literally sit on back seat and feed treats as he had them on. We did this for awhile. Then I moved to passenger seat, giving treats once in awhile. Making the treat’s unpredictable. He now rides with it. He love loves car rides so I didn’t have him wear them until we went for car ride and I think now the ride became the “reward”
This took probably a month. It was really slow but like I said he is a sensitive pup and I wanted to make it as positive as possible. I am sure some dogs would move at a faster pace.
Here it is in action:)
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Great summary – thanks for sharing! What a lucky dog.
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Hope it makes sense. Sometimes my brain is thinking faster then my fingers!! I am one lucky dog momma;)
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@catherine Thank you for having Mack in newsletter, I just got it!!
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Thank YOU for sharing your photos! @pawsup
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@pawsup he looks like he LOVES those goggles!!! ????
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He is SO cute! Looks like a Super Pup! ???? ????♂️
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he is absolutely adorable! .. dog seatbelts definitely are a must have if you have a fur baby that loves car rides! my dogs have been using them for the past 4 years.
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