Are you a car lover? Do you beg to go with your VIPeople whenever (and wherever) they go in the car? Or are you the car-shy type of dog who not only hates riding in the car, but throws up to prove it!

Do you have a special place in the car that’s just for you — like a crate, or a seatbelt, or a blanket in the back that’s all yours? Or is it up to you to decide where you’ll be in the car on each trip, maybe depending on who is driving? Let’s have a chat with your people about your car safety.

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:            

This is an important discussion for dog owners. Even if you almost never take Rufus in the car with you, there are exceptions. Rufus does have to be taken to the vet’s office, or to be groomed, or to the boarding kennel when you go on vacation without him. Driving home from the breeder’s with your new, small 10- or 12-week-old puppy on the passenger’s lap may be okay, but it’s potentially dangerous for everyone in the car, as well as for others on the road. The driver could be more easily distracted by a puppy than by chatting on the cell phone.

Let’s start with the dog that thinks of an automobile as hell-on-wheels, perhaps fighting you tooth and nail when you attempt to put him in the car. He may try to hide under the bed when you reach for the car keys. And then, there’s the throwing up once you’re underway. Part of this problem is motion sickness, but a major part is often just plain fear. There are many different methods and medications to overcome these things, but I can hear a number of you saying that none of them work! If your vet suggests medication, follow the directions carefully. 

You can try just sitting in the car with the dog in his special place for 15 or 20 minutes, going nowhere. Repeat that for several days before going on repeatedly short trips — first just down your driveway, and when that’s okay, around the corner, etc. Yes, I’m sure some of you recognize the routine as the ‘saturation’ method we use for behavioral problems. If you get nowhere with either of these two suggestions, keep the car-riding down to those essential trips.             

Here are a few helpful hints for traveling with a carsick dog. Preferably use a crate lined with newspapers and topped with a throw-away beach towel, not a cushy pad. Do not feed him before you leave, and take a supply of paper towels (and plastic bags to dispose of them). Crack open a car window in front if the dog is in back (or vice versa). These precautions won’t help your “oh, no, not again” reaction, but will help save your car’s interior. 

One of the most dangerous driving situations is to let a dog put his head out the car window. The other day a car was going down one of our main roads at 40 mph with a Toy Poodle leaning out the driver’s window, with its paws over the ledge. One quick stop or swerve and that little dog and the driver would be involved in a bad accident, extending to other cars on the road. A dog riding in a car should be safely restrained (crate or seatbelt) with a car window only opened a couple of inches if at all. A dog riding in the open-air back of a pick-up truck also needs the protection of being secured. (Preferably in the front seat of the cab, I might add.) It’s not only the possibility that the dog could be thrown from the car, but also that the dog might jump out at something it sees at a stop sign or red light.     

An even greater danger of having the dog’s head out a window is the road dirt and sand blown into the dog’s eyes. That can cause anything from an infection to blindness.          

Good weather is on its way, and we’ll all be doing more driving. Make sure your dog is safe and secure for the ride. 

Until next time – BE GOOD!

- Bardi