Vacation time is finally here and many of us are planning where they will be headed this year. If you decide to go for an adventure by car and to take your dog friend with you as well, a bit of advice might come in handy on how to provide safety for the dog and how to make the journey as pleasant as possible for them.
It might not be as easy as it appears to be to provide safety for the dog and yourself when travelling by car. Not every harness is suitable for a car ride and not every transportation box. First, let’s see the basic rules of driving with a dog:
Therefore, it is safe both for you and your dog, if you put it either into the boot, or in the back seats in the right harness and secured with a seatbelt. What do the individual options involve?
If you decide to transport the dog in the trunk separated by bars or by a mesh (however, this isn’t suitable for larger dogs), you have to remember that no freely moving things are be inside. So you have to find a different space for your luggage or secure them carefully inside the trunk, so that they wouldn’t move in case of a possible impact and they wouldn’t hurt the dog. However, at the same time, there must be enough space left for the dog, so that it could lie down comfortably.
This type of transport is possibly the safest for the dog. Choosing the right box is, however, very important. It is necessary to choose it in such a way, so that it protects the dog upon impact. For this reason, it shouldn’t be plastic.
The Center Of Pet Safety tested several popular transportation carriers and boxes to establish their effectiveness in a car crash. In eight carrier models and four boxes they simulated a front impact at the speed of about 49 km/h (30 mph) using dog and cat figurines. And imagine, that only two carriers and one box passed the test. The other ones either didn’t hold the animal inside, or they didn’t stay fixed. You can see the test here. Here you will find a complete overview of the results of the carriers and here of the boxes.
According to the results, it seems, that not all the products intended for transportation are capable of securing the dog and its protection in case of an impact. Many producers claim that their products have undergone crash tests, but since there are no uniform testing standards, this claim might be misleading.
When choosing a box or a carrier, try to get as much information about the product or experience of other people as possible. Remember to choose the right size:
If you are going to transport the dog in the back seats, get them a safety harness that has a fortified chest belt. The regular one is not enough, it’s not constructed for this purpose and it might not have seams that are strong enough. It also won’t provide safety for you or your dog if you tie them with a regular leash in the car. The safety belt is fastened directly to the buckle of the seat belt and it’s from a material that’s strong enough for it to serve its purpose. The right setting of its length is also important. It should be sufficient for the dog to sit or lie down, but it shouldn’t be able to reach the front seats.
A suitable accessory is a special waterproof cover for the seats or car seats for smaller dogs.
How do you transport your darlings?
Although it might appear that the cat doesn’t give a tail about you and it is indifferent towards you, maybe you will still find some displays of affection in its behaviour. Do you know how cats show such affection towards a person?
Cats love grass. They nibble at it if it's to clean their belly from hairs or just for fun. In addition, if you get a cat its own flowerpot, you can hope that it will leave your other plants alone :).
Whether you remove a tick from a dog’s or cat’s fur the right way might affect whether the animal will become infected with Lyme disease or another malign disease transmitted by ticks. Have you got the right technique and tools?
Just like with people, also in dogs, Lyme disease is a very grave illness. There are an estimated 20% of ticks infected in the Czech Republic. And because despite the use of antiparasitic agents, your dog might get a tick from time to time, it’s good...
I’ve already written about cat mint, today, we’ll take a look at another, lesser known drugs. Since not all the cats respond to all of them and they don’t respond to everything the same way. Therefore, if you didn’t succeed with cat mint, maybe you’ll...
Every cat owner has certainly already heard of cat mint, catnip or catswort. Under all these names hides a herb that makes most of the cats “high”.
When your family grows by a new (human) member, it isn’t necessarily a happy event for everyone. For many dogs, it’s very difficult to come to terms with such situation, therefore, it’s better to start preparing them already before the baby is born....
I’ve already written about the fact that you’re not supposed to leave your dog closed in a car on summer days or on how to prevent hyperthermia in cats and dogs. So you have mastered the prevention already. But it is also necessary to know how to...
Without a question, chinchillas are beautiful and cute furry animals with large ears, a long tail and distinctive eyes. Do you know where they actually come from, what their name means and that we almost succeeded in nearly exterminating them before...
You have probably noticed that cat tongues are quite unique. They are rough and somehow scratchy. It seemed weird to American biologists and therefore they decided to look deeper into it.
What should I say, the cats are simply different. Since the time immemorial, they have been surrounded by mysteries and secrets. Most of them behave as if they were the master of the world and as if they don’t need the human at all. A couple of...
It can be quite a task to choose the right pet food precisely for your cat. To even understand the contents... That’s why we’re going to take a look today what to focus on, what to look for in the contents and what you should rather avoid.
