safety when traveling

[Deeann]

I love my dog too but I don't want her to break my neck if we have a wreck. And even if she doesn't injure me, I don't want her to be thrown all over the place like a steel ball in a pin ball machine. Think of what that would do to her. Would you like for some powerful force to pick you up and hurl you into a cabinet or windshield? Would you drop your dog out of a 10 story window? It's about the same thing.

Pet restraints may not be perfect yet but they are better than nothing. My dog always rides in her pet taxi in the car, and I strap the taxi down with the seat belt. It offers her some measure of protection and keeps her confined so that she isn't a distraction to me while I'm driving. She isn't jumping in and out of my lap or jumping into the floorboard and getting around my feet. She is much safer when she is in her taxi. I am responsible for my dog and I do the best I can to protect her. I would no more let her ride freely in the car than I would lay a baby in the seat unrestrained.

Some people may feel that it's okay to leave the dog free to roam around because they've never been in a wreck. It just isn't going to happen to them. If that's the case why do they wear their own seatbelt? Why do they insist that others fasten their belts? Why do they buckle up the grandkids?

You do your dog no favor when you don't make at least some effort to restrain them. IMHO.

[Deeann]

Beth,

"....as all my years in animal welfare I've seen more injuries and deaths with crated animals than those free."

In what situations have you found this to be true?

[judi]

I'm with you, Beth.

[mitch5252]

I'm with you, Beth.

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[Bethers]

Most people with crates do not make sure they are secure, so animals have been injured in them without accidents. Many accidents involve fire and people have been unable to get to the animals.

I do believe in training an animal about what is allowed. They shouldn't be allowed to jump on you and should know where their place is in the vehicle. The biggest animal distraction I ever had was a crated cat that never stopped howling.

I've never heard of an animal missile injuring people in an accident, but do believe it could happen. But I'd rather my animals have a chance in an accident and not be stuck in a crate.

By the way, a few years ago a family had a crash where some members didn't make it. One child was hospitalized a long time and a news report after a couple months was giving his status. For the first time in any of the news they mentioned that the child was asking for his dog which he claimed saved him. A family about 90 miles away had found the dog wandering and taken him in, saw the news and called in. The dog was the only member of the family that appeared to have no injuries. And most likely saved the boys life and maybe other members of the family. Later an emergency worker admitted a dog had been at the scene. They left it there.

Ok, that's off track, but I'm simply not comfortable with our methods of restraining dogs in vehicles. Over and over again I see animals survive in accidents unrestrained. Do I think they should be allowed to distract? No. But I don't feel, for me, restraining stops distraction, nor do I feel it makes my dog safer.

[grammynmaggie]

When Maggie Travels with me in the RV she is in her bed between the seats.
When I had my Toyota truck it had a bench seat in it and she would lay beside me up against my leg . so even now when traveling in the RV she never moves and stays right there until I tell her to move
I got her when she was 8 weeks old and she's done this right from the get go.... she has never been in a crate for anything anytime...

[judi]

I am going to apologize for this post before I continue...but I've been thinking about this all day.

Deeann, I find your statement "Would you drop your dog out of a 10 story window? It's about the same thing" quite offensive. It seems to me you are inferring that those of us who do not share your opinion on this subject are mistreating our animals, don't love them, and are just plain stupid. Nothing is further from the truth. It is clear that you have strong feelings about this, but please don't insult the rest of us.

[VickieP]

Thank you Judi, for speaking so honestly about something I was thinking myself.

[Deeann]

I am going to apologize for this post before I continue...but I've been thinking about this all day.

Deeann, I find your statement "Would you drop your dog out of a 10 story window? It's about the same thing" quite offensive. It seems to me you are inferring that those of us who do not share your opinion on this subject are mistreating our animals, don't love them, and are just plain stupid. Nothing is further from the truth. It is clear that you have strong feelings about this, but please don't insult the rest of us.

I'm not insulting anyone. There are lots of people who have never stopped to think about what can happen to a pet during a collision. I'm just trying to make people aware of what can happen. You can do whatever you want with your pet. But I'm a very safety conscious person and I think about safety. If that offends you I'm sorry.

I did NOT mean to imply that anyone would drop their dog out of a 10 story window. What I meant to convey is that the FORCE GENERATED during a crash, unrestrained and being throw around, would be the same as if you were dropped out of a 10 story window. I can give you the formula for that if you'd like.

We all live in small worlds. If we haven't heard of a pet being killed in a collision, then for us it just isn't true. That's called tunnel vision.

[snowball]

fairly new to having a pet got him not quite a year ago...my sister gave me a crate but much to big for the truck...Shadow stays in the back seat normally, occasionally I let him up front guess I feel he is safer there (in the back seat) than where the whatever they are called might inflate...fortunately he is a really good traveler. have only had one occasion that he was trying to get into my lap. Really pleased with the way he just curls up and sleeps most of the time or seems like it going to be a few days of long hours of travel soon
sheila

[VickieP]

We all live in small worlds. If we haven't heard of a pet being killed in a collision, then for us it just isn't true. That's called tunnel vision.

I call it as we all love our animals & find different ways of protecting them that works for both them and us. What makes this forum so great is that we respect each other's opinions, whether it's our own or not.

[Bethers]

We all live in small worlds. If we haven't heard of a pet being killed in a collision, then for us it just isn't true. That's called tunnel vision.

I call it as we all love our animals & find different ways of protecting them that works for both them and us. What makes this forum so great is that we respect each other's opinions, whether it's our own or not.

And I hope that we can have some respect here.

I do have to argue with the "fact" that they are safer restrained. Deeann, you also argued that we are safer if they were restrained. I don't find either to be necessarily true. I have seen a dog with a broken neck from a car accident that happened while restrained during an accident. I've also seen more than one dog with serious injuries due to being thrown around in a crate that came loose and boomeranged around a vehicle. I'm not critical of either person for the choices they made to do what they did to hopefully keep their animal safe. I've been lucky to have seen many animals survive very, very bad accidents with little to no injuries who were not restrained. I do not think their owners loved them any less or thought of their safety any less. Nor do I think it was luck. I hate when an animal is tied (or loose) in the back of a pickup truck. In some states that's legal and the owners say their dogs love it. I do know I had a neighbor whose dog ran and jumped in the bed of their truck every time he thought his dad was going anywhere. I don't think that's safe and wouldn't do it. His dogs always have and I have argued the safety issue with him peacefully and we've agreed to disagree.

Deeann, I hope you'll agree to disagree here without continuing to talk about this in a way that makes your way right (and safe) and the rest of us wrong (and therefore not safe). We are JUST as safety conscious as you. In fact, I went and studied all about all the dog harnesses - and learned the dangers of them before deciding that they are not (for me) safer than being without. There is just too much chance of a serious injury without a serious accident. I'm hoping someday they'll do the necessary testing and come up with one that is safer - and comfortable - and maybe then I'll change my mind.

[SoCalGalcas]

Do I Just have a hard skin? I found DeeAnn's note to be a strong note of HER opinion. I did not take any offense and I let my Casey ride in the back seat of my truck and my car unrestrained. In my car I do have a "sling" so she cannot fall to the floor if I stop hard. I like this forum for reading everyones opinion, then I make up my own mind what I will do according to my values.
lyn

[Cudedog]

Do I Just have a hard skin? I found DeeAnn's note to be a strong note of HER opinion. I did not take any offense and I let my Casey ride in the back seat of my truck and my car unrestrained. In my car I do have a "sling" so she cannot fall to the floor if I stop hard. I like this forum for reading everyones opinion, then I make up my own mind what I will do according to my values.
lyn

Lyn:

Very well put. I agree with you 100%.

I travel with two 30-pound+ dogs. They travel crated. The crates are bolted down. The crates face the side wall of the van, rather than facing forward. In this way, should I someday need to really stand on the brakes or (God forbid!) become involved in a fender-bender, my dogs would just "roll over" rather than have their heads mash against a forward-facing crate door, perhaps risking a neck injury.

Beth, sounds like there is an interesting story here. What organization were you involved with when you assisted with the multiple animal rescues at vehicle accident sites you mention?

Thank you.

Anne

[monik7]

I also was not offended by Deeann's post. She's obviously passionate about her feelings and that's OK. We all have different views, and what's so nice about this forum is that we can all express our views on various subjects. It's human nature that we won't always agree.
Sandi