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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on December 3, 2009 at 12:13pm

Yes, this is true in some vehicles. We usually harness the dog in the back seat (back of the Saturn wagon filled with baggage). I'd think safest thing is a crate in the back seat.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on December 3, 2009 at 12:29pm

I actually wrote my response wrong as I do buckle the crate in the back seat...not a harness.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on December 3, 2009 at 11:02am

The safest place in a car.

Of course it depends on what you drive, where are the air bags...etc. Rule of thumb, the center of the car is the safest spot, if it has 3 rolls, the middle roll center seat. The worst seat out of the entire car? front passenger. Statistics have shown most fatal car accidents are survived by the driver, not by their friends in the front passenger seat.

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Permalink Reply by Marius on December 3, 2009 at 5:47pm

Marie,

As hard as it might be, i'd leave Kipper behind at home if you ever feel up for lil cruise. And if you do, I'd take the side streets and travel when traffic is light. Being 24, I've made a lot of mistakes when I started to drive, I've never gotten into an accident, been in many many many close calls (some idiot was going down the highway going the wrong way in the fast lane, luckily i saw his headlights approaching and was able to get in the middle lane...car behind me was not so lucky (she was fine, but damaged her car swerving to get out of the way and swevered back to hit the median.... week later in the news I saw that same idiot did it again, but crashed his car this time). I saw one person lose control of a car driving next to me going around a very easy turn during the winter one time and doing a 360 on the highway at 30 mph.

I'd get a year or two under your belt before taking lil kipper (who's as cute as a son of a gun btw) with you on daily drives. But if you do want to bring him to a friends or to a pet store, etc, as I mentioned before, take the less traffic heavy streets and don't go out during lunch or after 5 o'clock traffic. I'm kinda sounding like a mother, but believe me, all my lessons I learned how to be a better driver was making the mistakes I made when I was younger (went over a curb due to a sharp turn while it was raining due to driving a lil fast, spinning out during winter, talking on the cell phone at night and taking a turn too wide and almost hitting a car, so forth and so on).

Sorry for the rant, but major props and an internet high five for actually caring/thinking about this!

And I probably need to invest in a harness, I keep Kit in the back (he's 7 months now and doesn't seem too comfy in the front) so he can stretch out on a blanket.

Good luck and marry travels!

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on December 4, 2009 at 8:40am

I don't really agree that to leave Kipper home more would be the best for him! You sound like a person that is looking out for your dog's safety by asking these questions and trying to make it safer for him to be along and I feel that because of this you will good decisions! Does this mean you will never have an accident....no...but you are doing what you need to for Kipper's safety and I would hate to see any dog stay home "just for safety". There would be many sad dogs waiting at home if we did this...I take mine along all the time and yes I am much older but I also have winter weather to deal with and an accident is an accident! We can't always prevent these , not if it's the other driver at fault!

Enjoy your rides with Kipper...keep him as safe as you can but have fun with your little co-pilot, even if that means he's in the back seat!

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on December 3, 2009 at 5:50pm

My two can get out of the harnesses.....they were not a wise investment for us. Had to go back to kennel on road trips.

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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on December 4, 2009 at 12:00pm

Do not focus on accident. You're worried, meaning you are responsible driver. A lot of people drive for many years and don't get in trouble, so just calm, cautious and pay attention to the road at all times.
To answer your question:
The safest thing in my opinion is crate on the back seat, attached with a seatbelt. We use a plastic one. Shiro relaxes completely when he's in a crate (thanks to the breeder for training) and just goes to sleep or chills. That way he's not a distraction to the driver and he's safe. When he's riding one someone's lap, he's all over the place, trying to look out the window, moving around, etc.
Also, crate is a great way to contain dirt and hair. We go to parks a lot and his paws get muddy. If I didn't have the crate in my car I would be more worried about him getting dirty and having too much fun.
But this is just my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Julia on December 4, 2009 at 8:55pm

Oh. This made me remember when my free-riding beagle buddy climbed under my legs while I was driving. Yes, he was trained not to, but he did it anyway. I had a near-miss that day. Another reason to buckle the pup in!

Marius left out the most dangerous place/time to drive, though you'd be unlikely to have your Kipper with you then. That's outside the high school around 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Really!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 4, 2009 at 9:41pm

If you use a seatbelt harness, instead of buying one of those expensive car-seat-protectors, you can use a crib liner from a discount store.

They are washable, soft on top and waterproof on the back.

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