Car Travel with Your Best Friend!

Summertime can mean additional car travel with your pet! It might seem fun to allow your dog on your lap while you’re out driving. Your pet also might enjoy the freedom of prancing from seat to seat and then letting his ears blow in the wind out the car window.

Did you ever see a dog out for a ride running freely in the back of a pickup truck?

Dog ownership means protecting our pets. So, just as any other passenger in your vehicle, your pet needs to be protected.

Even the smallest fender bender can mean a jolt upon impact.  Some of us might feel that we’re depriving our dogs of the freedom of movement in the car, but that freedom might cost them their lives. Additionally, loose pets are a major driving distraction. Securing them prevents them from jumping on your lap, climbing under the pedals, or jumping out an open window.

To keep your dog safe in the car, always secure them in the backseat or cargo area using a crash-tested harness, carrier, or crate. The backseat also can protect them from front-seat deploying airbags.

 The Best Restraint Options

To ensure you choose a genuinely protective product, look for devices that have been officially crash-tested.

• Crash-Tested Crates: Often considered the safest option, particularly for larger dogs, as they contain the pet securely and absorb impact forces. Top-rated models include the Gunner Kennels line, which frequently ranks high in independent safety evaluations.
• Crash-Tested Harnesses: If your dog rides on the seat, a harness distributes the force of a crash across their chest and back. The Center for Pet Safety (CPS)  is the leading independent testing nonprofit and provides a list of certified travel harnesses.
• Seatbelt Tethers: Simple tethers click into your vehicle’s buckle slot and attach to your dog’s harness. (Always use a harness with tethers, never attach one to a neck collar). Note that many standard tethers only stop distracted driving and are not officially crash-tested.

What to Avoid

• Avoid Open Truck Beds: If transporting your dog in an open truck bed, they should be securely tethered in a specialized crash-tested crate rather than tied by the collar, which poses a severe choking hazard.
• Avoid Extension Tethers and Zipline-Style Products

CPS does not recommend extension tethers or zipline-style products because they increase the risk of injury to you, your passengers, and your pet during sudden stops or crashes.

Best Practices for Crate Safety: Use Strength-Rated Anchor Straps

Crates should always be secured with strength-rated anchor straps. In the 2015 CPS Crate Crashworthiness Study, proper anchor straps significantly reduced crate excursion into the seatback or passenger compartment.

 Never Leave Your Pets Unattended: Leaving a dog in a parked car can lead to heatstroke very quickly, even if the windows are cracked or the car is parked in the shade.

 CPS assists in giving you informed, science-based decisions that keep everyone safer on the road.

Source

Center for Pet Safety (CPS)