How many times do you take your dog with you when you are travelling in your car? How many times do you think about the risks? Here are 5 points to remember on all journeys long or short.
1. We have all seen dogs hanging their heads out of the car window but there is the risk of stones or chippings from the road hitting your pet in the face and causing some serious damage. Also it is not beyond your dog to try and escape if the window is open wide enough and there is something that takes his fancy passing by!
2. If your dog is sitting in the passenger seat and the airbag is deployed this could cause real injury to him.
3. A dog that is loose in the car is a danger to you the driver by causing distractions such as trying to sit on your knee, pacing up and down, barking and trying to lick you!
4. A dog that is loose in the car is a danger to himself. There are various statistics but as a guide if you were travelling at only 30mph a dog around 501b in weight (medium to large) could be catapulted forward with the force the same as nine 12 stone humans (taken from RAC). Think of the consequences if the dog hits you the driver or the windscreen.
5. A great safety item to use to prevent problems is a dog car harness. A good dog car harness should have a seat belt restraint system, adjustable straps and swivel fitting which will allow your dog to sit or lie in comfort and also it should be padded to reduce the amount of friction on his body caused by the natural body movement when in transit.
Overall it takes just a couple of minutes to secure your dog and it is time well spent to save you, your passengers and your beloved pet from serious injury. In an RAC survey, 88% of us agreed that the use of dog car harnesses is an important safety measure however, 60% of us had never used a harness/seat belt for our pet. We are a nation of dog lovers and we look after them as we would any other member of our family, don't we?
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