A road trip or car ride can be great fun for both dogs and people. Being ultra social, and loving time with their humans, many dogs absolutely love hopping in the car whether its to go to the store with you or hit the park or beach. It’s sparked a growing need and supply of pet restraints to help ensure pet safety and health in the event of a sudden stop or accident. Not only can it help pets, but people too. Studies show that unrestrained pets can cause drivers to get into accidents, too. It is illegal in many states to drive with your dog on your lap, to have pets unrestrained in the car, and other legislation.
But according to our friends over at the Today show, studies show that many pet restraints for cars, trucks and other motor vehicles actually fail safety tests. Not only can this cause harm to pets, but you and other people. The study will hopefully help bring a greater call to action for safer pet car restraints! In the meantime, a good way to ensure your pet’s safety in the car is to purchase a safety-tested crate that is appropriate for its size. It should be insulated properly for hot and cold weather, and be comfortable for your animal, particularly if you’ll be driving long distances. There are crash pads you can purchase as well to further help his or her safety in an accident. Never put a crate outside of the car, even if it’s restrained — could you imagine the experience for your dog to be strapped to the hood or back of your car as it drives up to sixty miles an hour on a highway?! Keep the crate in the car or just opt not to bring your pet.
While a crate means your fur baby won’t get to hang his or her head out the window and enjoy the cool breeze, sights and sounds, the prevention and protection is worth it. You can always put the crate near one of the car windows and open it. One benefit of the crate means you don’t have to worry about an escape, you can open that window as far as you’d like!
For more information about how to protect your pet while traveling in the car, including other animals besides dogs such as birds, cats, reptiles, etc., ask a veterinarian on Kuddly! For just a fraction of the cost of an office visit, you can get professional, reliable advice on this and more.
We hope the study above sparks new efforts to ensure pet safety in cars everywhere.
