Will your dog become an auto accident statistic?

Chapter 7 from Puppies chew shoes, don't they? - Driving with Your Puppy

Here are three simple rules to keep your puppy safe when you take him for rides, now and for the rest of his life.

FIRST. NEVER EVER drive on a paved road with your dog loose in the back of an open pickup truck. Ever. If you don’t get why, you should be the proud parent of a goldfish ... not a dog. Oh, and if you’re saying “hey, the dog’s on his leash back there, attached to the side of the truck, so he’s alright”. Hmm, good going. Now instead of being thrown from the truck in a collision, he’ll break his neck when you slam on the brakes. 

SECOND. NEVER EVER drive with your dog on your lap. And you say, “But Fluffy loves to help me drive”. Well then, since Fluffy is making the decisions ... has she thought this through? What happens when you are in an accident and your air bag deploys? Fluffy will either be flattened or become a small, furry projectile. I don’t know the velocity of an airborne dog but I’m guessing she’ll be flying pretty fast toward the dash or windshield. 

THIRD. IF YOU HAVE a passenger side air bag, either disarm it or put your dog in the back seat. Why? What happens when you are in an accident and your air bag deploys? Think about air bags and airborne dogs. And read the second rule again. 

Small breed dogs can be crated in your back seat, as long as the crate is anchored to the vehicle so that it does not go tumbling when you take corners too fast or brake hard. You don’t want your dog vomiting because he bounces around in the crate like he is on some insane thrill ride at the amusement park for one purpose only: to make dogs miserable. Make sure he isn’t sliding all over the place inside the crate by putting a non-skid rug (like for bathrooms) in there for him to lay on. 

Why all the fuss about where your dog rides? Because there are enough ways for dogs to be injured without their people endangering them every time they get in a vehicle. Of note: if you are involved in a collision and your doors fly open, your dog will probably run from the vehicle. He will be frightened, possibly injured and disoriented. He may wander off and get lost or be hit by another car. 

Another scenario: you are in a collision that renders you unconscious. When emergency medical personnel arrive, they are there to assist you, not your dog. If your dog is in his crate or tethered inside your vehicle, he stands a good chance of being cared for after humans are tended to. Make sure your cell phone includes an emergency contact who can take care of your dog in a situation like this.

# # #

You can’t make this stuff up. 

From my Brown Dog Blog, September 27, 2010

I’m a dog trainer. When working with a new client, I stress the importance of keeping Fido safe from injury. There are more ways dogs can get themselves in trouble than you can possibly imagine. And I’ve heard way too many of them. This email was in my box this morning. The client has an 11-month-old male Labrador retriever.The client: “We have to cancel our training for Wednesday. An unfortunate accident happened yesterday ... Bailey jumped out of the window of our car in the neighborhood and broke his femur. We don’t know what he was thinking. He is going to have surgery today for his hip and neutering and will have a 6 week recovery.”

Me: Didn’t know what he was THINKING? Seriously? He’s a dog. He was thinking, “something smells really interesting over there and I’m gonna check it out” or “there’s a dog ... I wonder if he wants to play” or a gazillion other possibilities. He had no clue jumping from a car could hurt him. He has people who are supposed to protect him from himself. 

Please, I beg of you – do NOT let your dog hang body parts out of your car.