We’ve all seen happy dogs that spin around in excitement the second you say the words, “Do you want to go for a ride?” With the fresh air in their faces and a Pup Cup treat, what dog wouldn’t want to go for a joyride around town with their owners?
We all want to be responsible dog owners, but sometimes our actions do not always meet our desires and best intentions, especially when it comes to traveling with our puppies.
While some dogs are hesitant and fearful of car rides, others relish the chance to leave the house and go on adventures. Your dog will need to get in the car at some point, so it’s vital to understand pet safety in vehicles.
In our 2-part series, we’ll first examine the dangers of driving with an unsecured dog in your car and finish with safety options and tips for a great car ride with your puppy. Here are some challenges with car safety for dogs to help you learn statistics on distracted driving, attitudes about pet safety in vehicles, and causes of accidents with pets in cars.
Why Don’t Most Owners Use Car Restraints For Dogs?
According to a survey conducted by AAA and Kurgo, more than four in five (83%) respondents agree that having an unrestrained dog in a moving car can be dangerous. In contrast, a huge disparity of people – only 16% – say they secure their pets when their dog is in a vehicle.
If so many people believe it’s important, then why don’t more people safely restrain their dogs when driving? The survey reported a set of common excuses people use as to why they justify failing to properly secure their dogs in moving vehicles. Some paraphrased answers were:
- “My dog is well-behaved and calm.”
- “My dog doesn’t act like that at home.”
- “I don’t have the extra money for a harness.”
- “I think it’s over the top and not necessary.”
- “Wow, I’ve never even considered it before.”
- “But I want my dog to have fun in the car.”
- “I want to hold my dog on my lap.”
- “It’s simply too much trouble to go through all that for a car ride.”
- “I don’t drive very far and just do short trips.”
- “I’m a good, safe driver. I’ve never had a problem before, so why start now?”
- “What’s a car ride for a dog if they can’t put their heads out the window to sniff all the exciting new smells and feel the wind in their faces?
Reasons to Implement Car Safety For Your Puppy
If you are a puppy owner who wants to raise a happy and healthy puppy, find out why you should seriously think about where your dog sits or lies during a car ride and your own driving habits before the unthinkable becomes a tragic reality.
Distracted driving
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that looking away from the road for only two seconds doubles your risk of being in a crash. We all know messing with your phone or the display can distract you, and every parent knows small kids are a distraction – even when they’re well-behaved.
Speaking of being well-behaved, many people assume their puppies will sit nicely if they do so at home. However, even if they do, they can still distract you or your kids, causing a ruckus in the backseat. Some puppies may get excited and want to jump out the window! Puppies and children can egg each other on, definitely causing distractions.
If your dog is in the backseat, he or she may decide to come visit you in the front. You’ll have to take your hand off the wheel to push them to the backseat if you don’t want them up there with you.
Likewise, throwing out your arm to shield the dog from a sudden stop is also another chance to be distracted while driving.
Some people even report taking photos of their dog while the car is either in motion or at a stoplight. You should not be doing this if the ignition is on and certainly not while driving.
You can reduce the distractions and can enjoy a safer ride if you secure your puppy.
Dogs on laps
One of the worst places you can put your dog while driving is on your lap, even if you consider them to be a lap dog. You should not take their designation as a lap dog literally in the car though.
According to the AAA and Kurgo survey, 21% of dog owners admit to driving with their pets in their laps. It only takes a second for your pet to climb out the window or fall down, obstructing your ability to brake or accelerate. Even worse is when you pet your dog with one hand and drive using the other.
A surprise reaction
Your dog could uncharacteristically react to something outside, such as another dog in a vehicle, a cat crossing the street, or something that caught their attention. It can even be a particular song on the radio that sets them off – you never know. This can happen for the first time in your vehicle unbeknownst to you that it was even a trigger for your dog in the first place.
Your dog can become a projectile
We’ve all placed something like a backpack or groceries on the passenger seat next to us or in the backseat while driving. When we stop suddenly, those items fly forward or across the backseat with the halt causing the contents to spill onto the floorboards.
Now imagine that same force of motion being applied to a dog when suddenly stopping. Your dog unfortunately becomes a projectile and can cause serious damage and even fatal consequences to you, your dog, your passengers, and other drivers or pedestrians. Jennifer Huebner-Davidson, traffic safety programs manager for AAA, notes that “An unrestrained 10-pound dog in a crash at 50 mph will exert roughly 500 pounds of pressure, while an unrestrained 80-pound dog in a crash at only 30 mph will exert 2,400 pounds of pressure.” Think of a Great Dane, Cane Corso Mastiff, or other giant dog to understand the implications of unrestrained dogs flying around a car. Even a Chihuahua can become a flying hazard!
Consequences of a car crash
When you’re in a car crash, you don’t have time to think or act. You could become incapacitated quickly. This means you won’t have time to properly secure your puppy to prevent unseen consequences of crashes beyond the grim obvious reasons.
When airbags go off, they can be extremely destructive because they deploy with significant force. Dogs are much smaller and lighter than humans, which means the impact of an airbag can have a disproportionately harmful effect on them. The rapid deployment of an airbag can result in trauma, such as broken bones, head injuries, and internal injuries, which can be life-threatening for dogs.
If Good Samaritans or first responders arrive on the scene, your puppy could become fearful and lash out, even attacking those who need to be helping instead of dealing with an aggressive dog trying to protect you. Your scared dog becomes a liability to other people, possibly wasting precious time to get everyone involved the help they need.
Lastly, your puppy could take off, disappearing among all the commotion. Your puppy should have proper pet identification and be microchipped so it can be returned to you if found, but you can avoid a lost dog situation with proper vehicle restraints.
Take a Pawrade Puppy on a Safe Car Ride
From the moment you select your puppy, our Travel Team is ready to help you choose the best travel method to meet your Pawrade puppy. We have a few ways to meet your puppy and want to encourage you to secure your puppy other than holding it on your lap for that inaugural ride to its new home.
We’re excited to see which puppy you select from our puppies for sale! Please let us know if you have any questions about our process. We’re happy to help and celebrate that first trip to get a Pup Cup with you!
