Car rides?

[tanza]

@Ninabeana26:

Well no not as much because he fell asleep after playing with Nike & Mia all afternoon. It's an hour and a half drive & on the way home he probably only screamed for about 10 or 15 minutes before finally falling asleep & slept all the way until about 5 minutes before getting home. His crate was secure & he wasn't moving around. Guess he's just used to not being crated in the car?

I'll keep trying the harness for shorter trips & see if he will stop tangling himself up in it.

I would continue with the Crate.. and get him "tired" before going. Pretty soon he will know that car rides are a good thing, except for that once in a while trip to the Vet…

[Ninabeana26]

Okay thanks! I love this forum

[lvoss]

Nicky my crate phobic dog screamed the entire 3 hour drive from Davis to Dillon's Beach the second week we had him. He also screamed the entire drive back. We continued to crate him every time he rode in the car though and we traveled with him frequently to visit family, attend lure trials, and just around town. It didn't take him too many car trips to figure out the 99% of the time he gets in that crate to go somewhere it is going to be somewhere fun. At 10 years old he will still occassionally cry for 5 minutes or so just so we know he is back there but really he likes getting in his car crate.

I am also finally going to be viewing Crate Games tonight and giving it a try.

[Rivermoon]

I crate Apache, and after a few whiney rides he was fine. Chey and Marlowe are in harnesses and now, they settle down pretty fast. I take a lot of 4-5 hour trips to Az and the first few times I did it with all three I was ready to stop the car and take off running after about an hour. It was AWFUL! Nervous farting, non stop whining and Chey and Marlowe up and down, tangling each other up. Apache, who was fine in the crate, would still whine with the other two. I would stop twice…for my sanity, to untangle them and to let them stretch their legs. Now, we do the whole trip without stopping, Chey and Marlowe have their spots they settle into and only get up and fuss when we stop for gas and get to our destination.

I do have to say, I prefer Apache in the crate and will go that route with all my future dogs...once I get a bigger truck!

[Basenji_Boy]

@lvoss:

Nicky my crate phobic dog screamed the entire 3 hour drive from Davis to Dillon's Beach the second week we had him. He also screamed the entire drive back.

Tell us how you did it? Ear plugs, loud music??????:D

Funny but it's the way it has to be…..for they're own good really.

[skippnr]

@imbj:

First and foremost is safety - of the pet… So a harness or something that gets them buckled in is important... I actually called Volvo about where to put a pet in a vehicle - they said not in the front seat, rather, put the pet in the back (like kids) and buckle them in...

Then, IMO, next is comfort - of the pet... I put a moving blanket in the back seat, and connect a leash to one of those hooks behind the back seat...

If the back seat of your vehicle doesn't fold flat, put boxes and such, where the gap is (i.e. the bottom gap, between front and back seats - see 2nd photo)...

Anyway, if the blanket gets dirty, it's easy enough to wash!

See below to see what I mean... My B usually paces in the back when we start driving, then she settles down and sits in the center 'coz she likes to see the front, too (like the driver)...

What brand harness are in those two photo's? Did you like how they performed?

Any post that have mentioned a harness(or will mention) could you do me a big favor and fill me in on the brand I like to compare as many options as possible before buying. THANKS:D

[Quercus]

@lvoss:

Nicky my crate phobic dog screamed the entire 3 hour drive from Davis to Dillon's Beach the second week we had him. He also screamed the entire drive back. We continued to crate him every time he rode in the car though and we traveled with him frequently to visit family, attend lure trials, and just around town. It didn't take him too many car trips to figure out the 99% of the time he gets in that crate to go somewhere it is going to be somewhere fun. At 10 years old he will still occassionally cry for 5 minutes or so just so we know he is back there but really he likes getting in his car crate.

I am also finally going to be viewing Crate Games tonight and giving it a try.

Ditto…exactly for Querk He also has a speed limit...if we are going over 35mph, he is quiet...below that he screams or whines...for about 5-10 minutes

[agilebasenji]

Does anyone know if the harnesses have been crash tested?

[imbj]

@skippnr:

What brand harness are in those two photo's? Did you like how they performed?

Any post that have mentioned a harness(or will mention) could you do me a big favor and fill me in on the brand I like to compare as many options as possible before buying. THANKS:D

The black one is called Kwik Klip Car Safety Harness (http://www.leatherbrothers.com/Harnesses/N909.htm))… It's a medium ('coz Casey had a regular harness that she wore under this) so I needed it to be a tad loose to give her room to move in the vehicle...

The red one is called Cirque Soft Walking Harnes (http://www.rcpets.com/product.php?cid=12))… It's also a medium...

For "safety", I prefer the 1st one (the black one)... The 2nd one is made of mesh and is really meant for toy dogs so I don't think it's built for strong dogs like a basenji... But the photo was taken during her last month (before she went to Rainbow Bridge) and she was quite weak and scrawny so this harness was okay for very short trips (I don't use it for walking)...

I also just ordered a new kind of harness called Ruff Rider's Roadie Elite Canine Vehicle Safety Harness (http://www.petabbey.com/store-products-Pet-Carriers-and-Carseats-pet-car-seats-ps-roadie-canine-safety-harnes-Ruff-Riders-Roadie-Canine-Vehicle-Safety-Harness_19695180.html) and I heard it's pretty good…

[neffjohn]

I have seat belt harnesses dor savannah and bodhi. savannah moans for a while once we get going(she will not sit or lay down, she stood for the entire 3hr car ride to my parents for christmas) bodhi screams fro a while but then passes out , doesnt scream as much when i am going a consistent speed.
both are good overall

[sharronhurlbut]

I found that my dogs love the car, but did jump around. Once I stared taking them about a mile down the road, leashing them up, and letting them walk and empty…yes, even if I walked them before the drive, there is always "production"! it makes them feel more comfortable and they settle right down.
I think the excitement of going in the car, makes their bowel work, and they get "jumpy" about messing in the car..
This is just what works for me!

[Quercus]

@sharronhurlbut:

I found that my dogs love the car, but did jump around. Once I stared taking them about a mile down the road, leashing them up, and letting them walk and empty…yes, even if I walked them before the drive, there is always "production"! it makes them feel more comfortable and they settle right down.
I think the excitement of going in the car, makes their bowel work, and they get "jumpy" about messing in the car..
This is just what works for me!

That is a great idea Sharron! I had never thought of that. I will suggest it to my clients that have nervous car dogs too.

[lvoss]

@Quercus:

Ditto…exactly for Querk He also has a speed limit...if we are going over 35mph, he is quiet...below that he screams or whines...for about 5-10 minutes

Mine too. They usually settle down quite nicely once we are on the freeway or a road where we can drive without much stop and go.

[RockysWoman]

Body harness… best investment. Althought, for some B's (the nervous enllies that they are) a crate is best. I know Rocky get's nervous at the sight of motorcycles and large semi's on the road. So sometimes it is best to block the view. They'll never know what they are missing.

[wizard]

I can't crate EL D (the previous owner screwed that up and EL D won't go anywhere near a crate now) so I'm looking at the harness types.
Here's one I found that attaches to the seat belt so I don't see how a dog could get tangle up - http://homeandkennel.petedge.com/Guardian-Gear-Dog-Safety-Harnesses-ZW612.pro?parentCategoryId=194&categoryId=224&subCategoryId=402

• I just got the DrsFoster&Smith catalog and they have one also (it's not on their website however).

[Ninabeana26]

This is the one I bought:

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product1.asp?pf_id=1079702

& I can tell you right now, Dallas gets himself so twisted up I have ultimately decided it was a COMPLETE waste of money. I guess it's a good thing it only cost me $15. The other day just connected his leash to the truck clip [where the back seats fold down] then put the back seats back up so he could only move around in the back seat. That seemed to work better than the harness but with that way I wish he had a little less capable movement as I do fear the results if we were to have a crash.

[Ninabeana26]

The Guardian gear kind of looks like it would be MUCH more efficient & actually looks like what I did with the leash last time but allows less moveable space…plus it hooks to the harness vs. me attaching his leash to the collar. Thanks wizard! I think I'm going to have to find this one...

[tah1212]

We have been going through some of the same things with Rocco. We have him crated in the car. The first few rides were AWFULL. Now that we have been going out more often he has gotten better. Still whines and turns his back on us in protest if we look at him, but he is getting over it. Getting him tired before has helped as well.

[WBL]

I use one similar to what wizard posted, I love it and it works great. Tiggy is great in the car, and the most he does when he decides to wander is stand with front feet on the middle console, he does know "get in the back" and stays there most of the time. The only time he comes all the way up (even when we stop and/or get out) is when invited/told he can. Well I take that back, for some reason when we pull into the garage Tiggy always tries (and has succeeded) to sit in my husbands lap while he parks; it is the only time he has ever does this.

But I really use the seat belt almost all the time, because even though he's good about staying in the back, he doesn't lay down right away and will look out the windows or out the back which means he puts his front feet up. With that if I were to have to make a quick stop he'd most likely end up in the front or hurting himself more because he's not secured as well. For Reggie, I usually only use his if we are going to be on the highway. Maybe I should use it more, but Reggie gets in and lays down right away, if he does sit up to look out he's leaned back against the seat and sitting, he very rarely stands up.