Safety Issue: Dogs in Cars

Lilly loaded up and went with me to run errands on Tuesday. When the weather allows, I use the frequent stops as part of our ongoing transition training (where Lilly learns to hop of the out car in a variety of locations, SIT, and relax quickly … thanks to classical conditioning). That continues to go well, but I’m always surprised how many dogs we see traveling the canyon, the highways, and local roads completely unrestrained in the car. Roadworthy, my recent article for the AKC Gazette, addresses this safety issue.

I found the following stat from my research shocking: Near a dog park in California, officers tracked the number of dogs who were and who were not restrained inside the car. And, 98% of them weren’t.

Maybe the dog people in our local circle of friends and fellow training students are unusual, but I would guess at least 50% of the dogs are crated or seatbelted in the car, even in our “pet dog” classes. Obviously, in the “performance dog” group, the percentage would be much higher.

Here, again, is our set-up in my Mini Cooper. It still needs to be tweaked, but between the crate and the car’s airbag system, I feel pretty good about Lilly’s protection when we drive.

{I’m sorry. The photos for this post got lost in the great blog photo glitch.}

HOT TIP
Ask your car insurance company about coverage for pets injured in an accident. Progressive, for example, recently raised its coverage to $1,000 (per accident, not per pet). When I went to insure the Mini, I asked our insurance company, and they only offer $500 of coverage. I took the opportunity to let them know that their competition was offering twice that amount and that folks like us pay attention to such things.