Archive for the 'Travel Tips' Category
Distractions which could cause a wreck:
- Nosing, licking, or otherwise pestering the driver.
- Trying to climb in the lap of the driver.
- Pacing back and forth from window to window.
Injury to themselves or other passengers:
- Injury to your dog’s eyes or nose from flying debris when their head is out the window.
- Broken bones, internal injuries, trauma, or death due to sudden stop, violent swerve, or car wreck.
- If a car wreck occurs, your dog could become a deadly projectile which could kill them and possibly other passengers.
Escaping the vehicle:
- Jumping out of a moving vehicle causing injury to themselves and possibly causing a wreck from you stopping suddenly or from other
cars trying to avoid hitting them. - Dog which is projected from or escapes from a wrecked vehicle could cause another wreck when it gets into the road.
Breaking the law:
- While it may not be against the law to have your dog unseatbelted, if law enforcement sees that your dog is a distraction you may be
ticketed for unsafe driving.
Stress to your dog:
- Unharnessed or uncrated dogs can get stressed out in a car. Stopping, turning, etc can prevent them from keeping their balance. They
don’t understand all the movements and can be stressed by it. - Dogs can get carsick - especially little dogs who can’t see out the window.
- A stressed dog can vomit or make other types of messes in your car.
Our message does not mean that you shouldn’t take your dog with you in the car. We just want you to think about you and your dog’s safety when they are in the car. Consider a dog car seat belt, keeping them in a crate or pet car seat, or putting up a pet barrier between the front and back seats in order to keep them in the back. For more information on dog car safety, visit http://www.petautosafety.com/pet-travel-articles.
Many dogs love to ride in the car. But a car ride doesn’t appeal to all dogs. Some dogs tend to get car sick which can lead to vomiting or voiding on your nice upholstery. So, in essence, to prevent your dog from vomiting or voiding in the car, you need to help keep them from getting car sick in the first place.
First and most importantly, make sure your dog can see out the window and have the window cracked open a bit for fresh air. If you have ever gotten an ill feeling as a passenger because you were reading a book or something, you have probably found that looking outside and cracking a window helps you feel better. It will help your dog too. If your dog is too small to look out the window, consider a pet booster seat.
Second, don’t give your dog anything to eat for an hour or two before going on the ride. And don’t allow them to drink too much water. You may consider exercising your dog after the car ride instead of before. Your dog will want to drink more water after exercising - and you should let them drink all the water they need after exercising. So save the fun and games for after the car ride.
And finally, make sure your dog takes a potty break just before going for a ride. Let them take care of all their business beforehand in order to decrease the likelihood of them doing it during the car ride. If you are taking a long car ride, make lots of stops for your dog. Let them out into the fresh air. Allow them walk around a bit. And let them take care of more business. Remember to keep your dog on a leash and to pick up after your dog. Having your dog off-leash and/or leaving their business behind may be illegal and could earn you a hefty fine.
We found a very informative website for people who don’t want to leave their dogs at home when they travel. The website, http://www.dogfriendly.com/, has lots of information on places you and your dog (or dogs) can go together. If you want a hotel which allows dogs of all sizes, Dog Friendly has it. If you want to know which beaches allow dogs, which parks allow dogs off leash, or which tourist attractions allow dogs, Dog Friendly has that information too. This website started over 10 years ago and is still going strong. They add more and more dog-friendly places all the time.
Checklist:
- Before bad weather comes, get your car checked - especially the tires.
- Keep extra clothes and blankets in your car.
- Depending on the stretches of road you plan to travel, you might want to keep food and water in your car. If you have an accident and go off the road where no one can see you, at least you will be able to eat, drink, and keep warm until help comes.
- Keep a windshield scraper and de-icer in your car.
- It wouldn’t hurt to have a flashlight with you. Extra batteries for the flashlight is a good idea. This is good to keep in your car all year around.
- Don’t forget jumper cables. This is also good to keep around all year.
- Make sure you have a spare tire and the tools needed to change a tire. This should always be kept in your car, no matter what time of year it is.
- Another good all-year-round item to keep in your car is a First Aid Kit.
- I’ve heard that kitty litter can help you get out of a tight spot, say if your car slides off the road and into an icy ditch. Kitty litter might help your car get some traction over the ice.
- If you have a cell phone, bring it!
Tips:
- Obviously, don’t drive so fast! Seriously, no matter how late you may be to an appointment, it is not worth your life. And it’s not just your life you could be risking. There are millions of other people out there on the road. Drive defensively, not offensively. And remember that in wet or icy conditions, even driving the speed limit could be considered too fast.
- Leave more space between you and the car in front of you.
- Don’t use cruise control in rain or snow or ice. Cruise control will not know to slow down when there is black ice in the road. It won’t be able to control how fast the tires spin when your car hydroplanes over a wet road and you could easily lose control of the car.
- Be careful over bridges and shallow places in the road where extra water and ice might have accumulated. Bridges and shallow dips in the road tend to hide more black ice.
- Make sure that your headlights and taillights have all been scraped free of snow and ice. If it is snowing, it will already be difficult to see you. Keeping your car lights visible can help.
- Make sure you scrape all the snow and ice off your outdoor car mirrors.
- And don’t forget to scrape the snow and ice of all your windows too. You want to be able to see as well as possible in bad weather.
- Don’t forget that you and all your passengers, including pets, should be wearing a seat belt or should be safely strapped into the vehicle.
- The best tip is to stay home in really bad weather. Obviously, you will have to drive your car somewhere at some time, but weigh the risks first.
Please be careful any time you drive in bad weather. But since millions of people will be on the road this holiday season, take extra care for not only yourself, but for others. It is cold out there and the roads might be bad. There could be rain, snow, sleet, or even ice. Check your tires, drive cautiously, and buckle up. Don’t forget to buckle you pets in too.
Check out this article where there have been hundreds of wrecks in bad weather. Mt. Airy News. According to the article, even a dog was involved in a car accident. The dog ran away from the wreck but was luckily found in good condition about two miles away.
Traveling with your dog this holiday season? Want to stay in a hotel? How do you know which hotels will allow dogs? The perfect answer can be found at Pets Welcome.com. I am traveling a long distance and need to stay overnight at a hotel which allows dogs so I checked out Pets Welcome.com. I have used this site before, but now it is even better. It has been re-built to be easier to use and more informative. I selected the top tab for Lodgings, then the drop-down option of US Lodgings. From there, I selected the state I wanted to find lodging in. And then on the left, I selected the city. A very comprehensive list of hotels for dogs appeared on Pets Welcome.com. The list included the names of several hotels, their addresses, their phone numbers, and sometimes additional important information about the hotel. It was easy and quick. Within 5 minutes, I found a hotel and called to make a reservation. Super easy!!
Whether your dog will travel by car or airplane this holiday season, you will need to be sure to pack a few select items. If your dog is to travel by airplane, you will need to get a proper sized carrier. Contact the airline for carrier size specifications and other requirements. If your dog is to travel by car, don’t forget your dog’s car safety device (such as a dog seat belt or pet car seat). Dogs who travel by car or airplane will also need food, water, food and water bowls, a blanket or dog bed, leash, collar with id tags, their veterinary information, and any medications they require. You may also want to consider packing a dog first aid kit, dog toys, and dog waste disposal bags.
Feel free to check off the below items as you get ready for your dog to travel. Some of these supplies can be obtained at Pet Auto Safety.com.
___ carrier
___ dog seat belt
___ food
___ jugs of drinking water
___ food bowl
___ water bowl
___ blanket or dog bed
___ leash
___ collar
___ make sure your dog is wearing their dog tags and that they are readable
___ veterinary information
___ pet’s medication
___ dog first aid kit
___ dog toys
___ dog waste disposal bags
We have all seen a dog lying dead on the side of the road. But did you ever wonder how the dog got there? You probably thought that the dog went into the street and got hit by a car. This could be the reason, but sometimes the dog is there for another reason. Sometimes the dog is there because it was thrown from or jumped out of the car window or from the back of a pickup. That’s right, the dog had been safe in the vehicle until something happened which caused him to get into the road.
Even though your dog loves to put their head out the window, it really isn’t safe. Even dogs with the most experience riding in a car is in danger. What if you have to swerve out of the way of a bad driver? A dog in the lap with their head out the window could get thrown. Not only do they have to worry about being thrown from the car, they also have to worry about flying debris.
So please, keep your window up when your dog is riding. Or if you must have the window down for your dog, only put it down 2-3 inches. Or better yet, have the front window down while your dog is in the back seat. Consider getting a dog booster seat for your dog. A dog booster seat generally has a safety strap which attaches to your dog’s harness. So the dog booster seat will allow your dog to get the breeze from the window without exposing them to the dangers of an open window.
We have been keeping an eye out for a lot of articles in which dogs are involved in car accidents. Sometimes the articles are sad because the dog dies. Sometimes they are sad because the dog escapes from the car and gets hit by another car or disappears. Sometimes the dog is never found, and sometimes the dog is found several days later either dead or in very bad shape because they have been all alone for so long. And thankfully, a few articles are happy because the dog survives and gets rescued.
No one can predict a car wreck so the only thing we can do is try to be prepared. Although seat belts are not guaranteed to save our lives, it is more likely that we will survive a car wreck if we wear our seat belts than we would if we didn’t wear them. The same goes for the dog seat belts. And if our pet is lucky enough to survive a car wreck, dog seat belts can help in another way. The dog seat belts can keep the dog from escaping from the car and getting hit by another car or disappearing into the wilderness. Dog seat belts can also help keep your pet restrained so that a rescuer can tend to their injuries.
Don’t just think of dog seat belts as a way to help your pet during an accident, think of them as a way to help your pet after an accident too.
Some dogs don’t like to ride in the car. Sometimes it is because they are scared of the car and their tummies get upset, and sometimes it is because the movement of the car doesn’t agree with them. If your little dog gets car sick in the car because of the movement, a pet car seat may be able to help. Ever read a book in the car (while someone else is driving, of course) and felt a little sick. For whatever reason, Our eyes on a stationary object while our brains are registering movement causes us to get a little car sick. The same can go for dogs. If your little dog is in a car, they probably can’t see any of the movement that their body can feel. So if your little dog can sit in a pet car seat, they can see out the window and this might help them from getting car sick.
Besides a pet car seat, here are some other things which might help keep your dog from getting car sick:
*Don’t allow your dog to eat or drink excessively before a car ride.
*Start getting your dog used to the car by taking them on short trips.
*Open a car window to give your dog fresh air
*If your dog is nervous in the car, distract them with a fun toy. Do what you can to make car riding fun. Nervousness can sometimes cause car sickness.
A pet car seat may not only help with car sickness, it may also save your pet’s life.
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