PetsMeds

Car Safety

We all love taking our pets everywhere we go. We must remember that they need safety as while as we do. There are a few things we need to do that will keep them safe on the car ride.

• Be sure to keep the dog's leash firmly in hand when loading and unloading the dog from the car.
• Always keep a current i.d. tag on the pet in case the pet manages to escape. Make sure the collar can not slip off. Especially when traveling, it's important that the i.d. tag include an easily accessible number, such as your cell phone number.
• For safety, do not allow pets to ride in the front seat, no matter how much the pet enjoys it. Pets riding in the front seat can be thrown into the windshield if you have to make a sudden stop. Also, the pet can climb on the driver's lap, interfere with driving or fall down by the gas and brake pedals, causing an accident. Another reason to keep pets in the back seat or in a crate is that airbags can pose hazards to smaller people and pets. Air bags can launch out of the dashboard at a great enough force to severely injure a pet or small human. Some cars come with on on/off switches for the bags.
• Secure the pet in the car. An unrestrained pet can interfere with driving and become a hazardous projectile in the event of an accident or sudden stop, hitting the windshield, injuring a passenger or knocking the diver over/out resulting in loss of control of the car.
• Crates or sturdy pet carriers are an ideal way to restrain pets in cars. Stressed pets need a nice quiet place to rest and be alone at times. Secure the crate so it does not fly forward or flip in case of a sudden stop or accident.
• If your car does not allow room to set up a crate, obtain a dog seat belt, which doubles as a harness. You can install a pet barrier to keep dogs in the back seat.
• If you do not have a crate, travel harness or partition between front and back seat. We suggest using a short leash with a loop on the end. Adjust the back seat's middle seatbelt as tight as it will go. Slip the leash through the seatbelt and resecure it. If the leash is short enough to limit the dog to sitting up, laying down and turning around, it will probably be short enough to keep the dog from being thrown to the floor in the event of a sudden stop. If using a loose leash in the back seat, allow enough slack so the dog won't strangle if the driver brakes and the dog falls into the floor area. Fasten the leash to something inside the car. If you have to extend the loop outside the car window, use extreme caution. You do not want the leash loop to get caught on anything, get pulled by someone outside, or get entangled with the wheels of the car.
• Look behind you frequently. Tell the pet that is behaving well that it is a good pet. Reassure a nervous dog that everything is OK.
• To curtail barking in the car use a citronella collar, which discourages barking by emitting a spray of unpleasantly scented citronella each time the dog barks.
• Bring a dish and some water since dogs often get thirsty during car rides. Pack ice chips or cubes make a tasty treat for your dog, plus it melts down into water along the way.
• Carry a first aid kit in your car, keeping it within reach from the driver's seat. Include items for both human and pet injuries. Also carry a couple of terry towels, which can be used for a variety of first aid needs from stabilizing a hurt limb to stemming bleeding to creating a temporary muzzle. A roll of gauze and gauze tape come in handy too.
• Rescue remedy, a Bach flower essence available in most health food stores, is a natural stress reliever that many folks keep on hand at home and in travel kits. It can often help both people and animals recover from injury, fright, illness, travel fatigue, chocolate ingestion, and irritation. Put a few drops in the dog's water bowl or portable water container. For stressed or injured animals, rub a drop on their ear or put a drop on the towel in their crate or carrier.
• Keep the window rolled up high enough so that the dog can not squeeze out. Dogs can make themselves very skinny in order to escape through a window, even in a moving vehicle.
• Secure the dog so that he cannot hit buttons for electric windows, adjustable mirrors, etc. dogs gotten their heads stuck in electric windows after activating them. Securing the dog will also help in case you stop at tollbooths or need to roll down the window to ask for directions.
• When stopping the car, have things organized before opening the door, including stops at gas stations and rest areas. Make sure the dog is still secured. And when taking the dog out of the car, have the leash attached to the dog in your hand so that the dog can not escape.

?If we follow these things we can take our pets where ever we go and keep them safe. We can have fun with our pets all the time now, so enjoy every minute you have with your pet.