Travelling With Your Pooch
Every once in awhile, you need to give your dog a ride. Before you get behind the wheel with a hound on board, know that there is a list of safety guidelines you should keep in mind. It doesn’t matter if you will be travelling intercity for a holiday, or just driving him to his health checkup at the local vet.
Point one, teach your dog to remain in the back seat whenever he is inside the vehicle. Doing so will lessen the probability of him disrupting your driving, and this can potentially force you to make a vehicle insurance claim. When your dog is situated at the right position, get him to stay put by asserting the command whenever he tries to wiggle his way out. Time and persistence will persevere.
Dogs are not born for riding vehicles so you need to provide him with the necessary comforts. Your dog should have enough personal space to stretch his legs if he wants to, and it doesn’t have to involve an SUV or truck like a Ford Explorer. His boredom of the journey can also be reduced if you provide him with his most cherished toys and blanket. Whether or not music also helps depends on individual dogs.
Remember, it is not uncommon for dogs to get car sick. Disorientation may be mitigated if the dog can be taught to look at the windscreen view. If you will be on the road for a long time, allow the dog to take a break from travelling once every couple of hours. For certain dogs it might seem as if they are just born get sick in a moving car, in that case the vet should be able to help you with some safe sedatives for your dog.
On the night before a very long road trip with your pet, cut down his meal size and never offer him any food right before the journey. Doing so can make things easier on his stomach, which is very likely to become agitated as he is travelling. Only give your dog treats inside the car on a seldom basis.
Make sure to provide essential ventilation. Always remind yourself that a hound is more likely to overheat than a person. The inside of a car can easily become over 20 degrees hotter than the outside, which have been known to be deadly for both small animals and kids. Just remember whenever you are lowering windows, keep the gaps small so your animal don’t jump out.
If car travel will become a regular occurrence for your canine, you might be interested in searching for some dog seat harness, some of which are constructed to work directly with your car’s seat belts. Using a specialised dog seat belt no only keeps him still, but it can also keep him alive if you have an unfortunate vehicle accident.
Drive smoothly with your dog. It’s bad enough you could potentially traumatize him. Satisfy your speed lust with to drifting games instead.