Pet Travel: What Dog Owners Need to Know!

Published on September 2, 2009 by Freelance Contributors   ·   1 Comment

“Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog’s face, he gets mad at you but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out of the window?” ~ Peter Kay (C)

Why DO dogs stick their head out of car windows? And, more to the point, why do owners let them?

Travelling with a dog tends to fall in to one of two different categories for many owners, it’s either one of the most pleasurable aspects of dog ownership, an experience filled with joy and excitement for all involved – or – it’s a living nightmare, punctuated with bouts of stress, worry and discomfort for both dog(s) and owner(s). K9 Magazine is here to help….K9 Magazine offers regular pet travel advice along with the latest breaking dog news, dog training tips and money saving pet ownership information via our exclusive, FREE dog lovers newsletter. You can get free pet travel tips, free reports and more: just sign up below, we’ll do the rest!!

We all know that our dogs love to join us wherever we go, be it walks, holidays or even just a run to the supermarket. We need to ensure that when our dogs join us in the car, or any moving vehicle, that certain safety measures are put into place, for our safety and theirs. If we crash or have an accident, more often your dog will come off worse if they are unrestrained.

They can also cause crashes if they decide to suddenly leap onto your lap if frightened or startled. Your pet needs to be safely secured in a pet carrier, a dog cage, seatbelt harness or behind a dog guard. The most suitable restraint will depend on the needs of your pet, the size of your vehicle and also the size of your dog. Always make sure your dog is walked to and from the car on a lead, just in case of traffic or if your dog was to make any sudden movements. For small dogs, or other small pets, a pet carrier is a good transportation method.

Dogs should be placed in the carrier before reaching the car. It needs to be a comfortable size for your dog and should be held in place with the seat belt or by wedging it firmly in the gap at your feet. Never put a carrier in the boot of your car as your pet could suffocate or be knocked around if the carrier becomes loose. A travel cage is suitable for most dogs and is often the most popular method of dog transportation. You need to leave plenty of space around the crate to allow for ventilation and movement, and ensure it is secured with the seat belt. These crates can often be securely fitted in the boot of an estate car.

You should always make sure your dog is not placed where an air bag may cause any damage and suffocate your dog. For most dogs – a safety harness can be attached to a car’s seatbelt to ensure that they do not move from their seat, very similar to how ours work. It should be securely fastened before the car moves to ensure the dog is comfortable and won’t get tangled in the straps. You can also get dog guards fitted in the back of estate cars and larger vehicles with a large, open boot area. The guards restrict your dog from accessing any other part of the car but will not protect them in an accident.

You can also buy safety harnesses that will stop your dog from moving around in the back of the car. If you are unfortunate enough to have a crash whilst your dog is in the car, quickly try and calm your dog down by taking the carrier to a quiet place. Make sure you have them on lead so that they do not run off or into traffic. If you think that your dog is hurt or in pain then call a vet right away. Check that your dog is covered by his insurance for car accidents. If you feel that your dog doesn’t cope too well in vehicles, consider having travel training for your dog from a qualified dog trainer.

Holiday Horror

What to do when taking your pet on a foreign holiday: It’s probably happened to all of us once. You notice the back gate flapping suspiciously in the wind and your heart rate doubles. You check under the beds, behind the settee, even in between the car and the garage wall, and just as you are about to panic you the spot him bounding bashfully back with ‘that’ look on his face.

He couldn’t have been gone for more than five minutes. A lucky escape you may think, and you promise yourself you will fix the latch on the gate, but your curious friend doesn’t have a clue about the highway code, or the perils of big, sheers drops, he was just having a nosey about the neighbourhood. More often than not these incidents, although undesirable, have a happy ending.

This is often due to helpful neighbours mucking in with the search, familiar locations for dogs to navigate with and ease of communication. Take all of these factors away and it could all turn out very differently. With the popularity of the Pet Passport Scheme, more and more people are able to holiday abroad with their dog for company, so by definition, it is a possibility that our dogs could do the dreaded disappearing act as a far away as Italy or Spain. The most popular places for people to holiday with their pets are often rural and are often within the UK.

If you holiday in Wales for example, and you have the misfortune of losing your dog, you will not necessarily be at as much of a loss as you would be if you were in rural Italy or France. For a start you would have a common language and you would be familiar the law. The initial panic that would set in would be lessened slightly by your ability to communicate your problem to someone, in a country with a language that you don’t speak; your predicament will only be intensified by your inability to communicate your problem. If you are travelling on holiday, the best ways to ensure that if you lose your pet you can get them back are as follows: have your pet fitted with a microchip.

This is compulsory if travelling under the Pet Travel Scheme abroad; whilst travelling abroad your pet should wear a collar containing details of: a United Kingdom address; and a United Kingdom telephone number; and a contact point within the country in which you are travelling. If your pet is lost whilst travelling you should notify the local police and make enquiries with local vets.

Rule 1. Make sure you are taking your dog on a holiday that is suited to him. Ensure it is a holiday that allows you to keep an eye on your dog, and one that allows you to keep him from boredom, the main reason that dogs go walkabouts by themselves.

Prevention is the key here, once your dog is out of your sight, you cannot control his fate, nor can you control his actions. Ensure that when out in public, the dog is always on leash (this is demanded by law in many popular holiday resorts) and when he is alone it is imperative that he is secure. This does not just mean locking the hotel door behind you as you leave to play beach volleyball, a careless cleaner or porter could make it all too easy for your dog to escape. If you do leave your dog on the premises, give instructions to all who may have contact with the dog to ensure he is secure before they leave.

Rule 2. Take all practical steps to ensure that it is not made easy or tempting for the dog to wander off. If you provide the dog with the option of going off alone for a stroll, he may well just do that. If it is not a viable option, the thought won’t enter his head. Not many dogs ‘escape’ in the sense that they have tried to get out of a property or garden, more often it is an opportunity offered to them on a plate, such as an open door or slack lead loosely tied to a lamp post (opposite a butcher’s perhaps). No matter how careful a dog owner is, there is always an element of misfortune involved in a missing dog holiday saga. If fate and destiny conspire together and you still find yourself on holiday minus your dog, there are a few things that you should have done before you left home just in case.

Tim hall of pet exports, (www.petexports.co.uk) offered these pieces of advice.

1.Take a recent photo with you. Descriptive words in a foreign language are often hard to come by in times of panic, and not everybody knows what a Dandy Dinmont Terrier looks like.

2.Change the ID tag on the collar before you leave. Even if someone does find your dog wandering the Costa Brava, they won’t know where to start if the only information available is ‘If lost please return to 34 Bloom Street, South Shields or phone 821 445’. Put the address and phone number of the hotel at which you are staying, and remember to put any instructions in the right language. You should always leave the UK address on there as well, in case you have to leave the country without your dog.

3.Be aware that different countries have different attitudes towards dogs roaming freely. The Spanish have a particular dislike for stray dogs, your dog will look like just another stray, so for a busy Spaniard to make the journey across Marbella with your beloved Deerhound is expecting an awful lot.

4.Know who to contact. The local police station is a good start. Perhaps straight after that you should contact the council and any kennels near by. Do not contact the British Embassy or the consulate; to be frank they have bigger fish to fry than your lost dog, such as terrorism and international relations.

5.Tim’s strongest recommendation is this. Don’t take him off his lead or let him out of sight.

Pet Travel Phrasebook:

You may know how to ask for a cappuccino in Milan and a baguette in Paris but do you know how to ask for a Doberman in Dortmund or a Rottweiler in Rotterdam. We have taken the languages spoken in the most popular holiday resorts in Europe and provided useful translations of helpful ‘lost dog in Europe’ phrases.

En Francais.

Excuse me, have you seen this dog roaming freely?
M’excusez-vous, avez-vous vu ce chien errer librement?

Do you know the way to the nearest kennels?
Vous savez le chemin vers les établissements les plus proches?

I wish to report my dog missing.
Je voulais rapporter mes disparus de chien.

He is a big/small/medium dog with long/short hair of dark/light colour. His/her name is Dotty.
Il/elle est un grand/petit/moyen chien avec de cheveux longs/courts de couleur légère/foncée. Il/elle s’appelle Dotty.

Thank you so much. Where can I pick him up? I owe you big style pal.
Merci tellement. Où peux-je le prendre? Je vous dois le grand modèle mon amis.

Italiano.

Excuse me, have you seen this dog roaming freely?
Lo scusate, avete visto questo cane vagare liberamente?

Do you know the way to the nearest kennels?
Conoscete il senso al canile più vicino?

I wish to report my dog missing.
Desidero segnalare i miei missing del cane.

He is a big/small/medium dog with long/short hair of dark/light colour. His/her name is Dotty.
È un cane piccolo/medio/grande con capelli corti/lunghi di colore chiaro/scuro. Suo il suo nome è dotty.

Thank you so much. Where can I pick him up? I owe you big style pal.
Grazie così tanto. Dove posso prenderlo? Vi devo lo stile grande mia compagno.

en español

Excuse me, have you seen this dog roaming freely?
¿Me excusa, usted ha visto este perro el vagar libremente?

Do you know the way to the nearest kennels?
¿Usted sabe la manera a las perreras más cercanas?

I wish to report my dog missing.
Deseo divulgar a mis desaparecidos del perro.

He is a big/small/medium dog with long/short hair of dark/light colour. His/her name is Dotty.
Él es un perro grande/pequeño/medio grande con el pelo corto/largo del color ligero/oscuro. El suyo su nombre es dotty.

Thank you so much. Where can I pick him up? I owe you big style pal.
Muchas Gracias. ¿Dónde puedo tomarlo? Le debo estilo grande mi amigo.

Domestic Pet Travel Tips

10 Tips For Curing Travel Problems 10) Some dogs and most young puppies have a tendency to drool or even vomit when on their first few trips in a moving vehicle. Always make sure you pack towels, air freshener and kitchen roll to make sure the dog’s (and your own) journey is not made into an even more unpleasant experience than it needs to be.

The rest of this article is available for K9 Magazine Premier members and also contains a SHOCKING video that should act as a warning to ANYONE who allows their dog to put their head out of the window of a moving vehicle. It’s dangerous, unhealthy and your dog could very easily die.

[private_Premier] 9) Motion sickness is a common problem with many dogs. Nausea can be brought on by either periods of extreme excitement or extreme panic – it’s inevitable that for most dogs, they either get really excited or really worried when travelling thus the likelihood that they will throw up is pretty high! There are some over-the-counter remedies to help with motion sickness and some natural remedies – two websites of value are www.petdrugsquick.co.uk for the over the counter pet medicine and www.dorwest.com for natural, complimentary alternatives.

8: Where possible but especially on long journeys, try and make sure your pet is travelling on an empty stomach. This not only decreases the chances of the dog being sick it will also make his or her journey a physically more comfortable experience.

7) For young dogs or nervous travellers lots of little journeys to pleasant ‘doggy’ locations can help immensely. A short 5 minute drive to the local park is beneficial even if the park is in walking distance from the dog’s home as it gets the dog into the frame of mind that travelling ends in a nice experience. Often dogs with travel problems come from rural areas where they only ever have to use a car when the journey is essential to somewhere such as the vet or boarding kennels, the dog then learns to associate travelling with upsetting or unpleasant experiences.

6) Whenever you are taking your dog anywhere, especially by car when you are going outside of your immediate local area, make sure the dog is fully protected with ID – even if the dog is micro-chipped it makes sense to ensure they are also wearing a visible form of identification such as a tag with their name and address on. It has been known for vehicles carrying dogs to be involved in road traffic accidents where the terrified dog has escaped from the scene in panic and in a strange area If the dog has no visible ID containing full contact data the chances of getting him or her back are made much harder in such circumstances.

5) Never, ever, under any circumstances leave pets in cars unattended. Two very simple reasons. You may be able to live with the theft of your car stereo, handbag, designer sunglasses etc but if someone decides to steal your dog could you forgive yourself? It happens so don’t take the risk. Secondly dogs exhume heat. Unlike us humans, a dog left in a confined area – even with the window down (which will increase the likelihood of a car break in anyway) – will heat up his or her immediate area as they get warmer. This produces an oven effect as the dog gets hotter so does the area in which he is located which in turn will make him hotter, in turn making his area hotter and so on until eventually he or she may die from being literally cooked. Simple solution – never leave dogs in cars, ever.

4) It’s funny to look at and my word they all seem to love doing it but dogs sticking their heads out of car windows is actually not good – yes, even when it’s a Boxer and their cheeks flap up and down in the wind with spit flying everywhere – it’s still not big or clever for three important reasons. Just as children sticking their heads out of car windows is considered by most parents to be dangerous (and there are cases when serious injury has resulted) the same is true of dogs. Cyclists, close encounters with other drivers or stationary or moving objects – all could result in serious injury or even death and as everyone knows you as the driver, have no control over other situations that may arise on the road. A dog with ears and gums flapping up and down is a common sight on the road and most would agree that it has its funny side but by the same token it is also very, very distracting for other drivers. You also run the risk, in some cases, of being pulled over by the police who could make a case for you driving without due care and attention or even causing a danger on the road – in this day in age with speed cameras all too happy to eat into the 12-point limit on your driving licence you have to ask yourself do you really want to Fido to be the reason for a fine, higher insurance premium and a points penalty? Lastly, it’s actually very un-healthy for the dog – roads by their very nature are highly polluted and dogs feel the force of this more than most due to their highly tuned sensory organs. Bugs, road chippings and an increased chance of getting conjunctivitis also make the head out of the window trick one to avoid.

3) A dog-travel bag is a great idea. Having a little hold-all containing a first aid kit, water bottle, portable water holder, food bowl, food and various other essential items is a really worthwhile investment and you’ll be amazed and just how often you make use of it if you and your dog(s) are regular travellers. K9Magazine.com has a special feature on how to make your own dog-travel kit as well as details of where you can buy great travel related products and accessories to make all your canine-accompanied journeys even more enjoyable for all.

2) To get a young or particularly nervous dog to get used to the idea of car travel there is no better tip than to allow the dog to enjoy a stationary vehicle on a regular basis. Feed the dog in the back of the car, throw a ball into the back of the car for the dog to fetch, hide treats in the back of the car for the dog to jump in and find, lie down in the back of the car yourself and play with the dog – just get the dog to feel like the car itself is as much fun and un-daunting and the back yard, the park or any other place where they should expect good things to happen. Allow the dog to feel comfortable in a non moving vehicle and it will make him or her far more at ease.

1) Always ensure the dog is safe and secure. Dogs need to feel protected when they are outside of their normal environments, a moving vehicle can make the dog feel very, very exposed – new smells, noises, scenery flashing by, people – it can be a traumatic experience. A dog box is idea as it cuts down the dog’s sense of fear enormously making them feel more secure. If not a dog box then a boot with a dog guard, lots of blankets to prevent the dog from sliding around and if the boot has side windows it can help the dog if these can somehow by covered to avoid the dog’s sense being overloaded by sights and sounds. Safety is by far the number 1 travel tip for dogs.

7 Trips for Dogs Travelling in Cars

Ensure Your Dog Is Well Prepared For The Journey If you don’t have air conditioning in your vehicle, travel at night or during cooler times of the day.

2. Don’t feed your dog for about three hours before beginning your trip. If you like, offer him a snack while riding, but don’t provide dinner until you arrive at your destination.

3. Keep your dog in a carrier or crate at all times and secure the carrier with a seat belt or other device; if you roll down the window, your dog could escape.

4. Make frequent rest stops so your dog can relieve himself or have a drink of water. 5. If your trip requires overnight accommodations, know ahead of time which hotels accept pets. Make reservations and let them know you will be bringing an animal.

If you are camping, make certain the campsite or RV park allows pets. 6. Make certain your dog is wearing a collar with identification tags. If he escapes without ID tags, you may never find him again. Take along a photo of your dog in case you do get separated.

7. If your dog suffers from carsickness, discuss medication options with your veterinarian.

Pet Travel Regulations

Never leave a dog in a hot car – ever. Under any circumstances, regardless of whether it’s 1 minute or 10 – death can occur rapidly and you can be prosecuted for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. Your dog must be secure in the vehicle. It is an offence to cause a distraction to other drivers and is not pleasant for your dog to be unsecured. Dogs prefer to be secure and one of the best ways to do this is via a pet travel carrier or by placing them in the boot of a hatchback or estate and securing them with  a dog guard. Failing that, a pet safety harness (seatbelt for dogs) is something to consider. Remember, a dog is like any other passenger – if you crash, they can be injured or killed or their bodyweight could injure or kill you or other passengers in the vehicle. Don’t take the risk!

It is an offence to have a dog on a designated road without it being held on a lead. Local authorities may have similar bye-laws covering public areas. Dogs travelling in vehicles should not be a nuisance or in any way distract the driver during a journey. If a dog is injured in a car accident, the driver must stop and give their details to the person in charge of the dog. If there is no person in charge of the dog, the incident must be reported to the police within 24 hours. Even when travelling in your car, your dog should wear a collar and ID tag  – there are some exemptions to this, such as for working dogs being trained or worked but, as a general rule, the car is treated the same as being in public.

Finally: For anyone who has ever allowed their dog to put their head out of the window of a moving car, let this video act as a warning – it can be lethal and should never, ever be allowed. Provide ventilation with a slightly cracked open window but do not allow the dog access to get their whole head out. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9GauOF8P-4 [/private_Premier]

This article published in association with:

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