Travel with a Dog

Kaznan

Guest
Good morning, newbie to this site here and relatively newbie motorhomer too. Question please, we have a dog that travels well and no problem in the MH, the trouble is we are being told that he must be restrained. Happy to do this, but we only have 2 seatbelts (2 berth van) and no room for a crate for him, at best he would be very squashed in one, being a labrador. Help ! Any other way to keep him safe and us? We have been told there is a fine if we are stopped and he is not restrained in any way. Many thanks.
 
Good morning, newbie to this site here and relatively newbie motorhomer too. Question please, we have a dog that travels well and no problem in the MH, the trouble is we are being told that he must be restrained. Happy to do this, but we only have 2 seatbelts (2 berth van) and no room for a crate for him, at best he would be very squashed in one, being a labrador. Help ! Any other way to keep him safe and us? We have been told there is a fine if we are stopped and he is not restrained in any way. Many thanks.
There is a requirement that a dog is restrained. There is no requirement that the dog is physically restrained.

My dog used to stand between the front seats, sniffing the air vent, looking out through the windscreen. He was restrained by knowing he wasn't allowed into the driver's area.

Anyone who asserts that this is dangerous may not be correct: he did eventually die of cancer, but I don't think that was related to his travelling style.
 
There is a requirement that a dog is restrained. There is no requirement that the dog is physically restrained.

My dog used to stand between the front seats, sniffing the air vent, looking out through the windscreen. He was restrained by knowing he wasn't allowed into the driver's area.

Anyone who asserts that this is dangerous may not be correct: he did eventually die of cancer, but I don't think that was related to his travelling style.
Thank you for that. We have been on a day trip with the dog, and we have put his lead over the arm rest of the passenger seat & he sits further back behind the cab bit, he travels well and sleeps the whole trip usually. He never moves forward or tries to be with us. We get mixed messages on the law on how he travels. We dont want to crate him, plus we have no room for one anyway. Thanks for the reply.
 
I believe @in h to be wrong.

Rule 57 of the highway code states: “When in a vehicle make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves if you stop quickly. A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars.”

This type of harness may be OK Lots of others available maybe clip to Drivers & Passenger seatbet anchors


Others available

Bear in mind as with seat belts their prime purpose is to stop forward motion (relative to the vehicle , momentum) in the event of a crash or emergency stop. Some attempt to restrict sideways movement, in the event of somebody crashing into the side of you, would be good.
 
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My dog never liked to travel sitting. He would with stand or he would lie down.

He had a bed under the table, but also had a foam pad on the floor between the seats, which he sometimes slept on.

The idea of a seat belt attached to a collar is horrific. Imagine what would happen in a crash. Would people restrain other passengers with a noose?

A cage would have had to be huge for a dog the size of mine, if he was to be able to either stand or lie down, and he was even taller when sitting. Just not an option.
 
I’d say the main consideration is the personal injury that could be caused in the event of a collision by an unrestrained projectile. However there appear also to be legal and insurance implications to having an unrestrained animal.
My dog travelled in front of other passengers, so he could only hit the dashboard.

As for getting legal advice from The Sun, well, there's nothing I can politely say about that!
 
And I believe you to be wrong. Consider the meaning of the words "suitable" and "include" then re-read your quotation.
So we differ ! A dog lying down or sitting is IMO not restrained. End of my input on this thread
 
I believe @in h to be wrong.

Rule 57 of the highway code states: “When in a vehicle make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves if you stop quickly. A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars.”

This type of harness may be OK Lots of others available maybe clip to Drivers & Passenger seatbet anchors


Others available

Bear in mind as with seat belts their prime purpose is to stop forward motion (relative to the vehicle , momentum) in the event of a crash or emergency stop. Some attempt to restrict sideways movement, in the event of somebody crashing into the side of you, would be good.
Thanks for that, the problem we have with a harness type of restraint is that our MH is only 2 berth and therefore only 2 seatbelts, so no spare for the dog harness. A crate is really going to be a problem for size of dog and fitting into MH. Any chance there is option for adding a seatbelt holder for a harness? This is so difficult, cant leave the dog at home!
 
Can you not fit suitable "anchors/or bolts " somewhere maybe in the floor
Or use webbing-type tiedown straps to secure the harness
A suitably sized piece of wood which when fitted is secure
Boat shackles etc
 
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Can you not fit suitable "anchors/or bolts " somewhere maybe in the floor
Or use webbing-type tiedown straps to secure the harness
A suitably sized piece of wood which when fitted is secure
Boat shackles etc
A lab will weigh about 20 to 30Kg unless a bit overweight.
 
Only thing that could happen is a unsecured dog could be blamed if you where unfortunate enough to be involved in a collision whether it did or not people are always looking for a get out clause
 
Hi. We have. Two. Rotties and they travel in our Moho leads looped over armrest. It all depends on the readers interpretation of the words that advise. Restraint. Etc. Every one. has there own interpretation and views. Some to the extreme for and against. Also everyone knows someone that knows someone whos aunts a friend had this or that happen I have asked at Folkestone police station about dogs travelling in a Moho and there answer was. Under restraint. He also said it would depend on who was looking as to there opinion on what was restrained. He also said. Look at the cars that are travelling along and the dog is all over the seats parcel shelves etc. Regards to all brian
 
Can you fit a dog guard to the back of your seats?, it doesn't have to be permanently fixed but it should be safer for you and the dog, it is classed as a restraint so you should be legal then (IMO)
 
Get one of those seat belt extensions off the internet for a fiver, bolt through passenger seat base, probably already hole (may even be a threaded one) there. All you need then is a suitable car harness and the lead part to go in seatbelt clip. Cheap easy fix
 
When I converted our self built Renault Master I kept 3 of the tie down points on the lower bulkhead immediately behind the cab seats, I also have another tie down point mounted onto the passenger seat box.

We have 3 spaniels ( 1 x cocker and 2 x springers), normally when travelling in the UK, they simply lie down and travel as good as gold, fast asleep, but when we are over in France and as the Gendarmes can be hot on the issue of dogs being secure, all 3 of them wear harnesses which we attach via shortish lengths of specially made leads.
 
It’s certainly scary to see how they can become a lethal projectile in a crash.

 

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