Travel with a Dog

TJBi said:
And the projectile probably doesn't come out of it too well, either. I can't understand a dog owner who gives no consideration to the safety of their animal.
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If I'd thought it was likely I'd have a serious accident, not only would the dog have stayed home, but I'd have stayed home with him. As it turned out, he survived travelling for the whole of his life without even a minor bump.
 
I have seen harnesses fixed near to the seat base using a tie down, and the dog between the seats. Also another couple with a huge dog used a harness which was clipped to a tie down at the rear of the van and he lay on the fixed bed. I certainly wouldn't have travelled with our dog loose and not clipped in, but then I wouldn't travel without a seatbelt for myself or passengers either.
One isn't always in control of what happens on the road, it has been known for others to smash into your vehicle, so taking precautions seems sensible!
 
We travelled with 2 dogs for years, a Beagle and a Labrador. Both slept in their beds between the front seats.
We did try them with harnesses anchored to the seatbelt points on the front seats for a while too.
 
We use a travel harness on our spaniel, to which we attach a woven strap that we hook around the bar at the base of the back of the passenger seat. The strap is adjusted so that if we pulled up sharply he wouldn't hit the dash. He has a comfy pad to lie on, and I made a cloth cloth that stretches between the two seats and tucks under our legs, and hooks on the dash so that he is in the shade on a sunny day drive. He is happy and safe. We did use a crate at first but it was such a faf, this works much better.

lesley
 
We had a harness on pepper and clipped it to a ring bolt screwed into a suitable piece of wood that would not move. this allowed her to sit, stand and lie down but she was constrained by the length of the tether.
 
Roverdave said:
We use a travel harness on our spaniel, to which we attach a woven strap that we hook around the bar at the base of the back of the passenger seat. The strap is adjusted so that if we pulled up sharply he wouldn't hit the dash.
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The issue isn't "pulled up sharply" it's "crashed into an immovable object" In those circumstances a badly-arranged harness or mounting point could do a lot more harm than good.
 
Kaznan said:
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.
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We travel with 2 Labradors & have never restrained them. We keep their leads handy & if we were stopped we’d put them on the dogs, it would be difficult for the authorities to prove that the dogs weren’t restrained whilst driving.
 
Anyone who travels with an unrestrained dog is an idiot. In an accident, not only might the dog be killed or seriously injured, but so might passengers. The best way is to attach the dog to a seat belt connection, ensuring the dog is attached by a harness, not the collar. If you don’t have a free seat belt connection then get strong stopping firmly fixed to something immovable.
 
BigNorm said:
We travel with 2 Labradors & have never restrained them. We keep their leads handy & if we were stopped we’d put them on the dogs, it would be difficult for the authorities to prove that the dogs weren’t restrained whilst driving.
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You're missing the point. If you are travelling safely, the dogs are restrained. By command. The law does not require dogs to be physically restrained. It requires them to be suitably restrained.
The law could have specified that the restraint should be by means of a "suitable harness, cage or other enclosure" but it does not specify that. There is a reason.
 
Hellfire said:
Anyone who travels with an unrestrained dog is an idiot. In an accident, not only might the dog be killed or seriously injured, but so might passengers. The best way is to attach the dog to a seat belt connection, ensuring the dog is attached by a harness, not the collar. If you don’t have a free seat belt connection then get strong stopping firmly fixed to something immovable.
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And you think that would help in a serious accident? Pish!
 
witzend said:
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
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And the dog could be killed or injured. Why would anyone risk that?
 
in h said:
You're missing the point. If you are travelling safely, the dogs are restrained. By command. The law does not require dogs to be physically restrained. It requires them to be suitably restrained.
The law could have specified that the restraint should be by means of a "suitable harness, cage or other enclosure" but it does not specify that. There is a reason.
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Absolute nonsense. If you plough into something at 60mph the dogs will hit the front of the van at 60mph. Shouting ‘sit’ at them isn’t going to do it.
 
The law aside, commonsense prevails. We use harnesses and then attach both our dogs just something secure in the motorhome. It is just long enough for them to get their heads between the seats but no further. They cannot get underneath the driver’s feet. In the event of an accident, they are protected as they won’t hit the front windscreen and we are protected as they won’t hit us. Don’t fancy 22 kg in the back of my head!
 
Hellfire said:
Absolute nonsense. If you plough into something at 60mph the dogs will hit the front of the van at 60mph. Shouting ‘sit’ at them isn’t going to do it.
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The point of the restraint is not to keep the animal safe. It's to prevent the animal from interfering with the driving or distracting the driver.
If it was to protect the animal, there would be specified standards.
 
Kaznan said:
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.
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Hi and welcome 👋 we have a dog and just a two berth ours is restrained by her harness and her seatbelt in between the seats where she just lies in her bed she’s quite happy lying there and when we stop she sits on the passenger seat 85E9F1DB-AAAA-4CAA-9BBA-0B91F91C3C17.jpeg1D8774F8-0B6F-4A9A-B4F9-A7FC0E180C32.jpeg
 
We have this. That said, we have recently changed the harness type to a Kurgo, as a lot of "crash tested" harnesses mean they only stop the dog from becoming a missile in the vehicle, but the Kurgo is designed to protect the dog as much as the passengers.

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