Taking a road trip with your pet and your friends or family sounds like a really fun way to spend a weekend. However, we need to make sure we are careful, as the smallest distraction behind the wheel can end up in an unfortunate event. Therefore, there are many car safety tips we should keep in mind when our animal friends hop into the car with us. This way, we will ensure not only that our pets are safe, but that our friends and family, and any other drivers on the road are safe, too.
There are many different aspects we need to keep in mind before driving with our pet and that will help us make the ride more comfortable and safer for our animal friends. To begin with, we should get to know how our dog will react when inside a car, as the safety measures we take will depend on this. Dogs can have different reactions and behaviors when riding a car, including motion sickness, excessive excitement, and constant vocalization, or continuous barking.
One of the most important safety aspects for driving with our pet in the car is thinking about restraints. This is particularly true for dogs who tend to get too excited. Since dogs might have a serious problem controlling themselves and remaining quiet, we need to make sure we restrain our dogs with some kind of harness, crate, or barrier. This way, they will not interfere with our driving, which could result in an accident. This also helps them be protected, as they could get hurt during a sudden turn or when trying to avoid hitting another car.
Another consideration we must have when traveling by war with our pets is whether they suffer from motion sickness, or if they can’t stop barking the entire time they spend inside the vehicle. If any of this happens to be the case, we need to be mindful and keep a preventive mindset. Thus, we shouldn’t start any car trips if our pets have just finished eating, as this might end up in a messy situation. Some recommend considering sedatives, depending on our pet’s particular situation. However, we should always consult with our veterinarians and follow their recommendations.
Lastly, we need to make sure we always bring enough food and water for our pets to reach throughout the whole trip. Therefore, we should bring containers that are specially designed for car travel, so that our pets can easily access them without a problem. Also, we must avoid leaving a pet inside the car, especially during a hot day, even if the windows are down. Temperatures can rise very quickly, and dehydration is much more dangerous in dogs and other pets than in humans, and they can suffer from a heatstroke and die in a matter of minutes.