Transportation Recommendations

Gracesmum

Gracesmum

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Currently Grace only goes in the car when absolutely necessary as she gets very car sick.

If we are going on a short journey she will travel in the back of the car, loose, but held by the lead by one of my daughters. On these occasions she is not sick but the journey is never more that 3 miles.

For longer journeys we have been transporting her in a cat basket, and she is always sick when in this. The problem is that she has now outgrown the basket and so we have no means of transporting her safely on any journey.

I don't know whether going forward to purchase a harness so that she is free in the car or to purchase a carrier to she is confined. I'm don't know if it's the length of the journey making her sick or the mode of transport. If she is confined it's also easier to clean up any mess. But if this is making her ill would it not be better to have her free? But if she is free-er and in a harness and is then sick, then that's a bit of a mess.

So that's my dilemma. And then when I've chosen what to use, what is the best make or type...there are so many on the market it's quite bewildering.

Grace is nearly 7 months and 7.6kg. Thanks for any tips. :)
 
Cranberry as a puppy rode around in this as a little pupper:
http://cranberrycallie.shutterfly.com/29

until he outgrew it- then he moved to a slightly larger soft crate but still small enough to fit on the seat.
so that was probably ~ 2 months to maybe 8 or 9 months. then he graduated to seatbelt attached to harness. also he's a larger sheltie and more or less outgrew the size crate that would easily fit on the seat

when we picked Dixie up (she was about 10 months)- she went into the previously mentioned seat-sized soft crate. she rode around in that for a couple months until I was sure that there would be harmony on the back seat if all three dogs were belted to their harnesses. she still uses that soft crate at trials.

None of the dogs were ever really car-sick. Dixie did get sick in the car once but I think it was from excess treats...... and not the actual car ride.
 
Thank you for this Callie's mom. I've decided to go with a soft crate similar to yours. If it does her for another couple of months I'll be happy and then we can graduate up to something like a harness later.
 
Gracesmum said:
I don't know whether going forward to purchase a harness so that she is free in the car or to purchase a carrier to she is confined.
Click to expand...

The question shouldn't be whether or not she gets sick, it's whether you want her to become a flying projectile, hit a window and die.

OK, that's a bit extreme, but I've had a Sienna-totalling accident with a dog in the car. So my bias is to ALWAYS have the dog in a crate. Not just for anti-projectile purposes, but when the EMTs come open your door to get you out, you don't want the dog to slip away.
 
Good grief I wouldn't want anything like that to happen. I thought harnesses were safe for dogs and would be safe if an accident happened.

If harnesses are not safe, then that reinforces the need for a crate.
 
Gracesmum said:
Good grief I wouldn't want anything like that to happen. I thought harnesses were safe for dogs and would be safe if an accident happened.

If harnesses are not safe, then that reinforces the need for a crate.
Click to expand...

Harnesses allow for two things that crates do not: dogs do have some freedom of movement and other items can come into contact with dogs. These are not good. Even when harnesses are properly fitted per instructions, the dog can move a bit, potentially putting himself in a position to get injured. The physical barrier a crate provides is obviously beneficial. It can prevent anything in the car from hitting the dog in the course of regular driving, but more importantly, in the case of an accident the crate prevents a significantly worse outcome.

For the OP, crates are the way to go. If you're driving 1/4 mile to the school to pick up the kids or 250 miles on a road trip, the potential for accidents exist and the dog should be restrained. Safety first!
 
If room is no problem (as in you drive an SUV or station wagon), definitely go with a sturdy metal crate. They offer the most protection in the (god forbid) event of an accident.

If you only have a car (like I myself do) you really don't have much choice. I have a hammock-style seat cover which has holes through which you can thread their harnesses/seat belt paraphernalia through. Not quite as secure, but secure enough that they can't try to join you in the driver's seat (one of my girls is a real wuss about riding in cars).

Years ago, with my second Border Collie, I had some terrible problems with him getting car sick. He did this regularly (we still call the place where we would pull over to let him throw up "Max's Pukey Pulloff") until he was about 18 months old. Then it suddenly stopped for no good reason. But I might add, that once we left home, we would pull over in his pukey place, let him barf, and he'd be fine for the rest of the day or evening. It most often happened on obedience class night - once he barfed, he was his normal, goofy self, even when we got back into the car to go home.
 
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