Anyone that visits a dog park or beach will obviously need to travel with their pet to get there unless they happen to be within walking distance. There are really two main things that you should be concerned with when it comes to traveling in a car with your pooch: safety and cleanliness.
Dog Car Safety
Just like for people, it can be hazardous for dogs to ride in a car. In the event of an accident, a pet can be severely injured or even killed if they are not secured. Pet carriers are commonly used to transport dogs, but they can actually be harmful to them in a crash because there is nothing to secure them in place – both they and the carrier can be propelled forward until something stops them.
The safest way to travel with a dog in your car or other motor vehicle is to use a safety harness restraint that essentially buckles them into your car as a seat belt does for you.
Wearing one of these devices during a crash will distribute the force evenly on a dog’s core and keep them securely in place just like a seat belt. This prevents them from being injured by being thrown into the back of the seat in front of them or from being completely thrown from the vehicle.
Keeping Your Car Clean & Comfort For Your Dog
We love our dogs, but their fur can be a bit of an inconvenience. Nobody really likes getting their car upholstery completely covered in dog fur, especially since it will stick to every person that sits in that same seat afterward.
Luckily, there are simple and cheap products that you can get for your car to completely eliminate this problem and also provide some extra comfort for your pet at the same time.
Dog hammocks create a cradle for your pet between seats and over the normal seat. This accomplishes a couple of important things.
First, it keeps your dog off your car seats so they cannot directly transfer fur by simply sitting or laying there. Second, this is definitely a more comfortable seat and ride for your pooch. When a car is moving, it is lurching forward and backward as well as side to side.
If you have ever watched a dog ride free in a car, they get thrown and rocked all over the place. The hammock cradles them to help keep them in one spot during the entire ride so they no longer get thrown around.
Car Travel Accessories for Dogs- Pet Stairs For Tall Vehicles
Many dog owners love their large vehicles like minivans, SUVs and trucks. If you have a bad back and/or have a large dog, this can present a big problem – getting your animal into the vehicle. In a lot of cases, the step up from the ground to the van or truck will be too high for a dog to comfortably jump.
I have seen a lot of owners simply picking up their pets to get them in, but this is obviously something that can get tiring pretty quick.
There are stairs made for pets that will assist them into a tall vehicle or even into a house entrance that is too high. They are lightweight and portable, so it is something you can carry around with you in your vehicle to pull out when your pet is ready to get in or even out. After all, if the jump is too much to get in the car, you certainly don’t want your dog jumping out onto the pavement.
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