Traveling in the Car with Dogs

As if you didn't have enough to worry about when packing your own things for vacation, if you take your dog(s), you can't forget their necessities!  Traveling with dogs is like traveling with kids.  OK, let's be real here, I have no idea what it's like to travel with kids, but I can imagine it's tough!  My husband and I took our dogs on a road trip last year because we were going to be out of town for 5 nights.  Not only do we miss our dogs when we travel, but it was more cost effective to take them with us as the hotel only charged $150 pet fee.  It costs us $50 per night to board them at a kennel, so it saved a little money.  We made sure we had proper safety equipment to restrain them, because they love to sit in our laps and we knew that was very dangerous in a moving vehicle! 

I believe that one of the most important things you need to consider when traveling in the car with your dogs is how to secure them.  If you were to get in a car accident and your dogs are unsecured, they turn into projectiles.  Now I don't know about you, but I don't want my 25lb dog flying at me at 75mph.  There are some nice contraptions to keep your dog safe while on the road.  Assuming your dog is one the smaller side, one of the cheapest options is a dog crate.  You can pick one up at your local Wal-Mart for around $30 if you don't already own one.  This keeps the dog secured and you can place it on the floor or in the backseat of your car.  Another option that can be reasonably priced is a dog seat belt.  It looks like a beefed up version of a dog harness that either attaches to the seat belt in your car or hooks into the car seat latch.  This not only holds your dog in place during an accident, but prevents your dog from attempting to climb into your lap or blocking your site.  The third option is a car barrier, which corrals them into either the backseat, or trunk area if you have an SUV or station wagon.  I think that out of these three option, the car barrier is the least safe.  Although it prevents the dog from getting in your way, it allows the most amount of room for movement.  This could end up hurting the dog in the event of a collision. 

While I know that many people won't listen to this advice, I believe it is important to take to heart.  As I said previously, you really don't want your dog to turn into a projectile.  Seat belt or restraint safety should be just as important for your furry passengers as it should be for the human ones.