Pets

[Bella1969]

Hey everyone,

A question to those of you travelling with furry companions, I assume much the same as in a car but just to clarify really, do dogs need to be harnessed in if they are going to be travelling with you, as I am going to have to think about anchorage points as know they wouldn't be safe in a crate.... any advice I would be grateful of, many thanks in advance

 

[TheBig1]

Dogs in cars: the laws of the road​

Q) What laws of the road should dog owners be aware of when it comes to travelling with a dog?

Elizabeth West is an associate at Cohen Cramer Solicitors. She heads up the Four Legs Law team and answered our question:

“It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that dogs are suitably restrained when travelling in a vehicle. Unfortunately, however, this is something many people are unaware of and therefore continue to travel with their dog in a vehicle unrestrained.

“Rule 57 of the Highway code states 'when in a vehicle make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves if you stop quickly. A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars.'

“Whilst breaching the Highway Code is not necessarily an offence in itself, if the Police find you are distracted as a result of travelling with an unsecured dog, or you are involved in an accident as a result, you may be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention, or even dangerous driving.

“Further, an unrestrained dog could in some circumstances invalidate your car insurance meaning if you are involved in an accident you could become personally liable for the costs and expenses associated with this.

“In addition, a dog is much more likely to suffer injury or death if they are not secured in a vehicle, or if inappropriate restraints are used. You are responsible for the welfare of your dog whilst travelling in a vehicle. Therefore, you could also risk being prosecuted under The Animal Welfare Act 2006, for causing unnecessary suffering to your dog.

“It is simple and relatively inexpensive to suitably restrain your dog, so why risk injury to your dog or other people.”

 

[RustyRuss]

I bolted one of these to a small recess i shaped in the floor near the Hab door. I used very long stainless steel screws that i got from an engineers merchant, along with a couple of galvanised brackets and I lock nuts to secure it around the chassis rail of the van. Secure the dogs using a y shaped stretch lead to their harness and the shackle. The dogs heads just reach between the seats and they can lie around on the floor with relative freedom. Shackle being by hab door means it’s easy to secure them as they jump into the van.

Cheers!

Russ

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[Minxy]

Read this and thought it was a whoosh bang

Me too, at first !

And me!

 

[Minxy]

Ours lie between the cab seats against the centre console and another one in the passenger footwell in beds. I won't use harnesses as they are likely to cause damage to a dog from the 'jerking' from sharp breaking. Cages are a definite nono as I wouldn't want them to hit the bars etc. When we travel they rarely move preferring to snooze.

I note that quite a few use harnesses & tethers of some sort stating that the dogs can move around but IMV these are lethal. In an accident the dog will travel to the end if the tether and then be brought to a sudden stop putting a lot of g-force on the dog's body in the process. If you use a tether it should be as short as possible to keep the dog in place with no travel distance possible, just as with a human seatbelt.

Regarding harnesses, there are very few which are made that would actually stay together, ie not rip/pull apart, in an accident so make sure if you do use one to secure your dog that it's one of these. There was a thread about this a year or so ago which identified the best ones

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[Phill D]

Ours lie between the cab seats against the centre console and another one in the passenger footwell in beds. I won't use harnesses as they are likely to cause damage to a dog from the 'jerking' from sharp breaking. Cages are a definite nono as I wouldn't want them to hit the bars etc. When we travel they rarely move preferring to snooze.

I note that quite a few use harnesses & tethers of some sort stating that the dogs can move around but IMV these are lethal. In an accident the dog will travel to the end if the tether and then be brought to a sudden stop putting a lot of g-force on the dog's body in the process. If you use a tether it should be as short as possible to keep the dog in place with no travel distance possible, just as with a human seatbelt.

Regarding harnesses, there are very few which are made that would actually stay together, ie not rip/pull apart, in an accident so make sure if you do use one to secure your dog that it's one of these. There was a thread about this a year or so ago which identified the best ones

I am no fan of cages in a motorhome and believe they will cause as much if not more harm to a dog in a collision than being free to roam the van.
Our old dog now passed never needed a tether or anything while travelling he was that chilled out.
As a preference I would not use any form of restraint but
Our new pup does need restraining on occasions so a decent body harness and a tether is used when that is necessary.

In a collision we all know we and our dogs are in as much danger from other objects in the van.

 

[Landy Andy]

It’s not law to restrain your dog. So I don’t.

 

[fordsabroad]

I have a swift Rio 310 and make the double bed behind the diver/passenger seat up. My greyhound lays on that just as she would at home. She occasionally gets up to turn around but has zero interest in what is going on around her. She is very happy to travel for hours like this.

 

[Bella1969]

Thanks again everyone, totally appreciate everyone's input, personally I don't like the idea of restraints for my chaps either but having been a driving instructor I've seen some awful sights and I would rather my chaps had some bruises rather than taking any chance of them being wiped out in an accident....

 

[Silver-Fox]

“Whilst breaching the Highway Code is not necessarily an offence in itself, if the Police find you are distracted as a result of travelling with an unsecured dog, or you are involved in an accident as a result, you may be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention, or even dangerous driving.

I was correct then

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[Bella1969]

Thanks again everyone, totally appreciate everyone's input, personally I don't like the idea of restraints for my chaps either but having been a driving instructor I've seen some awful sights and I would rather my chaps had some bruises rather than taking any chance of them being wiped out in an accident....

I guess a better way to look at this topic and I'm showing my age admitting as a child I was the 4th child and there wasn't even a seat for me so I was put in the boot with the dogs , then when I passed my test didn't wear a seat belt and drove bare foot for fear of scuffing my stilettos , now its second nature I would never leave my grandchildren loose so same for my fur kids I..