Riding in the Car

[Birdie]

How do you get them to calm down in a car? I have tried to let ride in the front seat…. big mistake, she was all over me. Jumping from front to back seat, back and forth. I had to pull over and secure her to a seatbelt so it would keep her in the back. She hated that, but she was in her harness, she can look out both windows, get on the floor and can’t get in the front seat or on my neck behind my head!  This is the 3rd time we have practiced. Maybe she will calm down. Do they?  She is looking at everything and is so excited. 

[bradl]

2 hours ago, Birdie said:

How do you get them to calm down in a car?

Crate. 

Safer for you, safer for them. I surely don't want them looking out the window (and, being Cairns, backseat driving )

[Hillscreek]

Agree. Crate.

[CamilleatGaelforce]

Another vote for crating!  I went so far as to trade in a 2016 Honda CR-V on a Chrysler Pacifica this spring, just so that I had room for three #200 Vari-Kennels.  They are strapped down front to back with nylon cargo straps and a "come-along" type buckle like movers use to secure cargo, hooked to the cargo hook in the back and the second row seat anchor at the front.  The mini-van has lots of good ventilation in the back two seat rows, so the dogs have good airflow, and don't have to wear harnesses, which may or may not adequately restrain a dog in a crash.  Another benefit is that the crate protects the dogs from airbags and flying debris, which a harness in the car's seat cannot do.  (As a happy side effect, my '22 Pacifica is a plug in hybrid, so I doubt I have burned even one gallon of gasoline in the month or so I've had it!)  I wish the dogs liked riding in crates as much as they liked looking out the window, but at least I know they are as safe as they can be while traveling in a car. 

[pkcrossley]

i think crating must be the best answer. my first cairn had a harness that clipped to the seat belt, and he rode in the back. it wasn't too long till i looked in the rear view mirror and saw he had somehow suspended himself upside down, pinned against the seat and dangling from the seat belt. was riding pretty contentedly, but that can't be the preferred method. 

[Eliz222]

We used a crate until Atticus was too big for it. Now we use a harness and a seat belt. I have a seat cover for the backseat of my car so Atticus can't see out the windows.

seat cover

 

This works for us. Atticus either sits up or sleeps in the back seat. So far we haven't had any problems and we have traveled over 7 hours with the little guy in the back seat. If Atticus wasn't calm in the car, we would probably use a crate too.

[Toto-lee Cairn]

This Toto, and the one before, have a seatbelt with an adjustable length that attaches to a harness.  Both have done very well traveling on the backseat, but I also think a crate might be a good choice.  Ours would have to go in the cargo section of the Subaru and I think even then I'd have to put one of split back seats down.

When I worked with a Cairn rescue group, dogs were required to be transported in a crate.  It was also from the rescue group that I learned about the advantages of putting the little guys in harnesses.  So much easier to grab hold of in situations that may arise.

[rubysmom]

I we put ours in a car seat. It’s raised so she can see out and she’s in her own space so she feels more in control. Prevents us from having to hold her (as we know cairns sometimes hate that) and keeps her safe in the car. 

[Toto-lee Cairn]

Got my first Toto from a Cairn Rescue group that advocates dogs being in crates when in a car.  Just not realistic for us unless we are traveling some unusual distance, and luggage is limited to what will fit on the back seats instead of in the cargo area.

I did like their suggestion of having Toto in a harness, and he has harnesses in every color, style for anything you can imagine.  I found a seat belt that latches onto his harness, about mid-back, and then into the car's seat belt latch.  You can adjust how much 'slack' you want to give the dog, and Toto can sit and look out, or he can relax on the seat.  He cannot get anywhere near the front seats, or 'roam' the back.

By contrast, if the Weimaraner, Rupert, is on the back seat, he likes to lay his head on George's shoulder.  The 'perfect' dog, as George calls him, being of course, 'perfect.'