Travelling with dogs in vehicles

Highway Code Rule 57

"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."
 
twiggy2 said:
I keep seeing this shared on Facebook and just assumed its fake due to the mention of a dog car seat being classed as safe
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See Highway Code Rule 57.

It's somebody trying to get the message out there that dogs should be properly restrained in a vehicle. If the Police pull you over because they think you are driving without due care and attention/dangerous driving you could receive between 3 and 9 points on your licence and if you are in an accident with a dog loose in the vehicle, your vehicle and pet insurance could be invalidated. Not to mention being stung with a fine of up to £5000.

I just wanted to point out that dog guards were an acceptable form of restraint and they weren't mentioned in the post and the other thing not mentioned was if a dog was injured in an accident and they weren't suitably restrained then that's the dog's insurance f*cked too.

The only dog car seat that I have seen is the one used by my neighbour's son for his little dog and he is strapped in it.
 
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Dog guards are fine we have a dog guard but still use a harness so they are also secured in the vehicle .I have a friend who was in a tail shunt in queueing motorway traffic .
The car hitting her car in the back broke the tail gate window and the dogs although behind a dog gate were able to jump out of the broken back window and escape the vehicle (one was killed the other injured by another vehicle.)
Crates and secure harnesses would prevent the dogs getting out of the vehicle if the back window is broken.
 
One other things that's worth noting with putting dogs in the boot, is that the boot is designed to be a crumple zone and so wont offer your dogs must protection. Less of an issue in a vehicle with a big boot but in small cars it's worth thinking about. You can get crates that are designed to protect the dogs in that scenario.
 
I drive a 2015 Renault Twingo, and with my 20kg lad being older and after his cruciate surgery, he travels in the boot and uses a ramp to get in.

He does 6 car journeys a month, but I am always hyper aware that the boot of the Twingo is a crumple zone - even more so because the engine is in the rear, and it’s designed to get shunted underneath the car so as to protect rear passengers in the event of getting rear ended.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a safer way to travel him? A new vehicle is out of the question, unfortunately. Perhaps a harness to help lift him onto the back seat?
 
Ours are in a big travel crate in the back of the car. But I don't imagine that their crate is robust in the event of a collision. Are there any safety standards or good manufacturers to look out for when choosing a better box to travel them in?
 
Because of how my car is loaded for work, Posy is a front seat passenger. In a bed and with a harness/seatbelt. Have this box type bed in one car, and a fluffy type one (but still car bed that is strapped around the seat)

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CorvusCorax said:
Trans K9 as mentioned, if you're in Europe you'll have easier access to companies like WT Metal, Metbox, Gla-wel etc etc.
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Thanks - this is great. We're in Canada but looks as though Trans K9 have a US distributor so fingers crossed they might ship here. Sometimes it's like being on another continent, lol.
 
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