Do any of you have some good tips traveling with your Basenjis in the car?

He doesn't hate the car nor does he freak out/get sick/etc but he just won't stay still! He walks between the passenger seat, drivers seat, & the back seat. Today on our way to the Pet Superstore he actually climbed onto my neck & I was so afraid he was going to fall off the back of my seat into the back seat floorboard. I managed to get him down & yet again place him int he passenger seat thankfully but I swear he is going to cause me to crash one of these days :eek:

I have tried putting him the passenger seat with a bully stick. I have tried putting him in the back seat with a bully stick & even blocked the little space so he couldn't get in the front. He managed to climb his way up & latch on to my arm to pull himself over onto my lap! Haha. Clever little guy but dangerous!

Any tips would be sooo incredibly helpful!

Crate or seat belt harness it's the best thing and the safest for them for anything, and especially you so he doesn't distract you while driving. Petsmart has the seat belt harness, I use them because a crate is not feasible with my car

Cory drove me nuts in the car too and so now she is always crated when we go anywhere….even to run errands. Jayden is better behaved in the car and is able to ride with a seat belt harness if he goes on an errand by himself with one of us.

Pat

Zahra learned how to get out of the one that I got her from PetSmart, it was the one with the fleece lining. I ended up getting her one from Guardian Gear and it goes around her neck and her body like a harness (a little different than the PetSmart one).

Here is a link to the Guardian one at PetEdge
http://homeandkennel.petedge.com/Guardian-Gear-Dog-Safety-Harnesses-ZW612.pro?parentCategoryId=194&categoryId=224&subCategoryId=402

You can't beat the price, I ended up having to get Chase the same kind too because Zahra must have taught him how to get out of his harness.

Ruby rides in a crate in the car. I like the fact that she is confined should there be an accident. Also on the crate vs. seatbelt choice, Ruby was already a well traveled dog in a crate (vari-kennel type was what her breeder used) before I got her. However, I prefer the crate anyway because if for some reason she wasn't feeling well, the cleanup would be a lot easier in the crate than on my seats (if she were belted).

It definitely wouldn't be safe to have her running around loose in my car (and trust me, that is exactly what would happen).

IMO, it is never safe to ever have a dog (or cat for that matter) loose in a vehicle… either crate them or secure them with a harness. If you were ever in an accident not only would they be flying through the vehicle, but if the windows or doors opened... they would be gone.... or thrown out...

I wouldn't let him run around. I don't have a harness thing, but if I'm not in my car, I just wrap his leash around something close so he can move at most 1 foot, but in my car, I just attach the end of his leash to the cargo hook in the back and since I have a hatch back subaru, I just leave him there with a bed and a dog guard to separate him from the rest of the car.

First and foremost is safety - of the pet… So a harness or something that gets them buckled in is important... I actually called Volvo about where to put a pet in a vehicle - they said not in the front seat, rather, put the pet in the back (like kids) and buckle them in...

Then, IMO, next is comfort - of the pet... I put a moving blanket in the back seat, and connect a leash to one of those hooks behind the back seat...

If the back seat of your vehicle doesn't fold flat, put boxes and such, where the gap is (i.e. the bottom gap, between front and back seats - see 2nd photo)...

Anyway, if the blanket gets dirty, it's easy enough to wash!

See below to see what I mean... My B usually paces in the back when we start driving, then she settles down and sits in the center 'coz she likes to see the front, too (like the driver)...

I've driven cross country twice with my basenji. I make up the back seat for her and make frequent stops. For her as long as she's comfortable she's fine and will take long naps. However, sometimes she will ride with me in the passenger seat to see what's happening.

I have used the doggie seat belt in the past but after a while she got use to sitting in the back and eventually I didn't have to use it.

Tanza makes a very good point - no matter how well your dog behaves in the vehicle (EL D moves around some but basically sits nicely in the seat on his own), if an accident should happen, out the door the dog would go. You might not be in a condition to run after him/her (God forbid). I never considered that possibility – I for one will be getting a harnass asap - what a great resource this forum is!

We crate ours when they go in the car. I think they stand a better chance of surviving a crash in a crate. We know of someone that had a bad accident on the way to a show and all the dogs were fine because they where in crates.
Being an airborne projectile is not a good thing.

After posting this I did go out & buy a safety harness but I have to say, I HATE it. fter driving only about 3 miles Dallas has tangled himself in it so well that he was suffocating himself & I had to pull over on the side of the road to untangle him. It was scary & since I have only used it twice for fear that he'll do it again. For those who use this, am I doing something wrong?!? I just put it on him & slipped the seatbelt through the top loop but he kept going in between the belt & the seat thus causing the harness to tangle to the point of him being cut off at the neck!

I did use the crate to drive up to Orlando to visit Michelle because of how long of a trip it was but not only did he pee in the crate twice but he screamed the ENTIRE way there! I tried giving him everything from a kong filled wit kibble & peanut butter to a bully stick but he showed no interest.

Any other suggestions?

@Ninabeana26:

After posting this I did go out & buy a safety harness but I have to say, I HATE it. fter driving only about 3 miles Dallas has tangled himself in it so well that he was suffocating himself & I had to pull over on the side of the road to untangle him. It was scary & since I have only used it twice for fear that he'll do it again. For those who use this, am I doing something wrong?!? I just put it on him & slipped the seatbelt through the top loop but he kept going in between the belt & the seat thus causing the harness to tangle to the point of him being cut off at the neck!

I did use the crate to drive up to Orlando to visit Michelle because of how long of a trip it was but not only did he pee in the crate twice but he screamed the ENTIRE way there! I tried giving him everything from a kong filled wit kibble & peanut butter to a bully stick but he showed no interest.

Any other suggestions?

Keep taking him for rides… start with short ones maybe just around the block... make sure the crate is "stable" in the car and doesn't rock around with him in it... and if necessary, buy earplugs... they all need to be contained when in a vehicle...

And what about the trip home? Did he scream the entire way home too?

@tanza:

Keep taking him for rides… start with short ones maybe just around the block... make sure the crate is "stable" in the car and doesn't rock around with him in it... and if necessary, buy earplugs... they all need to be contained when in a vehicle...

Pat, I was going to suggest ear plugs too!

Eventually, when you ignore them, they quiet down and go to sleep.:)

@tanza:

And what about the trip home? Did he scream the entire way home too?

Well no not as much because he fell asleep after playing with Nike & Mia all afternoon. It's an hour and a half drive & on the way home he probably only screamed for about 10 or 15 minutes before finally falling asleep & slept all the way until about 5 minutes before getting home. His crate was secure & he wasn't moving around. Guess he's just used to not being crated in the car?

I'll keep trying the harness for shorter trips & see if he will stop tangling himself up in it.

@Ninabeana26:

Well no not as much because he fell asleep after playing with Nike & Mia all afternoon. It's an hour and a half drive & on the way home he probably only screamed for about 10 or 15 minutes before finally falling asleep & slept all the way until about 5 minutes before getting home. His crate was secure & he wasn't moving around. Guess he's just used to not being crated in the car?

I'll keep trying the harness for shorter trips & see if he will stop tangling himself up in it.

I would continue with the Crate.. and get him "tired" before going. Pretty soon he will know that car rides are a good thing, except for that once in a while trip to the Vet…

Okay thanks! I love this forum

Nicky my crate phobic dog screamed the entire 3 hour drive from Davis to Dillon's Beach the second week we had him. He also screamed the entire drive back. We continued to crate him every time he rode in the car though and we traveled with him frequently to visit family, attend lure trials, and just around town. It didn't take him too many car trips to figure out the 99% of the time he gets in that crate to go somewhere it is going to be somewhere fun. At 10 years old he will still occassionally cry for 5 minutes or so just so we know he is back there but really he likes getting in his car crate.

I am also finally going to be viewing Crate Games tonight and giving it a try.

I crate Apache, and after a few whiney rides he was fine. Chey and Marlowe are in harnesses and now, they settle down pretty fast. I take a lot of 4-5 hour trips to Az and the first few times I did it with all three I was ready to stop the car and take off running after about an hour. It was AWFUL! Nervous farting, non stop whining and Chey and Marlowe up and down, tangling each other up. Apache, who was fine in the crate, would still whine with the other two. I would stop twice…for my sanity, to untangle them and to let them stretch their legs. Now, we do the whole trip without stopping, Chey and Marlowe have their spots they settle into and only get up and fuss when we stop for gas and get to our destination.

I do have to say, I prefer Apache in the crate and will go that route with all my future dogs...once I get a bigger truck!