Nancy Freedman-Smith, dog trainer and owner of Gooddogz Training, provides a place for dog owners to find positive training tips, canine-activities and places to visit along with the latest information on keeping your dog healthy and active. Nancy lives with her three young kids, Charlee and Finney the dogs, Yellow the parakeet and Tater-Tot the Hamster. Staying current, keeping fresh, and always learning new things is a must for Nancy and her profession because one thing that animals surely teach you is "the more you know, the more you know you don't know."
To restrain or not restrain??
Karla - one of Portland's finest!
Many many thanks to all you well wishers out there, both on my blog and privately. Car accidents sure are scary. Talk about a reality check! I am banged, bruised, stiff and sore, and more than a little freaked out, but we are all basicially ok.
While getting a few ducks in a row today, I had the pleasure of meeting Karla, Portland's working bomb dog. She goes home with a PPD employee at night and spends most days hanging out in the office when she is not working on location. At 7 years old, she is nearing retirement.
And to answer the most asked question of the week, no my dog was not restrained, she was in the far back seat of my van. In this particular case, if she had been restrained, I think she would have been seriously hurt.
I am a firm believer of car restraints for dogs and often tell my clients to do as I say, not as I do. One of my all time biggest pet peeves-- people who drive with their dogs riding on their laps, or with their dogs jumping all over the car and barking incessantly, jumping from window to window.
Both of those scenarios are inherently dangerous to both dog and owner.
I do have car restraints and often use them on visiting dogs, or rescue dogs. Usually with unknown dogs, I crate or knot the leash and close it outside the car door, so the dog cannot get away when the car door is open and to contain them during the ride.
It is a bit grayer with the dog who rides well in a car. One of the reasons I didn't restrain my dog was so that she can get away from my youngest and not be put in a position where she was hurt and felt the need to bite.
Now now, here me out.
Yes-you do need to supervise dogs and children, but there is no way that a parent can protect a dog every minute of every second of every day. Sometimes when I am driving, my little one reaches back to pet the dog, and my dog knows to step aside if she has had enough. Dogs will fight or fight and I have chosen to give Charlee the option of flight. I have done everything to kid proof my dog, but she is still an animal and a sensitive one at that.
All dogs have the potential to bite, don't ever kid yourself about that.
When little ones are not in my car will I now restrain my dog? Yes, I know so many horrific car/dog accident stories, that I can't choose otherwise.
Update!
I have had quite a few people write to tell me that their dogs can get out of a harness restraint. For a complete review of good harness products check out this article over at the Whole Dog Journal. Articles are available for purchase at the WDJ for a small fee.
Or just bite the bullet and subscribe already.
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Comments
Hi Nancy -- glad to hear you and your dog are doing o.k. -- it is a scary thing and one I think about every time I take Gomez in my car w/me -- I had an accident a few months ago when turning into a department store parking lot and the person coming out didn't see me -- fortunately my dog wasn't w/me -- he rides very well but I am concerned and was wondering if you have any comments re: dogs sitting up front, restrained or not because of the air bags -- that's where my dog likes to sit or lay down most of the time we're traveling -- my problem w/using a harness w/him is that he often likes to circle before settling down, especially in the back seat and I'm afraid of him getting "tangled" in the harness, especially if I'm not able to see him -- the dog I had before him would simply lay down and the harness was no problem -- I too get upset when I see drivers holding their dogs while operating their vehicles -- 2 of my biggest concerns for any dogs I see in various vehicles are those that are allowed to "hang outside" the window
( don't owners realize they could accidentally come to close to something 'causing injury to their dog) or to see dogs riding loose in the back of a truck even tho', I believe, there is a law in Maine stating they should be restrained -- I don't understand why owners don't realize that if they need to make a quick stop ( as in the case of someone running a red light) that their dog can fly out of the truck and either land on the ground or hit another car 'causing injury to not only the dog but also the operator or passengers in that vehicle --
June 16, 2006 12:11 PM
Hi Pat,
Gomez would most likely get used to a harness and get over having to circle three times (really he doesn't need to pat down the field grass!) When given boundaries, most dogs learn to accept them and get on. Air bags are really not safe for kids under age nine of average height, or under 90 pounds, so little dogs like yours would not fair well.
June 16, 2006 01:12 PM
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