Car seat

Discussion of useful training and pet care tools.

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Erica
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Location: North Carolina

Re: Car seat

Post by Erica »

How often (approximately) will you make this trip? Sedative won't be something like anesthesia for surgery, more like something to make him drowsy. Maybe an anti-nausea effect as well (or a separate medication for that). The truth is simply this: you have to do *something* for him if you want him to be content in the car. No harness or crate will magically make him love it. A medication to break the "go for a car ride -> get anxious about car rides because they're not fun -> get nauseous from anxiety -> learn car rides are still awful" cycle could help him make huge strides.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Shalista
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Re: Car seat

Post by Shalista »

ive tried a homeopathic herbal remedy but it didnt do anything for him =( i dont remmebr which one i tried though and i think i threw out the package.

it would be at most once a week and it currently looks like its going to be a 2 hr ride though it could be more or less depending
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Car seat

Post by JudyN »

If it was homeopathic - well, Nettle will disagree but there's plenty who believe that homeopathy simply doesn't work. Adaptil tablets are supposed to be good, and I've also heard good things about Nupafeed Stress-Less. But your vet should be able to provide something more powerful if these aren't enough.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: Car seat

Post by Shalista »

yeah i guess atm the purpose of this thread is to figure how to carry him. whether or not i end up medicating him i'll decide later.

So my options are

1) a harness that is not safety rated, either in the footwell or on the seat next to me
pros: i can pet him and he can see me
cons: not as safe

2) a carrier that IS safety rated
pros: it's safer
cons: he hates crates, and he cant see me
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Car seat

Post by JudyN »

Shalista wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:33 am 1) a harness that is not safety rated, either in the footwell or on the seat next to me
pros: i can pet him and he can see me
cons: not as safe
How relaxed is he in that situation? Does it make a huge difference, or is he just marginally happier?

And what sort of roads will the journey be on? High speed, busy, lots of junctions, or quieter? (Basically, how likely are you to have an accident at significant speeds?)

Something that may make the passenger seat a safer option is filling the footwell with something so there's more of a level surface - so if you brake suddenly he won't end up suspended by his harness over the footwell (we fill the footwells of the back seat, where J travels, with old folded-up dog beds).

It's a case of balancing risks, and it may be worth running the very remote risk of a serious injury or death to avoid the much higher risk of a highly upset Bax. Some will disagree, but if we wanted life to be risk free we wouldn't even get in a car in the first place. And I remember the days when us children were transported completely unrestrained in the back of the family estate (station wagon)!
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Car seat

Post by Shalista »

mostly a combination of backroads and highways, not much stop and go, but moving at a pretty brisk pace. i really am leaning towards the harness over carrier. i think he'd be much more comfortable and if the airbag isn't going to deploy i dont see much difference between clipping the harness to the seat where i can pet him, and putting him in the footwell, safety wise.

So harness, on front seat, with the footwell filled with blankets sounds liek the plan of action =)

I think I'm going to get him a cushier harness than the ttouch though for travel, its not very forgiving.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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Nettle
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Re: Car seat

Post by Nettle »

That sounds a good plan. :) Something like a soft dog bed or duvet squashed up part in the footwell and part on his side of the dash should provide sufficient cushioning. He should enjoy his car rides then, and be close to you as well.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Shalista
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Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Car seat

Post by Shalista »

Question on sizing.

Bax's neck is 11 inch
chest 16 inch
weight 12 pounds

I keep running into him fitting for the girth measurements but being to heavy for the harness itself. Thoughts?

for example - I'm looking at this one and he fits for the extra small girth wise but hes about 2 pounds to heavy weight wise.

The small TECHNICALLY fits but when i girth measure him he's very wriggly and i think i'm being generous with the 12 and 16 inch measurements i got.

Someone said that their 10-12 pound jack russel uses a small and jacks are built kinda like rattys so i'm leaning towards the small?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: Car seat

Post by Erica »

I'd suggest trying to contact the company itself for advice. They're all so different -- the weight measurements might be arbitrary, or it might adjust a few more inches than it says on the package.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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