I have a cage it has two doors at the back with divider for two dogs or you can have the divider out to make it bigger,what worries me slightly is there are no other escape door if the car was shunted from the rear and I couldnt get my tailgate up my dogs would be trapped,Ive heard of this before.So its really a good question about safety.Mattie My older bitch goes on the back seat and Minnie in the cage as she is young.The rescue dogs if young go in the cage as I am usually on my own collecting them and can consentrate on my driving better with them restained.
When we had our accident in may (our caravan jacknifed on the motorway) I had left collars and leads on the dogs which I never normally do and it must have been fate cos I got them out no trouble straight away so I would advise everyone to always have collars and leads nearby or on the dogs in case of an accident,we had to get our dogs out very quicky we hit the central crash barrier and ended up accross three lanes at one point.Luckily only slightly hurt and the dogs were fine.

We bought our car cages about 12 years ago now and they have escape doors built into the back of them.....just incase. In a rear shunt Mattie, any dogs in the back of the car will be thrown through the back windscreen so without the cages, the dogs would have almost certainly been killed. They will stand a better chance of survival in a cage even if they are trapped. Very few dogs survive being 'thrown clear'.

We tend to hang our slip leads on hooks on the cages. We also keep a spare slip lead in the front of the car. I have scooped up several 'loose' dogs over the years, when we have come across them running around in the road.

I am glad that you and yours were not to hurt :-)

Leigh

My ex brother in law's mother was tragically killed a few years ago when she unexplainedly swerved off the road. The police thought that the likely culprit was her labrador (who survived) jumping on her while she was driving. He was sitting in the back seat, unrestrained and uncaged.

Please don't keep collars and leads on dogs in the car - particularly leads. In the last few years I have known 2 dogs who have managed to hang themselves by their lead in the car (both of them killed). One was a miniature poodle, the other a Griffon Bruxellois.

I am now very wary of leaving collars on when not out with the dogs following an experience on holiday in Scotland last November. One of my puppies, Django, then just under 9 months old, was playing with his brother Dylan owned by a friend of mine who was on holiday with me. Suddenly Dylan started to scream and my friend and I leapt to the rescue to find Dylan had his tooth caught in Django's collar. It took a few moments to separate them and it was only when separated that I realised that Django had stopped breathing and was just lying limp in my arms. We had to give artificial respiration to bring Django round, had we not been in the room with them and reacted so quickly my beloved boy would have been dead. The following day he had two bright red eyes caused by pressure haemorrhages but luckily had no other ill effects. My dogs now no longer wear collars unless I am out walking with them or else working with them. I do agree that collars and leads or slip leads should be close at hand incase of accident.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Just for the record it is a legal requirement that ALL dogs have a collar and tag on at all times in a public place :-) I am glad your dog was ok Joan. What a nightmare for you. Leigh Edited. 12.18pm. Thank you Joan

Wrong Leigh, it is a legal requirement that All dogs have a collar and tag on IN A PUBLIC PLACE. My home is not a public place! I think I said that they do have a collar on when we are out for a walk.

It was a nightmare.

Joan
Take the rough and the smooth

The inside of a Car is a public place in some circumstances :-) Leigh

True, that was decided by the courts in one DD case. I would be willing to argue, in court if necessary, that the inside of the cage in my car was not a public place, even if the car was, and also would feel that the safety of my dogs comes first, even if that got me in trouble. <imho>

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Gun laws were already in place that deemed a car a public place, so I don't know why a court had to re-invent the wheel for the DDA ? :D

A cage in a car is still in a public place so you could lose that arguement Joan.

I totally agree with you about the safety of our dogs. My dogs are never worked with collars on :-)

Leigh

NB: I am ready to be cuffed now PCP

Reading the posts here makes me wonder if you consider the dog's safety to be more important than the drivers!

Why do you think that Sharon ?

I too have my dogs caged, with a removeable divider, 2 doors to the front and an escape door at the rear. I also hang my collar's and leads at the side of the cage, the cage was specifically made to fit our model of car. Drivers and passengers are safe because they wear seatbelts and it's their responsibility and choice to do so, the dogs however don't get a choice it is up to us how they travel and I think that is what this thread is talking about, not whether we consider a dogs safety more important than the drivers

I agree Claire, I was certainly not meaning that the safety of my dogs was more important than the drivers or passengers safety. By keeping my dogs in a fitted cage in the car (my cage is purpose built by Lintran and is divided into four, each division can take 2 dogs) I also help to ensure my own safety because my dogs wouldn't be thrown forward to hit me or my passengers in the case of an accident. It also helps to ensure the safety of other traffic as my dogs cannot distract me into causing an accident.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Not at all Sharon. Thats why my dogs are caged. I don't want to be killed by a blow on the head from 70lb of GSP or 90lb of Bracco :-) and I don't want my animals to cause other collisions because they have been thrown clear of my vehicle.The only way to guarantee that this won't happen is to cage them.

O.k - I consider myself told off!!!!!!

Perhaps we will be in the next cells then Leigh!

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

LOL .. have you seen the new 'cuffs'? I prefered the key type myself :D

I'd be arguing that it were not a public place also since my experience is that there must be probable cause to search a vehicle otherwise it is unlawful entry and search. In other words, the officer must either get permission to search the vehicle or must have solid belief that there is a reason for performing the search and able to prove WHY he/she felt that they would find what they found and/or a search warrant. Of course, my education is in the United States legal systems, so perhaps due cause is not a viable issue in the UK.

Basically, the US courts treat the vehicle as property of the individual, same as they treat houses. My understanding from my husband is that search warrants are necessary in the UK for homes except in very specific cases.

Ah, well.... ya learn something new every day. Like you, Joan, I'd certainly be unhappy and willing to argue. One case does not necessarily establish case law until it has been tested and upheld.

Just as a side bit, our Barjo crate has a removable divider, two back doors and two escape doors. I keep leashes on both sides so that if I need to remove the dogs from the rear or from the interior of the car I have the ability to do so.

One of my Golden Retriever friends in the States were going to a dog show, loaded with dogs in their van. They were hit by a car and the van rolled several times. Both driver and passenger were shaken up tremendously (seat-belted) and the consensus was that the crates being firmly attached saved the dogs from serious injury.