Hi all
have just read on teletext that police in great dunmow in essex have warned dog owners not to tie dogs onto car bumpers.
Apparently they stopped a car which had a jack russell terrier trailing behind it,the owners had forgot to untie the dog!!!!.
How bloody stupid can people be and how many times is this going to happen!!!.
Come on you would'nt leave a child tied to a car bumper so why your dog?
It does not say what injuries the animal suffered but it had to have vet treatment.

Good grief - people really are stupid aren't they. It's on a par with those people who leave their children at service stations. We'd certainly know if we didn't have any of our kids as the car would be quiet. :D :D :D

That poor JR will never get in a car again. :(

Fiona
x x x

Hi Derekshea They should prosecute them no if but's or why's that poor little dog
must have been petrified .Hope the little sweetie is over the ordeal by now.

Pat

I have been known to tie the odd dog or horse to the tow hitch whilst I am going round locking up, or reaching into the landy for a coat or something.......I don't think that that in itself is too odd. Driving off is another matter, however I am sure that it was an accident, and these can happen to any one of us at anytime. None of can be perfect 100%, and put under a bit of pressure, we don't always concentrate as we should do.
If this was an act of cruelty, done on purpose, then I would be at the front of the "prosecute them" cue........but somehow I would guess this was a tragic accident.

Hi All

Well our local Animal Shelter is appealing to people not to let their dogs ride in open top cars, vans or trucks. A Springer Spaniel jumped out of his owners truck during the week and ended up under the rear wheels :(

Be careful with your beloved Dogs :D

Derryn

Tell me 2 things:

1. WHY would you tie your dog to a car bumper?

2. WHY would you let your dog ride loose in the car let alone in an open top one ?

Maybe I'm thick but I can't think of any answers to these 2 questions other than Stupid Owners who don't deserve ANY animal if this is how they treat it

Actually I must admit I have hooked Thistle's lead on my car mirror when I had to get the rabbit back in it's hutch in a hurry. It seemed sensible at the time. It's quite another thing driving off though, surely. ( Do you think I don't deserve to have animals then?)
Jane

I get concerned too when I see people hook large and untrained dogs to childrens' buggies. The dog sees a cat or an interesting dog or something and over goes the buggie and child. Child hurt & scared, screams all round, dog in disgrace. Common sense isn't as common as it should be.
Jackie

Yes we occasionally tie ours to the tow hitch when pitching our tent or while we eat our sandwiches at the services, so we have our hands free, but wouldnt ever leave them there unsupervised and I can't see how we would forget them!

I can't understand why people have dogs freely bouncing around in cars anyway, but can anyone confirm why a dog shouldnt be allowed to hang its head out of a car window (apart from the risk of being decapitated) is it something to do with ear or eye damage? as I tutted when I saw this recently and my friend asked what the problem was. I guess if they can get their head through they could also wriggle out if they felt like it.

The risk of something blowing into the eye is the reason. There can be serious damage. We allow Chelsea to stick the tip of her nose out - and she knows 'back up' if she gets that bit too far.

Eye damage can be really nasty - resulting in loss of eye or vision.

For an equivalent idea - imagine riding a motorcycle without a helmet/faceplate

Wendy

Jane I don't know what breed you have but I just wouldn't risk attaching my dogs who can be very strong to anything like a car mirror. They are gundogs and if they get the smell of something, or see a cat or whatever they could be off within seconds. I hope that doesn't offend you :-) it's just my personal opinion. As for me thinking whether you deserve animals or not I guess it depends on how you treat them. If I saw you leaving your dog unattended, tied to a car and not appearing to care then yes I would think you didn't deserve animals, however if I saw you running after a rabbit and your dog was attached to the car well I would have the common sense to come and give you a hand. We can all get into situations that are difficult for a few seconds, they may not be ideal but we do the best we can in that situation and that wouldn't necessarily give me a reason to think you didn't deserve animals :-)

We have often pulled into service stations to eat sandwiches whilst on the way to/from a show but I wouldn't let my dogs out of the car, they stay safely in their car kennel, if it's warm I'll open the tailgate. They will be let out on the lead for exercise and toilet.

As for dogs hanging heads out of windows, that's an accident waiting to happen as far as I'm concerned. Anything could fly into the dogs ears or eyes, if the dog is hanging right out as I've seen some do what happens if a big lorry drives past too close, what happens if the dog see's another dog and tries to squeeze through the gap. What happens if the dog moves it's body around a lot and say pushes the up button on an electric window, very difficult for you to sort out if your on a motorway at 60mph. So IMO you were right to tut at the dog hanging his head out of the window.

Hope I haven't offended anyone, but these are my thoughts for what they are worth. :-)

Claire you must have been reading my thought's :)If Zac got tied
to a car mirror! the mirror and the car wing would go with the dog
I would never tie Zac and leave him.

Pat x

Jane I think you will be ok:D

Tieing a dog to a bumper is a new one in my book. Haven't heard of that one before. But before moving to Germany, I lived in New Mexico, near the Texas & Mexican borders. Lots & lots of people drove with their dogs loose in the back of truck beds. I could understand it if they stayed on the ranch driving slowly. But they'd go through town with large breeds unrestrained in the back end.

My husband & I were horrified at several accidents we witnessed. Dogs always stand on the wheel wells with their heads over the sides. Yes, we saw them thrown out when the vehicles stopped suddenly. Idiots, all of the owners, but don't say anything to them. That's interfering & being rude. There are quite a few types of rear restraints for dogs in trucks, but I only saw them used on out-of-state licensed vehicles.

Of course, many of these same drivers would pack their kids in the back end also. It seemed that seat belts in Mexican vehicles were optional. But the Americans were just as bad. By NM law, front passengers had to be restrained, but not the rear. So it was fairly common to see the parents buckled in, while their four kids were bouncing around in the back seat playing & standing up. Very scary. That place was backwards & very foreign. I was glad to leave there.
toodles

I've been reading this with a very puzzled feeling, would someone please tell me how you tie a dog to the bumper of a modern car ??????
I certainly couldn't on mine the bumpers are almost part of the bodywork. Ingrid

In America where pickups (or dually's) seem to be a lot more common as family vehicles this is a particular problem and many dogs are killed or seriously injured every year. There seems to be something in the genetic makeup of people who have this kind of vehicle that prevents them engaging 'common sense'. And yes, in the past I've tied my dog to the towing hitch or the car bumper, but has been said, they are as much a part of the family as the kids, and I'd no more drive away forgetting the dog than I would forgetting one of the children..... Last time I took a dog out with me and had need to tie it I think I used the 'catch' for the rear tailgate or the tethering points inside the vehicle with the double ended lead....

Years ago, I picked up a couple of inexpensive nylon tie outs that are about12 feet long. One side hooks to a dog's collar/harness, the other is adjustable & is designed to hook to itself after being looped around something like a tree. We've even put a tent stake into the ground after clipping the tie out to it. Great for camping. I'd rather hook to a stationary object anyday than a vehicle & around a parking area/lot. Unfortunately, it seems as if some owners believe that their car is safer..hmmm.
toodles

I would never tie Molly to our car! When we are away on our travels in our motorhome some sites we stay at say to keep you dog on their leads please, we have one of those long extendable leads and tie molly's lead to a hock in side the door of the home and we sit out side with her (dont tell on me but some times we just pertend to have her tied up as she does not need to be! and stops all those looks at you! Don't get me wrong we are responslible with her she just lie's there sniffing the air looking around her, even if other dogs are around us she is not bottered!).

However, I did see some thing last week whilst out on our walk to a park Stockgrove Park, this couple had a black and white jack russell and a boarder collie black and white, had they walk we were just getting Molly out of the car when I saw out of the corner of my eye put the dogs in the boot of the car! not one of these cars which have the parcel shelf off but in the car boot in the dark! I just stood there for a moment thinking "no no could not have just seen that" by the time I had shut my mouth as looking like I was catch fly's they had driven away. Been looking out for them since to say something to them! Have any of you put our dogs in a closed boot of a car!!!! To me that is just terrible!

Julieann

not one of these cars which have the parcel shelf off but in the car boot in the dark

I'm absolutely stunned Juliann. Some people are just incredibly stupid. My parents have got a car like that and Ebony sits on the back seat strapped in with a harness.

They've also got a motorhome and they tie Ebony's lead to a big screw thing that goes into the ground under the motorhome. That way she's still secure but the paintwork on the motorhome doesn't get scratched!!!

Fiona
x x x

In some sallooon cars it is possible to remove the back of the rear seat, so that the dog is actually not enclosed in the boot, but has a cave! I travelled this way with a friend of mine, I sat on half of back seat, and the dogs led half in half out of the boot! It was some kind of Ford I think.

So it may not be as bad as you think.

I sometimes drive hubbies Mondeo, and Missy loves to retreat into the boot and her 'cave' :-)

Fran

I've seen this happen twice now. The last time was last week. A couple with a small dog (can't remember what sort), opened the boot (which included a parcel shelf) and I remember thinking "they aren't going to put them in there!" and they did. Completely closed in.

Mine travel in the back of an estate car with a dog guard and tail gate.

Helen

Well I am having to change my car to a jeep with a gate at the back,I am thinking it is just too dangerous to have a huge dog and passengers in one part of the car,:(
if you had to brake very sudden he would come at you like a missile:EEK: so anyone selling a land rover or cherokee jeep pls:).

Yep, you're very right about the missle thing. My vet told me about a guy who had his Great Dane in the back seat. He had to do the dead stop on the Autobahn one day to not rear end someone. The dog was flung forward against the guy's seat.... Broke his back. The dog was uninjured, but now the owner is paralyzed.

This can happen with loose objects in the back too. When I was still on patrol, I was told by my supervisor to always put the rear seatbelt over my briefcase because of the same problems. Anything can become projectile & thats why my small dogs are hooked in everytime we go somewhere.
toodles

What about carbon monoxide poisoning & overheating?....It sounds insane to put dogs in the trunk... NO Way!!!! ....unless the seats are down.

Ok may be those people did have one of the seats down to make the Cave thing for the dogs. But to be honest I did not see any signs of seats down just out of the corner of my eye (they were right next to us in the carpark) dogs jumped in, boot went down and they drove off. It does seem cruel sorry?

Julieann

Well I guess if they just jumped in, they can't mind it too much can they?

Sam

may be they had no choice?

Julieann

Have just seen an item called "Limpet" sold by Waggers - www.comfy-pet.co.uk. Looks like it attaches by suction to a flat surface and you hook dog's lead to it. The picture in the brochure shows it fixed to a car bumper. Hope people remember to unhook Fido before they set off home. In fairness the dog in the picture is shown lying in the open boot. Also says its ideal for outside shops. Another safety issue ?
PS Not sure if I was allowed to mention website. Sorry.

I wouldn't trust suction cups to hold a dog.... Everytime I use them, for instance, rear window screens, they pop off unless I wet & hold them for a minute. Even then, just a little pressure pops them off regardless if they're small or large ones. :(
toodles