Car Rides

Haddie outgrew her last kennel a month ago, and the large size kennel is a tight squeeze into the back of our Rav4 (not to mention a complete hassle getting it in/out of the house for all our outings). After great feedback from all of you, I decided on the following.

I purchased a seat belt harness at the local pet supply store. And using the tie out that we purchased from our CCI Chapter, I hook the tie out to the harness and to the metal tie-out in the cargo area of our car.

During the winter I exchanged her bed in our house that I had purchased when we first received Haddie with a fluffy pet blanket for the floor. The bed was just too cumbersome for our family room, and wasn't as transferable around the house, and washing it was a pain! The blanket works much better for so many reasons. The bed stayed under the stair closet for many months. I'm glad I did not completely toss it, as it works great in the back of our car.

Haddie is easy to get in and out of the car now. Getting in and out of the harness has been a good learning experience for us both; many times I was challenged because once the harness is fully unclipped, it can twist easily and had me all confused on how to get it straightened out and around her. But we have worked out the kinks and we are more smooth in our transitions.

With this set-up Haddie is free to look out the window, although she never chooses to do so. She always rides like the picture below - from the moment she is strapped in. One would think that she does not like car rides, but she always skips to the car with tail wagging when it is time to go.

The views below are rare, but so adorable. She will get into this position if we are parked and have been waiting awhile before we exit. But never while moving. Perhaps she is just that safety-conscious.

I am so happy to have this new set up. Travel time is such a breeze and she is so good.