Crates, Ex-Pens (X-Pens), and Harnesses

SUMMARY: The topic goes on and on

From comments on my posts from the previous 2 days--

RATZ -- I'm sure that I have some relevant photos, but they're old enough that they'd be on film, so I'll have to look thru albums and boxes and scan them in. Which I'm not going to do tonight, sooooo no photos mostly for now.

I responded to a comment on my post "About Crates vs X-Pens For Dogs, My History Thereof"  about a friend's dog and crates and all that, and that her Katie was annoyed that she didn't get to sit loose in the front seat--

Mean humans! 

I didn't start using crates in the car until I adopted Tika. 

Four or five years previously I had finally become smart about restraining dogs in the car, given how many miles I traveled with them and at odd hours and in all weather and a long way from home. Remington and Jake started riding in very sturdy, well-tested seatbelt harnesses and by the time Tika came home, they had become used to that restraint. They were getting up in age and so I didn't want to start trying to get them used to traveling in crates, although by then they were plenty accustomed to staying in crates at trials. (And Remington loved standing up the entire time we were driving, particularly looking for cows-- couldn't take him away from that.) 

In fact, getting Tika and deciding that all future dogs would travel in crates was the impetus to get a minivan instead of a fun-to-drive car like my prior ones. Sigh. Soooo practical--because a crate wouldn't fit into my four-door sedan along with 2 other dogs on seatbelts and all that agility gear. 

About whether to leave a dog in the car while, say, walking courses, or working in a different ring or whatnot: Getting a dog accustomed to being crated for longer times I think requires that the dog receive plenty of practice while they are aware of where you are and then gradually increasing times when they can't see you. At least, that's how it has worked for my previous dogs. Zorro and my late Chip haven't had nearly enough of that kind of practice. They'll sleep in crates in my bedroom at night, but if I get up and go downstairs, say in the middle of the night, without them, I don't trust them to not claw holes in the mesh of the soft crates. 

Which Remington did the first time I left him alone (with Jake) in my tent to walk to the nearest water faucet in the campground. 

Dogs.

But, yep, like Katie, they'd all rather be in the seats, preferably the front, if they had a choice.

Still, for a long time, if I were simply tooling around the area on errands, the  dogs could usually be trusted to be loose in the car so they could look out the windows. Although--lesson learned--one errand I thought would take me 15 minutes and instead became more like 3 hours, and Tika, alone in the car, explained that she didn't care for that so much.

I lived with this reminder for the next 11 years.

Then I noted:  Hmmm, this feels like I just wrote another related blog post right here! ... and so here it is--rewritten and expanded a bit! 

USDAA Trial Coming Up

SUMMARY: More stats for this weekend's Woodland trial than you can shake a jump bar at.

• Driving distance one way: 120 miles (193 km)
• Driving time one way (est.): 2 hrs 5 mins
• Gas cost yesterday: $4.09/gal ($1.08/lit ... did I do that right? By what measure do non-USers buy gas?)
• MUTT MVR's average MPG for the last 3 months: 22.
• Bridge tolls paid using Fastrak: $5 (northbound only)
• Extra miles I could drive to avoid a bridge toll: 30
• Amazing toll that people pulling a trailer will pay starting July 1:  $15 for one axle, $20 for 2. (Guess that's a good reason to buy a gas-guzzling motorhome instead. Stupid.)
• Maximum freeway speed between here and there: 65 MPH (104 KPH) (or 70 the longer  route).
• Maximum if you're pulling a trailer: 55. (Another reason to buy a motorhome instead.)
• Average top speed by personal observation:  70 MPH.
• Average top speed of people pulling trailers by personal observation: 70 MPH.
• Event starting time: 7:45 briefings and walkthroughs; 8:00 first dog on the line.
• Ending time (est): Sat, 5:00; Sun, 3:00
• Set-up time required (canopy & crating, etc., walk the dogs...): 40 minutes.
• Time to set on my alarm clock for Saturday morning: 4:20 a.m.
• Forecast high temperatures: Saturday 99 (37.2 C), Sunday 99-106
• Total runs for the weekend: 945 in 2 rings (this makes it a medium-ish USDAA trial for around here)
• Dogs entered: 138. Includes 67  border collies, 17 australian shepherds, 14 mixed breeds (including one Craussie--yay, Tika!)
• Older dogs competing: One 14-year-old JRT, one 12-year old Cocker, and three 11-year olds (including one Craussie).
• Humans entered: 98.
• Percentage of humans handling two dogs: 25%
• Percentage handling 3 or 4 dogs: 7%
• Most common dog names (2 each): Charlie, Lily, Neo, Pete
• Runs I entered with my dogs: 20 (10 each)
• Entry fees for one dog in all classes:  $144 ($148 C).
• Work I will do all weekend to reduce my entry fees: Score table chief.
• Classes I might not run Tika in: Gamblers (because her Q rate is so low), Grand Prix (because 6 runs/day with her in the heat is now probably too much)
• Qs needed for titles for Tika:
  
  • Standard: 1 for Gold (35 performance Qs); chances this weekend: 2
  • Snooker: 4 for Gold; chances this weekend: 2
  • LAA-Platinum: 53 of any kind; chances this weekend: up to 10 (I sincerely doubt now that we'll get there, or that she'll still be competing at age 12. We'll see how the year winds down...)
• Qs needed for titles for Boost:
  
  • For ADCH (stop me if you've heard this before): one Jumpers and two Snooker Super-Qs; chances this weekend: 2 each
  • Gamblers: 1 for Bronze (15 Qs); chances this weekend: 1
• Where I will sleep: In  MUTT MVR at the fairgrounds.
• What I usually have for breakfast: A banana and a high-protein breakfast bar.
• What I will be hyper aware of this weekend after Elicia Calhoun's disaster (will post more about that eventually):
  
  This, from the "Live to run again" foundation, is on my driver's-side window:
  
  

More on Car Emergency Labeling

SUMMARY: Another source for tags

Johann the Dog notes:

There's also a site called BarkBuckleUp.com; they have emergency cards for your car with a window sticker to alert emergency responders. They are free with the cost of shipping...Here's our post. And the site to order: http://barkbuckleup.com/Members/Registration.asp

Updates

SUMMARY: Filling in on a couple of previous posts (last weekend and crate emergency info).

Emergency crate info

I just updated yesterday's post with more info about my crate tags including a note from the lady who makes them.

Head bonk

Hey, I forgot to mention, on top of all of my other physical woes, my huge head-whack last weekend at the trial. Monday morning, I somehow lost track of where my hatchback door had stopped (tree branch in the way). So I leaned over to do something with the dogs, stood up rapidly, and whanged my head on the corner of the door. It really hurt; I am not making this up. I had to sit down and make loud moans on exhales and hissing through my teeth on inhale sorts of noises. I'm sure it was an ugly picture, and glad no one was crating near me, but now I'm telling you about it anyway.

I had intended to spend my few spare minutes packing up, but instead spent much more time packing ice on my head and wondering whether one could get a concussion from a corner hit like that. It was hard to stand up for a few minutes, but that's because it hurt every time I moved, but on the outside, not the inside, if you can picture that. There was no blood, thank goodness, but even with the ice I had a lump the size of half a golf ball. I am reminded of that every time I shower. That was just the capper to one of my more uncomfortable weekends.

I seem to hit my head more and more often as the years go by. Can anyone tell me whether the top of one's skull continues to grow? I don't get it: I can look straight at an open car door, bend to get something out of the seat, and whack my head on the way *in*. If someday they find me dead on the kitchen floor from multiple blunt force traumas to my head, it'll probably be from repeatedly standing up under refrigerator or cabinet doors.

Pet Crate Emergency Info

SUMMARY: Vital information in case of an auto accident.

It's nice to assume that, if you are in an accident, things are not going to be too bad and you can take care of your dogs yourself. However, that might not be the case; you could be badly injured or even killed. Assuming that your dogs are still alive, injured or not, it would be so much better if rescuers had all the info they needed to ensure that the dogs are taken care of correctly and that the right people are contacted about them.

I have emergency info attached to both dogs' crates. The outside has a photo and brief message; inside the zippered compartment, there's detailed info about my dogs and contact info.

 

You can make your own pretty easily--tape it to the crate or laminate it or put it in a protective plastic sleeve-- or you can buy cards from various places.

Buy the ones I have

From pethints.com.

More info on mine added: July 11, 11 a.m. PDT-- They're pricey but well made and definitely eye-catching. They have two zippered pouches: The front one with the basic emergency message and the dog's photo, and the one underneath in which you can put as many documents as you want. It comes with a couple of detailed forms that you can fill out.

I just emailed a request for new forms since (thanks to this article) I realized that my emergency info is out of date. She sent me new forms as Word docs and also said:

"pass on the good news since I have not been able to attend any agility events this year, I have some new spring pouch colors, pink, lime green and baby blue. I can also do special orders with your color choice for the paws on each side. I have about 20-color options. Unfortunately not all of these details are at my website so if anyone has interest they can call or email me.

Thanks.
Peggy Hintz
Owner PetHINTS.com
650-573-7400
PetHINTS@hints.com"

Buy a card

Here on zazzle, you can upload your dog's photo and your info and purchase cards. I like the message on the front; it's short and to the point (and reproducing here, also for archival purposes):

Make your own; from the SF Bay West Highland White Terrier Club

This article has recommendations on what info to include; I'm repeating it here in case the link every goes away (you know how the internet is):

The following information should be attached to each dog's crate as well as maintained in the glove compartment of your car:

• A paper copy of your dog's vaccination records, especially rabies.
• Documentation of your dog's special needs and/or medications.
• Color photo of your dog and his microchip information.
• Your vet's phone number and two emergency contacts.

We recommend making a crate tag with the following emergency information:

---

IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT

In the event that I am incapacitated and unable to make my requests known regarding my dogs, please honor the following requests:

Please notify (name) at (telephone numbers) as soon as possible. If he/she can not be reached, contact (name) at (telephone numbers). If he/she cannot be reached, contact (more names and telephones numbers).

ALL EXPENSES FOR THE DOGS' CARE
WILL BE GUARANTEED BY THEM!!

If the dogs are not injured, they are to be cared for by one of the above parties or by the nearest reputable boarding kennel and be kept in the best possible manner until arrangements can be made to get them home.

If the dogs are injured, they are to be cared for by the nearest reputable veterinarian. I prefer my veterinarian (name) be contacted at (telephone umber) regarding decisions on the dogs care and treatment.

If the dog is injured BEYOND ALL HOPE of recovery, as attested by a certified veterinarian, they are to be humanely euthanized.

My dogs may be identified by microchip (number).

THE WELFARE OF MY DOGS IS MY
PRIMARY CONSIDERATION

Your Name (print)
Signature
Address
Telephone Number

---

(Thanks, Mutts, for the idea for this post.)

Killing Your Dog in an Auto Accident

SUMMARY: (Repost from my Facebook page) Have I mentioned why you should find a good system for securing your dog in your car?

Bay Teamer friend Holly Newman evaluated some dog seatbelt harnesses and gave good feedback here.

Now there's a german study, with photos, of what happens to dogs and humans in front-impact accidents given various means of restraint. As in: dogs seriously injured or killed, in the process seriously injuring the driver or passenger. Interesting to note that their chosen harness restraint fails in one of the ways that Holly suggests; would be interesting to know how the one she suggests for big dogs (which I purchased and use occasionally when I can't use crates)) would hold up in the same situation.

Dowload the study's PDF from this page at wachusett.pssweb.net to read it and view the photos (they used dummies so no gore); it's not very long but it's very scary. (Or you can google "test report securing pets in cars" and they usually have a "quick view" that lets you see it in HTML right in your browser, like this.

My dog's crates currently are aligned front to back, at the back of MUTT MVR. It's very convenient for me and they fit well, but I've known for a long time that that's not optimally safe. It was confirmed when i was rear-ended a year ago just after a stop sign (so fairly low speed) and the rear door was jammed shut. Fortunately the dogs weren't in the car at the time, so I didn't have to try to extricate the crates from inside the van.

I'm now going to have to figure out how to arrange them transversely (perpendicular to car's length) behind the front seats instead, for maximum security.

Why Dogs Should Not Be Loose in Your Vehicle

SUMMARY: Save their lives, and maybe yours, too.

If your dogs travel loose in your car when you drive, please read this whole post. Please.

My dogs used to travel loose in my car. They never traveled a lot; occasional jaunts to someone's house or maybe to a nearby park. As I did more and more agility, however, covering thousands of miles a year, I started to wonder: Children up to 60 pounds are required by law to use special restraints in the car (not loose like we were as kids) for their own safety, and adults are required by law to wear seat belts; what was I thinking by endangering my dogs' lives--and mine--when there were such easy fixes?

In case you haven't already thought about it--and please tell me that you have--here are the bare facts of why dogs should be restrained in cars, as taken from BarkBuckleUp.com:

"In an accident, an unrestrained animal is dangerous to the human passengers as well. Even in an accident of only 30 mph, ... 60-pound dog can cause an impact of 2,700 pounds, slamming into a car seat, a windshield, or another passenger. Even if the animal survives, it can impede the progress of rescue workers for whom every moment is precious.

"Unrestrained pets can also distract the driver, and cause an accident. Even pets that are normally well behaved could be frightened by something unusual and dive for the driver's feet or lap. Following a car accident, an unrestrained pet could escape and be hit by another vehicle or cause another collision. A frightened dog may attack strangers who are trying to help."

Another, recent article provides a summary on traveling with dogs:
"Paws on Board" by Teresa Odle. Basically, dogs should be:

* In well-designed harnesses attached to seatbelts or other secure restraints in the vehicle, or
* In crates that are secured to the car (my dogs now ride in crates that are strapped either to D-rings in the car floor or to seat belts).

The article also mentions a new California bill passed by the assembly that "outlaws pets sitting in a driver's lap while driving."

But after the basic facts--well, you can dismiss it and say that you drive safely and you'd never do anything dangerous with your dogs in the car. Instead, let me give you several stories.

Someone Else's Mistake #1

My fears were consolidated when another student at Power Paws died when her car rolled over (she wasn't driving) on the way home from an agility trial. Her husband brought the dogs' crates to show us why having dogs in crates is a good thing: His wife was dead, the crates were mangled, but the dogs were unharmed. Unharmed. Looking at those bent and crushed crates, my heart nearly crumbled imagining what could have happened to the dogs if they had been loose, and at what I was letting my dogs in for without any restraint.

She wasn't the only one to suffer a similar fate. This is about the time that I picked up this "Don't Drive Drowsy" sticker from the "Live to run again" foundation. It's on my driver's-side window, and I try to look at that sticker every time I get into my car.


Also at that time, for my dogs, I started with harnesses that I bought at the SPCA, but changed to sturdier, safer ones after reading my friend Holly's research on dog harnesses (an excellent article if you're thinking about dog "seat belts").

Someone Else's Mistake #2

From my former housemate, now living in L.A. (with her little black dog Casey, whom I wrote about when he lived here), July 22, 2008:

I'll give you the gory details later, if you want them, but I was in a serious car accident Friday night.

For once in my life Casey was not with me. Seriously, Ellen, it is a miracle that I am alive and not even any broken bones. Had Casey been in the car there is no f... way he would have survived.

Please tell me what you know about seat belts for pets. The best kind, what to look for, where to find them, etc. I am buying one immediately.

(The gory details)
We were rear-ended. HARD. So hard it pushed us into the back of an 18-wheeler. The ambulance arrived pretty quickly. By that time some good samaritans saw that we were in a car filling with smoke and unable to get out. Somehow they managed to get the doors open and drag us to safety. We were taken to a local hospital in the ambulance. I had a nasty cut on my right leg. (A good two inches of my shin bone was exposed - it was sickening.) They were afraid that [my friend] Robot had internal bleeding because of the way the seat belt sliced him across his torso, but after tests he was sent home. I was x-rayed and somehow that ER doctor managed to take the mangled mess of meat that was my leg and stitch it back together. Just 32 sutures in an almost perfect "V" on my right shin.



Robot is bruised and sore, but left to go back to Texas this morning. Robot & I both feel incredibly lucky to be alive, much less to be in one piece! My entire body hurts, but nothing is broken. If Casey had been in the car, which he is about 95% of the time, he would not have survived. No way, no how. I am currently shopping for pet seat belts.

I'm sure airbags saved our lives.
I am very happy with my Hyundai. (Well, what used to be my Hyundai)
Always wear a seatbelt.
Make sure your insurance payments are up to date.
Secure your pets in the car if they ride with you.
Live each day as if it is your last, because it damn well could be.

Someone Else's Mistake #3

From my occasional agility-traveling friend (Scully and Sparkle's mom), about her sister, who also does agility, August 15, 2008:

Pam's car was totaled yesterday and she was very, very lucky. She was driving home from work and some guy came up from behind way too fast. He tried to swerve around her, cut in too soon and hit her rear quarter panel. Pam ended up shooting across two lanes of traffic and up an embankment. The car rolled at least twice on the way back down and landed driver's door down. Pam climbed out the passenger door and passers by got the dogs' crates out and moved them to a safe distance. Pam's business partner came and took Pam and the dogs back to the vet hospital while our brother came and dealt with the tow truck people. [About the dogs:] Haiden is fine and Raina has a chipped bone on her hock. She sees a surgeon today but the hope is she can get by with just a splint. She did not reinjure her spine which is excellent news. Pam is sore but seems to have no serious injuries.

Taj MuttHall adds: What if the dogs hadn't been in crates?

Someone Else's Mistake #4

Added: Aug 22, 5:10 p.m. From Scully and Sparkle's mom again:

Years ago Mom was driving her van with a dog crated in the back. Traffic on the freeway came to a dead stop but the driver behind her didn't notice and plowed into her at 60mph. Mom's van was shoved forward into the car ahead of her, the back doors popped open and the crate landed on the freeway. The van was totaled but the dog was fine.

Last Story

I don't remember the details. (Maybe someone out there knows? This is how I remember it.) Two people traveling from an agility trial in southern California rolled the vehicle in the wild mountains across the Grapevine. Their unrestrained dogs got loose. They were lucky that none ran out onto the freeway, but one vanished and was never found.

Please don't leave your dogs loose in the vehicle.

Update: Aug 26, 2008, 3 p.m.: Also visit Johann the Dog's Car Safety For Dogs! page.