Man, I just got this mutt yesterday from a friend of mine and just I love this dog. I almost miss it today at work as much as I do my wife. (don’t tell her I said that ) Anyway it likes riding in the car. Matter of fact it loves it. Everytime you just jingle your keys he is ready to go. And it is fun taking him riding in the car too. You know he like sticking he head out the window. He is soooo cute.
Well anyway I want to take him riding in my convertable sports car but I am worried he will jump out. Well, what do you think will he? Should I put a short leash on him or what? Or are dogs smart enough to know not to jump out?
Depends on the dog. I had a dog go out a window. Fortunately I wasn’t going too fast, but I looked over and saw his ass flopping out the window, looked back and saw him land on his nose. He got up, sneezed a couple of times, and showed no ill effects. Guess I got lucky there. He never did it again. Must have passed a bitch in heat or something.
My current dog just kind of sticks her nose out, not her whole head. But if i park, and get out, leaving the window open, she’ll come out to join me.
Of course I’ve seen many dogs that ride in the open beds of pick-ups.
I guess I should mention that it is not considered the responsible thing to do. Apparently it can be quite serious if airborne debris gets in their eyes. Color me an irresponsible pet owner in this respect.
Thanks also I have a pretty loud stereo in my car(how loud put it this way my ears ring “all” of the time. Now my question I know dogs have sensitive hearing but does loud hearing hurt their ears anymore than ours? I am not a jerk that is why I am asking?
I’m sure Michi will check in and give you the answer.
My anecdote, the same dog that went out the window – the first couple of years I had him I was in a band. We weren’t very good, but we sure were loud. By age 10 or so he was stone deaf. Of course, no causal relation shown. My current dog really hates it when my kids shoot off rockets. my assumption is it is the frequency of the noise, not just the volume. But if your ears are ringing, I can’t imagine it is good for his. And he doesn’t have the choice of lowering the volume himself (BTW - does it go to 11?)
What was cool was, I had done such a good job of training him, that he continued to respond perfectly, looking to me for nonverbal cues. No one else knew he was deaf until i told them.
Your dog will not enjoy your loud stereo. My dog leaves the room when I play a movie at home, because the liudness irritates her. I can’t say whether or not it hurts her, but it definitely makes her uncomfortable. Have consideration for your dog, and turn down your stereo when he’s in the car with you.
I had a dog that jumped out through an open window, while I was stopped at a red light. He didn’t get hurt, thank God. I never left the window all the way down after that. I saw a dog who was tethered down jump out of the back of a pickup once. Damn near hung himself! The truck was in a mall parking lot, and fortunately was driving very slowly. The owner saw what had happened immediately and stopped and rescued his poor dog. He then tied the leash shorter. As for loud music? Be a little considerate. They do have more sensitive hearing than we do, and anyway, you don’t want to be deaf in 10 years, do you?
My sister’s dog jumped out of her car when they passed a female dog on the side of the road. He landed in the path of a car. He was a big dog. It was a bad accident. My sister in all kinds of trouble, because in her state (Illinois) it illegal to drive with a dog in the car if the dog is not secured by a pet-specific seatbelt or in a crate, and her failure to follow the law caused a serious accident. Plus, of course, her dumb dog removed itself from the gene pool.
This law is rarely enforced, but it’s there if they need it.
But my dog was much smarter, so I ignored the law too.
In your case, it really depends on the dog, but it’s always a possibility . . .
If the dog is young and untrained, and the window is down far enough to let it out, and it sees something it deems pursuing, the chances are very good the dog will go out the window. A dog can be trained to understand the rules of the car – for my dog:
Never get in the front seat, always stay in the back seat.
Never get in the car at all until you are invited in.
Always stay in the car until invited out (regardless of whether the car is moving or not, or the windows or doors open or not).
No pooping/peeing/vomiting in the car.
No barking directly in the ear of the driver.
Never chew up anything in the car, especially if your only excuse is that you are bored while your owner is in the store.
Never eat food (or food containers) left in the car unless you think your owner will not notice or it is worth being punished for.
All paws remain inside the car at all times. Nose out the window, okay; paws out the window, not okay.
I hope my dog is well-trained in “car etiquette,” but then she ought to be – she’s nine. It was a process of learing the rules and it DID in her case include, during her older puppy-hood, bailing out an open window when the car was moving because she saw a cat. She did that ONCE because I beat the heck out of her for it. (And don’t bother chiding me for this; I was scared to death, she needed to understand she could NEVER do that again, and I’d do exactly the same thing if it HAD ever happened again.)
If your dog is not yet trained enough to know that it can’t jump out the windows, then I’d keep the windows up far enough to prevent it from hopping out. Of course, it’s tough to do this with a convertible. If you want to short-leash the dog and you’ll have the car moving, I can only repeat what has been said above: do not give the dog enough leash to get out (or partially out) anyway and hang itself, and do not arrange the leash in such a way that it will interfere with your driving. And it’s not really terribly safe for the dog, if you were in an accident. But a dog and a convertible does sound like a fun combination.
Congrats on your new puppers. I’d suggest getting a harness like this made specifically for restraining him in the car. Why take a chance? Also, if you restrain him, he won’t get nasty stuff in his eye from sticking his head out, and if you get in an accident, he won’t be launched like a projectile. A crate is safer, but more of a hassle.
Yeah, training is all well and good, but a leash is sure.
I see these people alla time with dogs in the back of their pickups, and I wonder. I’m glad to hear it’s illegal in Illinois.
Also, no matter how much the dog loves it, there is a serious risk in letting him stick his head in the wind (what’s the word for that turbulence caused by the car motion?). The risk is that any small piece of gravel or what-not goes right into his eye.
I don’t even hang my own arms or hands out the window when driving. Have you ever seen what a rock does to a windshield? Imagine what it would do to your hand or your dog’s face.
) Anyway it likes riding in the car. Matter of fact it loves it. Everytime you just jingle your keys he is ready to go. And it is fun taking him riding in the car too. You know he like sticking he head out the window. He is soooo cute.
