The car ride

Often we take the car ride for granted. Our normal routine would be to put on our seat belts and go. Well, now you have a new puppy in the car, things are a bit different. For your pup’s safety, as well as your own, never let him roam freely in the car. Consider the following:

One problem that we don't think about is the airbag. There are warnings of putting a small child in the front seat because the airbag could seriously hurt him, the same goes for a dog (no matter what size). The front seat should be out-of-the-question for your dog.

Let your puppy get used to riding in the back seat from day one. As tempting as it might be to hold the new puppy on your lap, don't do it. There are a couple of options that will insure his safety in the rear seat.

I personally prefer the "dog seatbelt." The seatbelt attaches to a harness (never use it with a collar as it could hurt your dogs neck in sudden stops and accidents) which attaches to the rear "human" seatbelt. It gives enough length for you pup to lie down and turn around (even look out the window), but secures him.

The next options would be a crate or wire cage. You should be crate training your puppy anyway, so it should feel comfortable in the car inside the crate.

Lastly, be sure to have an I.D. tag on your puppy with your telephone number. Situations happen so fast, especially during an accident.