Riding in Cars with Dogs

Yesterday Athena told you about how much she loves going on car rides!  Well, we love it that Athena loves the car so much too!  Lately we have been taking her on more and more car rides and expanding her world by going to new places.

We say "up" and Athena jumps up into the car

For the most part, Athena will sit in the backseat and just stare out the window.  Sometimes she stands up and starts walking around in the back and pokes her head at us in the front seat.  I swear she's saying, "Hey guys!  I wanna ride in the front seat too!"

"Hey guys!  What's up?!"

Right now you are probably thinking that we are very irresponsible dog owners for not restraining Athena while she rides in the car.  We do own a Top Paw Pet Safety Car Harness which we bought at Petsmart.  Athena does really well when we put her in the doggy seat belt.  She sits so perfectly and just stares out the window!  I'm waiting for the day that we can use the harness again so that I won't have to worry so much about her getting injured while in the car.

The reason that we haven't been using her car harness lately is because Athena's hot spot has been healing.  I would say that it is almost healed now, but she still has a bald spot where it was.  We have been avoiding all types of harnesses that will rub the delicate area (backpack, Easy Walk Harness, and car harness) until some of the hair grows back.

Sometimes Athena gets tired and lays down for a quick snooze

So, hopefully in the next week or two we can resume responsible dog owner status and buckle Athena into the car using the car harness.

For now, we have been using frequent car rides as mental stimulation for Athena and as a way for her to see new things.  We really feel like Athena didn't get out much in her first year of life because she is fearful of many new things and situations.  Taking her on short car rides has allowed her to see new places, people, and dogs and smell all sorts of new smells.

We take Athena in the car on our way to training classes, pet stores, parks, and food carts.  I have also been giving B rides to school a couple times a week, so Athena comes in the car to drop him off with me.  I think that if your dog enjoys the car, take them with you (as long as your don't leave them in the car alone)!

Currently we use a blanket that we don't care much about to cover the backseat where Athena sits while she's in the car.  We are trying to avoid getting the seats too dirty and full of dog hair.  In the future we would love to get something like the Kurgo Bench Seat Cover to cover the backseats.

We plan to continually take Athena with us on short car rides as a way to provide her with mental stimulation and to introduce her to new places and situations.  Maybe someday she will even take a road trip with us (we don't really road trip so I'm not sure if that will ever happen, but one can dream!).

Do your pooches enjoy car rides?  What accessories do you use to keep your pet safe and your car clean?

-A

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