Enjoy going on a long drive with your pet dog? You are not alone. A survey of dog owners in the USA by The Harris Poll on behalf of an insurance company found that 53% would rather take a long road trip with their dog rather than with a human member of their family.
Pet ownership has been on the rise worldwide in recent years with dogs continuing to be the most popular choice for pet. The American Pet Products Association estimated last year that 65.1 million households in the USA own at least one dog. Cats are the next most popular pets, found in 46.5 million households. (While no authenticated countrywide numbers are available for India, various surveys done from time to time by pet food companies suggest that as in the USA, dogs are the most popular pet in the country and cats the second most popular.)
The latest U.S. survey, commissioned by Erie Insurance Group, the country’s 12th largest homeowners insurer, 12th largest automobile insurer, and 13th largest commercial lines insurer based on direct premiums written, according to A.M. Best Company, showed just how much dogs mean to their owners. As many as 53% of licensed dog owners who drive with their dogs told the survey they would rather take a long road trip with their dog than with a family member.
This was just one of the more noteworthy findings of the survey. Certain elements of the survey were released in April to draw attention to Distracted Driving Awareness Month and focused on stricter distracted driving laws by states looking to crack down on unrestrained dogs in vehicles. Additional results have been released in May, which is National Pet Month in the USA.
The survey was conducted online within the USA from February 20-22 among 951 adults aged 18 and above who own a dog and are licensed drivers. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 3.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
According to the survey, dogs are passengers in cars for a variety of reasons, and not just to go to the veterinarian or groomer (64%), a press release issued by Erie Insurance said. Some are driven by owners to a place where they can be walked (53%). And some are going on long road trips, including 34% that are going on vacation with their owner.
According to the survey, a whopping 92% of dog owners are driving somewhere with their dogs for various reasons. Nearly a third (32%) do so because they feel guilty when they leave their dogs at home. Nearly another quarter (23%) take their dogs with them because they believe their dog(s) don’t like staying home alone, the release said.
Not all dogs are well behaved in the car. While 70% of dog owners who drive with their dog told the survey that their dogs typically sit quietly or lie down while the car is in motion, 15% said their pets cry or whimper in the car, 12% said they barked, and 4% said their pets urinated inside the vehicle. These situations often cause pet owners to lose their temper.
Veteran dog trainer Paul Owens, who has been in the profession for 50 years and whose latest book is titled Training for the Joy of Dogs: Fifty Lessons Learned, said, “Punishing a dog for bad behaviour in the car just reinforces in the dog’s mind that the car is not a relaxing, desirable place to be. This can feed the dog’s anxiety which leads to more bad behaviour.” Instead, he suggested a combination of tactics, including risk reduction, conditioning, and lots of treats.
Risk Reduction
- Give your pup the chance to exercise and get the energy out before getting into the car.
- If you know your dog is likely to make a mess in the car, don’t feed it for several hours prior to a ride.
- Consider purchasing a ThunderShirt which is designed to apply constant, even pressure to help minimize anxiety.
- Make sure dogs are properly restrained in the car with crash-tested harnesses that keep them from accessing the window or the driver and, most importantly, keep them safe and secure in case of sudden stops or accidents.
Conditioning
- Be patient. Depending on your dog’s maturity level and prior experience with car rides, it could take 2-12 months to turn around a negative behaviour and/or emotional response.
- Don’t just throw a harness around your dog and expect a positive outcome. You will need to gradually get your dog used to the harness. Start by placing the harness near your dog and slowly get closer until your dog is willing to step through it.
Treats as Rewards
- Be sure to reward your dog with a favourite treat after each successful step of the training programme. The treats act as reinforcement to encourage continued good behaviour.
- Keep training sessions short—30 seconds to a few minutes—and then give another treat.
“If you’re still not seeing an improvement in behaviour, you might need professional training to help make your trips together more enjoyable,” said Owens.
Regardless of how well behaved, an unrestrained dog can be a major distraction while driving. In the same survey, 50% of owners who drive with their dogs acknowledged that it could cause an accident while in the car. Make sure you have insurance that also covers the pet if they are hurt in a car accident.
Source: PR Newswire
