Tag Archives: safety

Buckle Up for Safety

24 Friday May 2013

Posted by in Riggins

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buckle-upRiggins has always worn a doggie seat belt.  When he was a puppy I had a truck and a seat belt was necessary to keep him off my lap and in his seat (vs out the window) while I was driving.  Since he doesn’t know any better, he has no problems wearing his seat belt and the few times I allow him in the car without it he doesn’t quit know what to do.  Normally he will sit back as if his seat belt is on.  He will stay there until we go through a drive thru and then he will balance his front paws on the middle armrest thing.  You can see him pondering how he can get from that position, over me, out the car window, and into the food window without anyone noticing.  All those enticing smells so close and yet so far away.  I am actually surprised he has never tried it.  If he doesn’t have his seat belt on (which happens now and then when we drive somewhere to go for a walk and he has his walking harness on instead of his seat belt) he will refuse to get out of the car until I “unbuckle him” (see video below).  I can stand there all day and tell him that he is free to move around but he won’t go out that door until I lean down and free him from his nonexistent restraints.  Silly dog.

I’m often shocked at how many dogs don’t wear seat belts.  It seems like common sense right?  You buckle in.  You strap you kid down.  Why not your dog?  I don’t understand how people can safely drive with a tiny dog hanging out in their lap and if you have a big dog, one collision and that dog is flying over the seat and taking off the head of anyone in his/her way.  Ouch for the dog and ouch for any person in the dog’s flight path!

The most common reason I hear from folks not using dog car restraints, is that the dog doesn’t like it.  My suggestion … keep trying.  Like anything it is training.  Your dog will eventually calm down and it will be a safer ride for everyone.  There are many types of seat belts and restraints so look around and see what is going to be the best for you.  Here are the ones I know about:

download (3)Dog harness – This is the type of seat belt Riggins uses.  There are different brands but they are all similar.  It is essentially a harness with a double loop in the back for you to stick the seat belt through.  In addition to that, this version (that I linked to) has an extra attachment that is a longer loop which gives the dog more freedom.  I don’t use the longer loop on Riggins.  It isn’t necessary and frankly it is just more work for me to take that on and off.  This is the harness you see on Riggins in almost every Runyon picture of him.  When we go hiking I just take off his leash, wrap it around my waist, and leave the harness on.  It also gives you an easy to grab “handle” if you need to grab your dog while you are out and about.

Seat belt connector – This is the same idea as the harness Riggins uses it just allows you to make any dog harness a seat belt.  Pretty nifty.

Zip line – Some car seats aren’t very dog friendly.  This is true of my folks car.  The bench seat is way in the back and Riggins prefers to be up near the action.  The middle seats are bucket seats which Riggins can’t really sit in well.  I bought them the zip line.  It goes across the length of the car overhead (attaching to the handles on each side) then you hook the dog to that (they usually come with a short loop leash to make this easy).   I don’t like this restraint as much simply because it isn’t much of an actual restraint.  The dog has the freedom to pace back and forth if he/she wants.  The plus is because of the increased freedom, it is a good solution for dogs who aren’t “comfortable” in the harness seat belts.

download (4)Booster seat – For smaller dogs they make booster seats (hilarious right?).  These not only allow you to seat belt your dog into the chair it brings the chair up so your tiny dog can have the luxury of looking out the window (not all are up in the air like the one I linked.  Some sit on the chair and have pillows to help boost up the pet).  Obviously Riggins has never required a booster so I don’t have any experience with any of the booster models.  My friends who use them love them.

Pet partition – I’ve never used these.  I have too many things in the back of my car.  Dogs don’t fit.  BUT … if you dog does ride back there the partition keeps him/her safely in that area.

Cage/carrier – Finally, if you are a monster, you can put your dog in a cage while you drive.

If you take your dog in the car give a restraint a try.  It’s safer for your dog (and your human passengers) and makes you a very responsible dog person!

Ranger Riggins of Runyon

15 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in Riggins

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The main path at Runyon Canyon.

The main path at Runyon Canyon.

Riggins has been hiking Runyon Canyon (a dog park/mountain/hike in LA) since he was a puppy. Actually before he was really supposed to do it … shhhh. You try to raise a rambunctious puppy in an apartment on the third floor then you can judge me! There is no doubt that Riggins is one of the many dogs that feel like they own the mountain. He struts around like a King demanding the attention of his people. If you are leaning down, going slow, make eye contact, and/or breathing, Riggins will come up to you and lean in for a pet. If you are a child with food it may be considered hill tax and be taken.

There are two different paths for each Runyon route. The regular and the dog only. The dog only paths weave their way in and out of bushes and around trees. Riggins likes to stick to these paths or start making his own. He is a trail blazer. This is why he gets the rattlesnake vaccine. Like any good ranger Riggins suggests/demands that all humans stay on the path. If you don’t Riggins will make sure you know that you have gone against park rules. His mistrust for those who are off path runs deep.

A look at the Stairs from the top.

A look at the Stairs from the top.

Recently, near the bottom of the hill, an older woman was doing Tai Chi. That isn’t a problem BUT she was doing it off route past some bushes in a tiny clearing. Not on Riggins watch! He made his way up to her, got down into a crouch and started growling. No amount of calling on my end was going to break his concentration so I had to double back to grab him. By the time I got to him he had the woman cornered. She was NOT HAPPY about it. In fact, I would say she was scared speechless. I tried to tell her that he was scared of her because she was off path and he knew that was wrong. It wasn’t helping so I gave up and drug him away. It may seem heartless of me but come on … you are in a dog park. Perhaps you should Tai Chi in a neighboring canyon. There is plenty to go around.

Now we know that Riggins has no problem scaling down the side of a mountain but he will

Riggins patrolling the top of the Spine.

Riggins patrolling the top of the Spine.

not allow humans to do the same. If you have two legs you have no business being off path. Last week Riggins came to a halt on our way down the hill. He was pointer ready with his stare focused on something across the canyon. After searching the cliff I finally found some idiot who was SLIDING down from the topmost path, the spine, to the easiest route. Sliding. Causing dirt and rock to fall down with him. Riggins started barking and slowly making his way to where the man was going to hit the ground. I grabbed him and walked him further away. The man came up to me and asked if Riggins was the one that was barking at him the entire time. I said yes that Riggins was worried about him (when in fact Riggins wanted to eat him for his inability to follow rules). The crazy man said that was nice but there was no need to worry. He “surfs” the hill all the time. Sigh …

All this wouldn’t be that big of a deal but I have witnessed people being rescued by image (2)helicopter on that hill. That is time and effort of our fire/police AND taxpayer money. Recently two teenagers got lost in the mountains in Orange County, CA. They were found, luckily safe.There was a good amount of outrage from the community about how they were so irresponsible to have gotten themselves in that position in the first place. Last month a teenager died at Eaton Canyon (another local hiking spot) because she went off path. On a hike near Eaton Canyon I once didn’t take enough water and it caused a problem for Riggins. I swore that would never happen again and now carry way more water than I will need. Just in case. I’m not saying everyone who hike is irresponsible. Far from it. I’m saying, if you are going to go hiking don’t be a moron. Know some basic hiking rules AND FOLLOW THEM.

This weekend I caught Riggins again patrolling the hill (see video). Near the end of our hike he spotted something unusual across the way. Enjoy his reaction. (I had to stop filming as I was walking backwards up a hill and to break Riggins concentration I was going to have to jog a bit. I am not nearly coordinated enough to jog backwards while filming with an iPhone.)