Does anyone have a plan for I they get pulled over by a cop with a human reactive dog in the car?

[ahealingpen]

I don't own a reactive dog myself, but I run a petsitting business and two of my favorite clients are reactive. The owners of both dogs have told me I'm the only one they can ever trust to watch their dogs for safety, and it's true. Both dogs adore me, but have bite histories, and when transporting them I've had the worse one try to go at people on the sidewalk from inside the car. I realize it's unlikely, but I've always worried "what do I do if a cop pulls me over with one of them in the car?" Obviously it's a dangerous situation for everyone.

Basically what I've thought of is sticking my hands out the window and announcing "Fear aggressive dog in the car, for your safety and mine may I please exit the vehicle?" Thoughts?

EDIT: I did not expect to get this much traction, wow! But because so many people are asking the same questions and making thensame comments, no, they are not kenneled. My car is too small to fit the kennels I need, and I transport dogs ranging from chihuahuas to wolfhounds so it honestly isn't feasible to kennel. However, they are tethered with seatbelts. I can't just not transport them, it is quite literally part of my business to transport dogs. And I'm less worried about the dog attacking the cop but more worried about the restrained dog redirecting on another dog out of frustration and I transport more than one regularly, or the cop being a shoot first ask questions later type. Other than that, thank you, some of you have had some really good comments, keep them coming!

 

[tecumsehmaverick]

@ahealingpen My reactive dog is kenneled in the car. I have so many kennels in my life because sometimes restricting a dog's freedom is the best thing for their safety and the safety of others.

 

[jwd]

@tecumsehmaverick I agree so much. We travel a lot with one slightly nervous dog and one loudmouth dog. The kennel is safer for everyone. The nervous dog will fall asleep in his kennel and stay asleep for most of the ride. If he's awake and someone approaches, he feels safe in his little house.

 

[taikamiya720]

@tecumsehmaverick Impact crates are expensive af but if you can afford them, they are a godsend and not only will keep your dog alive if you get in a wreck and the crate is thrown from the car, but they also cannot be broken out of. They really really keep dogs safe.

But 2k, damn. I personally cannot afford one

 

[cartuce]

@taikamiya720 There's a bunch of other brands that are cheaper and provide a ton of protection, ruffland, lucky duck, Dakota, and gunner are all great brands

 

[taikamiya720]

@cartuce Thank you for this information, seriously

 

[cartuce]

@taikamiya720 No problem! I switched to a ruffland after my pup was able to slip a car harness, I absolutely love it and would not hesitate to spend another 300 if something happened to it

 

[ajh40]

@cartuce Love my Rufflands.

 

[ahealingpen]

@tecumsehmaverick That's honestly what I would like to be able to do but my car is simply too small to fit the kennels I would need for the number and variety of dogs I transport.

 

[ptom]

@ahealingpen I'd invest in a heavy duty metal divider that fits behing the front seats.

 

[ohm_resistor]

@ahealingpen You'll need to fit a cargo divider between the dog and the front half if the cabin.

That or harness and click them into the back seat. Reactive or not, dogs should be restrained because they become projectiles in the event of an accident.

Officers coming to the window shouldn't be an issue if the dogs are suitable restrained.

 

[ahealingpen]

@ohm_resistor They are restrained with harnesses. That is a hard and fast rule. I worry about redirection or a shoot first ask questions later cop. Especially as of late there has been an uptick of cops shooting dogs

 

[kjgrrant0634]

@ahealingpen Why do you have to bring them in the car at all if they are still aggressive towards people outside the car and getting all worked up? Why risk anything if you are concerned?

 

[ahealingpen]

@kjgrrant0634 I have to transport them to and from my house when I watch them. My petsitting business is boarding at my house. I also offer training and daycare at the business facility and most of the owners opt for one or both during their stays. I'm not taking them out willy nilly for pup cups or anything. All places the dogs are are private business or my personal property.

 

[kjgrrant0634]

@ahealingpen Why don't you have the owners drop them off if they are boarding with you?

 

[ahealingpen]

@kjgrrant0634 I live very rural at a very inconvenient location to reach. (Large property for the dogs). Most owners don't want to make the drive.

 

[kidwindy001]

@ahealingpen I get that they may not want to make the drive, but I do a lot of things I don’t necessarily want to do for my reactive dog, one of which has included driving her to a boarder that was pretty far out of the way. It’s nice of you to offer to pick them up, but I would hope the owners would be understanding if they had to drive them out to you, considering it is their reactive dog that needs to be boarded after all.

 

[johnredeemed103]

@ahealingpen If I could find the right boarding place for my (dog) reactive dog I sure as hell wouldn't have any issue driving them out of the way.

That said I think based on everything you've posted here, what you said in your post is thr best option if they aren't willing to drive and pick them up (but again I'd be so over the moon I'd drive my dog an hour or two one way)

 

[kjgrrant0634]

@ahealingpen If you put it to them that you have concerns about the dogs reactive behavior in the car or concerns of what could happen if you ever got pulled over, I'm sure they'd understand. Anyone who cares about their animals at least. Maybe they don't.

 

[tecumsehmaverick]

@ahealingpen if you cannot safely restrain a person reactive dog in the car than unnecessary car rides are not an option. If the officer, especially an American one, feels threatened or unsafe in any way a traffic stop can easily turn into a tragedy.