The promise of a treat
Many dogs know that part of the fun of a car ride is the opportunity to stop for a delicious people food snack. Taking your dog out for a Sunday afternoon drive? He might just be wise to the fact that the McDonald’s drive-thru or a few licks of an ice cream cone are in his future.
Don’t forget a few common-sense safety rules when you take your dog out in the car. Dogs are safest in the rear of the car in either a harness or crate. It’s fun for your dog to sit unrestrained in the front seat and stick his head out the window, but that might not be the safest thing. It’s also a good idea to keep small dogs out of your lap when driving. And of course, never leave your dog in a hot car.
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Dr. Brian Hare, associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University and the founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, says the wind blast may be a sort of sensory overload. “It’s the equivalent of watching an incredible movie or reading the latest issue of Car and Driver,” he says (with a little coaching). “There’s so much information they’re taking in, it’s just ‘Whoa.’ Then again, the simpler explanation could be that it just feels good. And it could also be both.”
The breeze is just part of it, he says. “In most places where you find wolves today, they have to range pretty far. They’ve evolved to go places. They likely enjoy going places. It’s not going to do much good if you’re selected to not enjoy that thing you need to do to survive.” Hare says it’s possible dogs know the car is going somewhere, “a new place to explore, and there might be other dogs there.” At the very least, he says, “dogs associate the car with a good outcome: ‘When I get in this thing, good things happen.’ At the most they understand that they’re going somewhere.” Of course, not all dogs are the same, and our dogs would add: “Yeah, sure, doc, but what happened to my balls?”
Most of all, he says, dogs are pack animals, social animals. But domestication has tweaked the formula. “If you give dogs a choice between being with a person or with other dogs, dogs prefer to be with people,” Hare says. “They’re the most successful mammals besides humans in the history of the planet,” he continues. “The trust bond with humans has been a huge boon to the domesticated wolves who live with us. Dogs have evolved to be geniuses at taking advantage of the human tool.” It’s dogs’ desire to be with us that makes them eager driving companions. “My guess is that they wouldn’t necessarily enjoy riding in an autonomous car,” says Hare. In other words, dogs love cars because they love us. There’s no accounting for taste.
OK, so not EVERY dog is a huge fan of rides in a car or truck, but for the most part, just about every dog we know is a fan. Most of the time, it’s darn near impossible to keep your dog from hanging out the window, taking in every view and smell they possibly can. Well, if you’ve ever wondered why your dog seems to love rides so much, here’s a bit of the science behind what’s going on, shared by Car and Driver Magazine’s website.
Alabama, this author’s husky, will jump into a truck bed before the tailgate is even down. Another staffer’s Newfie dances around as if her paws were in a frying pan and runs in circles when she hears the word “ride.” Only dogs seem to love cars as much as humans. There’s little (or no) science investigating why, so we invited the experts to speculate.
It all makes me think of those breezy drives with Joe in the 1970s. Yes, I know, we could have all died a fiery death, especially the time Joe tried to leap from the window to chase a herring gull and my mother had to slam on the brakes. But what I learned from Joe was that old cliché, its the journey, not the destination.
Its no wonder Rover cant wait to hop into the car. He loves his stroll in the park but its downright psychedelic in the car. And we love driving with dogs just as much, perhaps because we experience not just the drive, but life, through the dogs perspective. He doesnt get road rage from traffic and reckless drivers. No back-seat driving. The perfect companion, he pants and looks about while we complain. A dog is captivated by the details we miss. The human white-knuckles it through downtown traffic and the doggie sees that bird in the sky, that squirrel in the tree, smells that steak on the barbecue.
Marla Cranston, a communications officer with the Nova Scotia Barristers Society in Halifax, adores taking her dog Ruby, a standard Poodle, along for errands. “She loves going for a car ride,” Ms. Cranston says. “She sort of looks like an old lady in the passenger seat beside me, with white curly hair.” Ms. Cranston opens the window a few centimetres, but thats as close as Ruby gets to the great outdoors. “But you hear these horror stories about them getting a bee in the eye. She might leap out the window if she saw a squirrel,” says Ms. Cranston, who is now investing in a back-seat restraint.
Prof. Coren points out that dogs need to be trained to stay in the back seat. “There are stupid people, who drive with dogs on their laps,” he says. “We tend to treat our dogs like babies … some people simply cant say no to their kids. They cant say no to their dogs.” He says restraints designed for dogs are helpful, but for city rides a dog should be fine if it is under control.
According to a recent article in the Huffington Post, its speculated dogs are the culprits behind thousands of car accidents every year, although no one is keeping statistics. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,474 people were killed and 448,000 injured in crashes caused by distracted drivers in 2009. It seems safe to assume dogs are doing some of the distracting.
Do Dogs Love Car Rides? | Veterinarian Explains
Picture your dog riding joyfully in the passenger seat next to you. Their head is hanging out the window while their tongue and ears flap in the breeze. It seems like most dogs enjoy this novel excursion, but is it actually good for your dog?
Car rides are mentally stimulating for your dog. It engages their senses with new sights and smells. The sensation of riding in the car with you is also similar to their natural instinct to hunt. The car is an extension of home they rarely get to explore. They may enjoy the anticipation of a treat.
If you are thinking about taking your dog on a car ride, here is what you need to know about this fun activity.