The following tips will help you prepare for your transport. Your coordinator may have special instructions for you. These are general guidelines:
SAFETY: Safety of both the driver and passenger are the number one priority. Yes, it is important to keep the transport on schedule, but it's not worth the risk to put either yourself or your passenger in danger to keep to a time schedule. Keep your transport monitor updated on any traffic or weather issues that you are encountering as soon as safely possible. They can then contact the drivers further down the line and give them a heads up to any time changes.
FOOD: If you are the sending contact, feed the dog very early or very little. During transport, it is acceptable to feed a couple of treats or a palm full of kibble - but not too much. Check with the driver you are picking up from to see if they have fed anything. We want to avoid car sickness - in your car or someone else's down the line - but we also want to keep blood sugar levels from dropping. This is especailly important in a smaller dog. Don't worry, they can eat all they want upon arrival to their overnight location or their intended destination.
WATER: Allow the dog to have a small drink of water during potty breaks. It's important to keep them hydrated during transport, but you don't want them to get car sick, so use your best judgment. Remember, they will be getting a chance at another drink at the end of the next leg, so no need to over-do. Don't worry if they don't want any water. Sometimes they are just too excited and curious of their surroundings to pay attention to their water. When they are thirsty, they will drink. I've found that they will take to water much better once I have them loaded in my car with the doors closed. I put down a water bowl and let them drink, then dump the remaining water out my window before I take off.
SECURITY OF YOUR PASSENGER: The dog should be secured in or to the vehicle throughout the entire transport. Always double check to see that the collar and/or leash haven't been chewed through before opening doors/windows. Never open the vehicle door (or roll your window down completely) unless a leash, attached to the dog, is either attached to the vehicle or to someone has the leash in hand. There is nothing during a transport that is more fearful or heartbreaking than having a dog run off on you when you stop to pick up/hand off to the next driver.
Preparing your vehicle for transport:
Put down an old blanket in whatever area of your vehicle the dog will be traveling. This will help to protect your upholstery.
There are three ways to secure the dog in a vehicle: crating, harnessing and tethering. All of these methods are used to keep the dog out of the drivers area and to keep the dog safe in the vehicle while transporting.
CRATING: Most of the transports don't supply crates. If you have a spare that will fit the particular dog on the transport, bring it along.
SEATBELT HARNESSING: Some dogs are sent with a harness. The harness fits around the dog's middle and chest just like a harness collar would. The only difference is that the seatbelt harness has a loop on the back side that your seatbelt will fit through to secure the dog. Run your seatbelt through the loop and click closed.
TETHERING: To tether a dog, you will need a spare leash. I bought two foot leashes for this purpose. When I drove my car, I ran the seat belt in my back seat through the handle of the leash then latched the seatbelt (as I would if I had a human passenger), then clipped this leash to the dogs collar. When I put the dog in the car, I don't remove their walking leash until I have the two foot leash attached to their collar. Likewise, when I reach my hand off point, I don't remove the two foot leash until I have attached their walking leash. Even if the dog gets jumps out of my car, he can only go as far as that two foot lead will let him.
What to do as the hand-off driver:
You will need to get to your hand-off location by the arrival time listed on your leg of the Final Run Sheet. Safely remove the dog from your vehicle and take them for a short walk to allow him/her to stretch their legs and take a potty break. Allow the dog to have a small drink of water.
Locate the driver that you are handing off to. Before handing the dog off to them, check the personal and vehicle against the information on your run sheet copy to make sure you are meeting the correct person. Many transports take place on the weekends and it's not unusual for several drivers to be at a favorite pick-up/hand-off point at one time waiting on an arriving driver. We don't want you handing the dog off to the wrong driver or worse yet, a stranger! You want to make sure the identification on the run sheet matches their ID. Also check that vehicle and license number match the information you have. If you have any doubts, call your transport monitor immediately! A reputable transport driver will have no qualms while you make that call.
If ID checks out, safely transfer the dog from vehicle "A" to vehicle "B" along with all of the dog's belongings, especially the paperwork! I can't express enough the importance of this transfer! It's difficult to find a fax machine on a Sunday to fax the paperwork ahead!
Either the hand-off driver or the pick-up driver needs to call the transport monitor and let them know the transfer has been made and report any time discrepancies or problems that have arisen or just to let them know that things are running smoothly. This needs to be done before the pick-up driver takes off with the dog so that the transport monitor can double check that all belongings have been handed off to the next driver and can pass along any important information.
What to do as the pick-up driver:
You will need to arrive at the pick-up location by the arrival time listed on your leg of the Final Run Sheet. By this time, the dog should be walked and watered.
Locate the driver that you are picking up from and match their personal and vehicle identification to your run sheet information to make sure you are meeting the correct person. Many transports take place on the weekends and it's not unusual for several drivers to be at a favorite pick-up/hand-off point at one time. We don't want you picking up the wrong animal!
Safely transfer the dog from vehicle "A" to vehicle "B".
Get all paperwork, water, food, bowls etc. from the previous driver. Paperwork transfer is very important! It's difficult to find a fax machine on a Sunday to fax the paperwork ahead!
Either the hand-off driver or the pick-up driver needs to call the transport monitor and let them know the transfer has been made and report any time discrepancies or problems that have arisen or just to let them know that things are running smoothly. his needs to be done before the pick-up driver takes off with the dog so that the transport monitor can double check that all belongings have been handed off to the next driver and can pass along any important information.
Remember, you are never on the road alone. The transport monitor should always be just a phone call away!
Please check out our <a href="transportToolkit.html">Transport Toolkit</a> page. Whether you are
new to transporting or a seasoned veteran, we can give you ideas of what to put in your
Transport Toolkit to help make your experience a pleasurable one.
