Pets and public transportation – what’s your experience?
I’m curious what your experience with taking pets like dogs on public transport is. Tildes has a diverse community from many different countries and I wonder how the process can differ!
I don’t own any pets right now, but I think that if I owned a dog my life would become a lot harder. I have no interest in owning a car at this point, but in my city and country, it would be hard or impossible to travel with my pet on public transit. The limit seems to be about 20 pounds for dogs on Amtrak—but I think small dogs are ridiculous creatures, so I’d already be blocked—and apparently no non-service animals on SEPTA.
Should we make public transit more accessible to animals? How do we do that? What are the challenges for transit agencies/other passengers and what are the benefits?
I've got a dachshund, he's really fantastic on public transport in London simply because he got exposed to it as early as possible. He usually sits on my wife or I's laps whilst he's on the train though, there's lots of times I see dogs on seats and my first thought goes to "I hope you've fleabombed your dog" rather than 'adorable'.
My wife does drive, I do not. So we've got him a little harness to sit in for when I have to take my bike (motor or push) somewhere very quickly and can't leave him about. Dachshunds are notorious for their seperation anxiety.
Is your dog noise-sensitive at all? I ask because many metros have poor insulation and poorly maintained rails that cause a kind of unpleasant screeching I imagine would scare a dog.
Does he get anxious in a busy train/bus? Especially as such a small animal, does the crowding concern him?
We avoid the tube for that reason. But trains are generally okay for him.
He used to get nervous. Now he kind of enjoys the train. Sits and waits with the occasional impatient whimper (he does this whenever you stop and you're out walking) and then hops on the train with you.
I've found anxious dogs are ones treated as if they are. I just treat him like a tiny person and he's got a huge personality because of it.
There is a certain percentage of dog owners that think the rules don’t apply to them and they’ll be the ones ruining it for everyone. I went into a cafe the other day and a lady was inside with her dog on a leash. I already find that a tad offensive, but when the dog wandered behind the counter I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s a food prep area and she just watched disinterestedly as she compromised the food safety of the joint.
On a recent train ride overseas a guy had a terrifying dog on a chain and it would go nuts every time someone get on. It was strong too, he barely had it under control.
The street outside my work is a popular dog walking stretch and of course that’s littered with shit.
If your dog is quiet, off the seat and not shitting I don’t really care about it on the train, but that’s not going to be the case every time and that’s enough for me to want animals off public transport. I am totally fine with a designated pet carriage or two though.
I picked a corgi because they have small bodies, but have the attitude of a dog twice their size. I haven't brought my dog on a bus, but I have brought him on a 4 hour plane ride. The trick is to make them very tired before going on a trip like that. He also used to ride with me on my bike to work in a backpack designed for dogs, before I switched over to remote work.
As the owner of a dachshund, don't they just?
I frequently have to remind people, "He's 8 kilos of badger killer... please don't let your kids near him." Though Corgi's are more like heartstoppers.
When I was in Boston raising my Pomsky as a puppy, I didn't have a car so I used Uber Pets to get to vet appointments and everywhere else. I think that's mostly the only option, though I think the T is open to pets outside of service animals besides during rush hours.
Here in Berlin dogs are allowed on public transport as long as they're leashed, though I think you might have to buy a half-price ticket for larger dogs (hasn't come up for me but I know that's a thing on the longer-distance trains). In my experience they're only on public transport rather rarely (since usually dogs don't have much to do that requires longer-distance travel like that) and when they have been on public transport they've been well-behaved.
In general the obligations a pet owner should have on public transport are no different than those they should have in other public spaces, outside of spaces specifically dedicated to them like dog parks.
I live in Norway, and in my city dogs go free on the city busses. I rarely take my dog on the bus, but I've never had any issues when I do. My dog gets a bit stressed if there's a lot of people, so we try to go when it's calmer if we can. We've met other dogs, and I've seen dogs a few times when taking the bus the past few years, and it's never been any issues from anyone. Most people seem to enjoy seeing a dog :) To be fair I've only seen well behaved dogs on the bus, and the owners are always attentive to their dog.
It’s been almost a decade since I was in Norway, but I remember noticing how well-behaved the dogs were.
There seems to be a different culture in dog ownership and training than where I live. I suppose that culture informs the practicality of having dogs on transit, to some extent.
I think I have an unpopular opinion here. Too many people get pets who cannot properly afford them or take care of them.
I don't think anything besides service animals should be allowed on public transit as it is not fair to the other passengers who could be allergic or terrified of said animal.
If you're going to get a pet you need to be able to get that pet to the vet without disturbing other people.
I agree, but how is this relevant to the topic?
I could see the argument continued as non-behaving pets are worse for the people that may be allergic, terrified, or otherwise annoyed by the presence of a pet.
Consider a non-stop barking dog on your train commute. Or one that keeps going to all the people because it won't sit still.
I'm taking the charitable approach here and assuming he meant more than what was just said.
My point is that some people get a pet they cannot afford and are using public transit because of this. Obviously not all people, plenty of people use public transit because a car doesn't make sense in their living situation or for other reasons. But not everyone thinks about how their having a pet will affect other people in a public space. The obvious example is the dog owner who thinks their dog will always recall on command so walks them without a leash.
That's what training is for. Now, if we could train people to use their words, rather than their hands when it comes to being around other peoples pets then I'd happily agree.
Life just doesn't work that way I'm afraid. So many cities simply aren't sensible to have a car just because you've got a dog. So public transport usage is entirely permitted.
I would agree except too many pet owners don't train their pets or misjudge their training abilities and think their dog will always recall when off a leash.
And I agree with your second point about cities not set up for it. We need better solutions and there may not always be better solutions.
There's definitely some awful dog owners in the UK at the moment. I was raised around German Shepherd Dogs, Rottweilers and the ilk... so my little Dachshund gets trated the same way. He's got a hell of a prey instinct so my wife and I are hypervigilant that he doesn't decide a kids ball (or a kid) needs a good barking at.
That doesn't stop parents ignoring me, calling my dog, or telling their kids to go pet him without asking me. Honestly, both sides of the arguments need some stern talking to about autonomy and treating living creatures better eh?
The reality is, if we're going to push for a more public transport centric society (rather than one constrained and struggling with individual personal transport) then pets are going to have to be welcome on them. The alternative is cities of people and nothing more.
Yeah that's a fair point. And I do think we should strive to have more walk-able and bike-able cities. Naturally that should include better public transit that would ideally include pet friendly options as well.
I guess you can transport a fairly large dog in a cargo bike without too much difficulty.
What about inter-city travel, like visits to see family? Small pets are sometimes already allowed—what about larger ones? Presumably a muzzle would be required.
What do you think about having designated cars on local or inter-city trains that allow pets, to address allergy issues? I am not sure what these would look like for large animals. Maybe a section not dissimilar from a wheelchair-accessible area.
Yeah, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying there are good solutions in place if you cannot afford a car or a car doesn't make sense in your situation.
I do like the idea of having a seperate car on trains for people bringing their animals. That seems like a simple enough solution.
I think that's an unfair opinion as well. People should be able to commute to where they need to go regardless of what state they are in or whether they are accompanied by an animal. I live in canada and its wild that we dont have a system in my very pet dense city where every third train is an animal friendly train or there exists a certain section of each train that is pet friendly.
Regardless of what action or inaction you take youll always be disturbing someone so i dont think thats a particularly useful metric. At the end of the day i dont think that pet ownership should be exclusive to the rich that can afford cars and garages to house those cars.
Also Canadian and it is also surprising to me that there are not more pet friendly transit options.
I'm not sure I would agree with you on that but to each their own. I assumed I wouldn't have many people agree with me.