Having a dog and. not driving?

PassingStranger · 2024-04-06T19:01:50+00:00

Does everyone who has a dog or dogs drive? It is easy to have a dog if you dont? You can go to more interesting places on walks I guess if you have transport, get to the vets etc?

KidsandKindness · 06/04/2024 20:04

Are we to understand that you want a dog but can't drive, so wonder if it's necessary to have a car if you have a dog OP?

YeOldeGreyhound · 06/04/2024 20:05

I have a dog, and don't drive.

Our vets is a walking distance for routine stuff like jabs etc.

My dog is pretty old, and is happy with the local park and sniffy walks.

If needed, I have family who can take her in a car to the vet, or somewhere a bit more exciting.

Ratfan24 · 06/04/2024 20:06

I think it depends where you live. If you can walk to nice places in easy walking distance and have a fairly good garden it would be a lot easier.

QuickFetchTheCoffee · 06/04/2024 20:10

I don't drive.
If my dog needs to go to the vet but can't walk I request a taxi driver who is okay with taking a dog. For regular appointments vet is within walking distance so I just walk him there. Alternatively he loves the bus as he's small enough to sit on my lap and look out of the window.
The are several local parks and other areas where he can run off lead.

goldenretrievermum5 · 06/04/2024 20:10

We have a golden retriever and to be honest there’s so way that I could have her without a car. Recently had to do without for a week and it was awful. We live in the suburbs with good vets, parks etc in walking distance but she needs a good off lead run every few days which means that we have to drive to the beach, forest or more specialised dog parks in the countryside. She’d be really bored and under exercised if she didn’t get to go to any of these places - they need variety

You could probably get away with it if you got a small breed like a dachshund though. Easier to carry and travel with on public transport if need be, plus not so large exercise requirements

downsizedilemma · 06/04/2024 20:13

I am sure it is do-able.

Might be worth thinking about what you will do if you go on holiday/to visit family. Will you use public transport? Unfortunately car hire places don't allow dogs in their vehicles.

DatingQQQ · 06/04/2024 20:16

Weird question,
plenty of people with dogs don't drive!? I see people with dogs on buses all the time in London???

Youdontknowmedoyou · 06/04/2024 20:18

If you're concerned about getting dog to a vet then you can use an animal taxi service.
Of course it is possible to own a dog and not drive.

Ilovelurchers · 06/04/2024 20:19

I don't drive and have a dog, but my partner drives so it's not too bad. I also live in walking distance of the vets and a very big park, and my dog is fine on buses/public transport, though he is greyhound sized so does take up space.

If it was just me and my daughter, I would still have a dog despite the inability to drive, but I would stick with a smaller breed - a lot easier to take on buses. (Much as I like bigger dogs).

noctilucentcloud · 06/04/2024 20:28

Completely depends on where you live! I couldn't because I'm rural and I need a car for the vets as public trandport/taxi's aren't an option. I also have a dog that needs regular vet checks... But if I lived in the city I'd be fine. I'd check out the rules for your local public transport - not all allow dogs, and also if there's a dog-friendly taxi service which you might need for a rushed vets visit. I'd also check out if you're likely to use a boarding kennels regularly as they're likely to be more remote and possibly not accessible without a car. I'd also consider getting a smaller dog that you can pick up / carry if necessary!

noctilucentcloud · 06/04/2024 20:34

I'd also add that if you rehome a dog, you may find the charity won't let you take them home by public transport because its just too much for them - so you'd need an alternative for that particular day. You might also find that if you rehome a dog that they have never seen a bus or a train etc before and are scared of them. If you have a small dog you can carry them on. If you have a large heavy dog you're stuck if they refuse to get on! Or off!

Mrsttcno1 · 06/04/2024 20:34

It depends where you live and also depends really on what you want. We have a Labrador and I wouldn’t have him if we didn’t have a car purely because it makes it quick & easy to get to vets if needed & for routine things, the closest out of hours emergency vets from us is a 30 min drive away so if we needed to go there out of hours with no car we’d be stuck, and I would be sick doing the same walks 3 times a day every day. Having the car means that we are able to (like today) go to the beach for the morning walk and then go to a local woods for the evening walk , I wouldn’t want to be chained to the house for every walk and neither would our dog.

Also think about getting around, do you ever visit family, or go on holidays? How would you get there with a dog? It’s near impossible to get taxis round ours that allow dogs so definitely bare that in mind.

Whattheflipflap · 06/04/2024 20:34

downsizedilemma · 06/04/2024 20:13

I am sure it is do-able.

Might be worth thinking about what you will do if you go on holiday/to visit family. Will you use public transport? Unfortunately car hire places don't allow dogs in their vehicles.

I had a courtesy car through enterprise last year and they were fine with pets in their vehichles.

fieldsofbutterflies · 06/04/2024 20:40

Personally speaking, I wouldn't own a dog if I didn't have a car. That's not to say it's impossible, but it would make (my) life a lot harder.

With a car, I have the ability to take him to the vets if needed. It means I don't need to worry about taking an injured or vomiting dog in a taxi or on a bus (or try and get them there on foot).

I can drive him to all sorts of places - the beach, the woods, the nearest town, the pet shop, the groomers. It's quick and easy and means things like getting his nails done only takes 20 minutes as opposed to 90 if I had to walk there/back.

It means we can take him on holiday or on day trips without worrying about him getting muddy, or rolling in fox poo, or getting injured and not being able to walk home. We can go to the pet shop, or the nearest town to work on socialisation etc too.

BUT we do live rurally and I'd probably feel differently if I lived in a larger town or city, or at least somewhere with decent public transport.

Greenfluffycardi · 06/04/2024 20:42

I have dogs I drive, I don’t drive my dogs anywhere except the vet and that’s a rarity.

Original poster

PassingStranger · 07/04/2024 11:52

DatingQQQ · 06/04/2024 20:16

Weird question,
plenty of people with dogs don't drive!? I see people with dogs on buses all the time in London???

Not weird to me. Otherwise I wouldn't ask would I?
Lots of things are asked on here.
I don't live in London and I don't see many dogs on the bus to be honest?

OP posts:

fieldsofbutterflies · 07/04/2024 11:57

Youdontknowmedoyou · 06/04/2024 20:18

If you're concerned about getting dog to a vet then you can use an animal taxi service.
Of course it is possible to own a dog and not drive.

I just wanted to point out that most animal taxis aren't allowed to transport owners too. So while they're useful for things like the groomers, or dropping off for planned surgeries, they're not so good for emergency vet visits where the owner really does need to be present.

HandsomeJack · 07/04/2024 12:09

I took my dog to the vets in a wheelbarrow back before I could drive.

Pinkpinkpink15 · 07/04/2024 12:14

PassingStranger · 07/04/2024 11:52

Not weird to me. Otherwise I wouldn't ask would I?
Lots of things are asked on here.
I don't live in London and I don't see many dogs on the bus to be honest?

Show quote history

@PassingStranger

Some people don't understand that there's life outside of London, let alone that it's vey different.

I drive, but if I didn't I could still happily have a dog where I live, I'm about 40 steps from a vets, there's a bus stop across the road which I can get a bus about every 20 minutes. It's only one route. I've only used it to go to the end point (local town) or the hospital (when I had to go for physio but wasn't able to drive due to the injury) I guess I'd use more of the stops to take the dog for a different walk). I have several dog friendly off lead walking places on my doorstep, so not limited to the same street walks daily the bus also goes to a train station & places I could pick up other bus routes.

my issue is that I live alone & work full time. I'm about to be made redundant, so I cant commit to a dog until I have another job/other work in place so I know whether it's workable or not.

IjustbelieveinMe · 07/04/2024 12:19

When I left a relationship I took the dog and I bought a car, had to take refresher driving lessons because it had been so long since I had driven, just so my dog could come away on holiday with me. Bloody expensive decision but so worth it. There is nothing better than belting out your favourite songs on the way to the beach with your dog sat in the backseat.

Foxblue · 07/04/2024 12:26

Totally depends on where you live.
I don't drive, but I live in a town where no matter where I live in it:

I would be within a half hour walk from a vets.
I would be within a half hour walk from green space, and other dogs and people, so the dog could be exercised and socialised appropriately
Be within walking distance of pet supply stores

If I had a significant alteration to my physical health that meant I couldn't make the distances, it would be difficult but I have people I could ask to help me out for vets visits, for example

Cherrysoup · 07/04/2024 14:22

Local park is in walking distance but one dog has sliced open a pad and I don’t want him on concrete pavements, only grass, so I take the car. The other dog is still going for ‘proper’ walks a couple of miles away.

The vet is a few miles away so driving is necessary, imo. There’s a medivet within walking distance, but again, if there was a paw injury, I would want the car. For holidays, I’d need a car, really and the dogs are from a 4 hour drive away so picking them up needed a car.

Blanketpolicy · 07/04/2024 14:49

We were 3-4 miles from the vet and had a labrador so a bigger dog, but when he had a leg injury and had to be carried into the vet, or the ear tear that was bleeding profusely and we had to hold a towel on his head or he would shake it and there was blood up and down the walls like a horror movie scene - I have no idea how we would have handled them without a dog friendly car.

How we would have managed to get him to the vet hospitals when needed - once he had to go to a specialist on the other side of the country for surgery, twice up to the local vet hospital 20 miles away for scans and treatment.

There are also all the not so critical visits when they are throwing up or have diarrhea and need seen - impossible on bus and not many taxi drivers will be keen.

Mrsttcno1 · 07/04/2024 15:07

Blanketpolicy · 07/04/2024 14:49

We were 3-4 miles from the vet and had a labrador so a bigger dog, but when he had a leg injury and had to be carried into the vet, or the ear tear that was bleeding profusely and we had to hold a towel on his head or he would shake it and there was blood up and down the walls like a horror movie scene - I have no idea how we would have handled them without a dog friendly car.

How we would have managed to get him to the vet hospitals when needed - once he had to go to a specialist on the other side of the country for surgery, twice up to the local vet hospital 20 miles away for scans and treatment.

There are also all the not so critical visits when they are throwing up or have diarrhea and need seen - impossible on bus and not many taxi drivers will be keen.

These are the things to think about OP.

It’s all well and good to have a local vet within walking distance for the typical trips, but what about God forbid the times they eat something they shouldn’t and have an awful turn at 2am, or they have a fit at 8pm, or a Sunday, or the local vets can’t deal with it and you have to go elsewhere… you need a way to get to that vets that could be really up to an hour away for an out of hours emergency vets.