What's your experience of taking your dog on public transport? Am in London, so thinking of tram, train, tube and bus

[FloBear]

Our puppy is a medium sized terrier, just under a year old. He is v happy in the car, but hasn't been on any form of public transport yet, and I'd like him to get used to it. I don't even know what the rules are about dogs! Any experiences welcome, thanks!

No eco-warriors out there with dogs??

Hi FloBear, I'm in the same situation (well, just adopted an adult dog and I want to take him on public transport). I've seen dogs on both buses and the tube, so there's no regulation saying they can't use the public transport system. I did try to take a friend's dog on the tube once and he freaked out! He was fine on the bus though, and I'm guessing that's because it's more like a car.

I'm going to try Champ out on the tube this Sunday so fingers crossed ...

Could you try your pup on a one-stop journey to start with and see how he gets on? Perhaps on one of the surface lines (don't know where you are in London, but the outer parts of the tube might be easier for him before tackling the perils of the Central Line in zone 1!)

I used to take my dog on buses and trains all the time. She was a boxer staff cross so not to big, she was a bit bigger than a jack russell, never had any problems with it, I used to pick her up to get on and off and hold her on my lap for journeys out of respect for those that might not like dogs, but I never had an issue in or out of London.

This has reminded me, I saw a bloke with two labradors and a small fluffy yapper type dog (a Maltese or suchlike) get on the tube the other day. The dogs were amazingly well-behaved and just sat quietly at their master's feet for the journey, and everyone in the carriage ignored them!

my understanding is that dogs are allowed on buses at the driver's discretion. I used to take my lab on when he was pretty young - 3-4 months, and he was fine. I saw a driver - quite rightly imo - refuse to take on a pit-bull type dog (it was probably a soft staffie, or a cross of some sort - I'm not very good at those breeds) - that was with a group of totally unruly teenagers who clearly had no clue how to handle a dog. good judgment on the part of the driver imo.

Thanks, everybody. Molesworth, trying one stop from a quiet place to another quiet place is a really good idea, which I hadn't thought of. Hatwoman, I searched the TfL website and found out that bus drivers can refuse to take a dog - your example is a good example of why!

I'd like to take ours out and about to different parks for walks, to relieve boredom for me.

Are graveyards usually out of bounds for dogs, does anyone know? Our church's one is, but it's next to the church; I wonder if the big ones allow them? I could spend my time reading tombstones...

One of our regular walkie places is Brompton Cemetery - there's a designated dog route there - but I'm not sure what the score is in other graveyards.

I'm taking the plunge tomorrow with the tube - do let us know how you get on FB!

Oh, please let me know how you get on with the tube, Molesworth! I'm not sure when we'll grace the tram with our presence...

I had the wicked idea today that I could claim our pup is a 'mental health assistance dog' - they wouldn't want to take him away from me then, would they? I had no idea such things existed, but the TfL website includes them!

How funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing (about the mental health assistance dog) - it would be so handy to be able to take him into coffee shops when we're out and about I wonder what mental health assistance dogs actually do? And how one would explain it to a shop assistant?

He did brilliantly on the tube - we went from earl's court to the barbican and then battled through a very packed liverpool street, then back to earl's court, and he was perfectly behaved. We were a bit naughty and let him up on the seat because the poor little lad was so tired out by the end of the day

we took our dog on the train, from london up to scotland, if that counts, fine, until did a wee just as we arrived

I'm more worried that ours will jump up - he loves people so much, and we're still training him to greet people without jumping up. Sometimes he does a little wee when he's excited to see someone! But I think public transport might help make him calmer around people in the long run.

I would love to find out more about mental health assistance dogs.

Awwwww...Googled it...

"Assistance dogs for people with mental health conditions are not recognised in the UK. Yet statements from service users indicate the worth of companion animals in adding structure to the day, improving morale, preventing isolation and loneliness, helping people fight depression and reducing stigma.

In light of the interest generated from other service users, carers, voluntary organisations and healthcare workers the Wilby campaign led by Christine McDonald at NEST Involvement Network and supported by Susie Nankivell at Together will focus on 3 main aims:

1. To raise awareness of the value of companion dogs and responsible dog ownership.

1. To increase the uptake of Direct Payments to improve independent living for people disabled by their mental health impairment.

1. To gain support for companion dogs to be accepted as assistance dogs in the UK, for people with assessed mental health needs."

I take my labrador on the bus/ train and tube quite often

I used to take him every week to a place near Victoria where I used to work one eve per week. We got on train - walked through crowds - he is always good.

Hope yours was good