Hey LEOs-- Being pulled over with GSD in car

[pyratemom]

Mainly I try not to get pulled over, but my dog does ride in a crate and I have a sticker on the back of my car that says "Peace, Love, and German Shepherds". If the officer walks to my front window he will see the crate in the back because I would turn on the interior lights. I would tell the officer right away "For your safety and mine I want you to know I have a concealed weapons permit and there is a loaded gun in the car." while keeping my hands on the steering wheel in plain sight. Then follow whatever instructions the officer gives. I was taught this by local sheriff's officers. They told me they would rather a person tell them ahead of time than to find out later. As for not pulling over in a remote spot. There are too many remote spots here so I would try to pull over in a lit spot at least if I had doubts. If they asked me to turn off my car and it was summer I would request that I be allowed to leave the car on for the air conditioner for my dog but I would willingly get out if asked. For the most part, cooperation is the key.

[Mrs.K]

I've only been pulled over once and let go without a ticket.

However, while I am worried about all those horror stories, I believe to have found the best possible way to deal with it and that is to NOT make it a bigger deal than it is. Once you make a huge deal out of it, you get nervous, when you get nervous, you make mistakes. Ergo... keep cool, calm and assertive, be friendly to the officer, keep the dogs restrained in the car, and you should be fine.

[Bridget]

I would do #4. Strangely, Heidi loves police officers and when I did get pulled over, she did everything except salute. If a civilian she doesn't know approaches the car, she often growls. She used to bark ferociously, but she now that she is a senior, I think it is just too much trouble LOL.

[runnershigh108]

If you are being pulled over in a secluded area that is not well lit and the nearest public well lit area is miles away call 911 to confirm you being pulled over by police.

If you are in the middle of a city or suburb that has street lights, businesses, well populated and a high traffic area you do not need to call 911 unless for some other reason you feel that it is not a police officer pulling you over.

If the police officer is afraid of your dog chances are they will just do a non-approach. Meaning, they will ask you to step out of your vehicle. Like a lot of people posted before this don't make it a bigger deal then it actually is. It happens all the time and you only hear about the "bad" situations because it is newsworthy for the media to get a rise outta people.

[Anitsisqua]

I was pulled over on the way back from the park one day (tail light was out). Gabe was very calm in the back seat, and the officer was totally unfazed. He just casually commented, "big dog". And I agreed, and that was it.

HOWEVER, I did see something on "World's Dumbest" once where a woman was pulled over with a pit bull in the back of her car. He jumped up on the armrest while barking at the officer and lowered the rear window. He lunged through the now-open window and latched onto the officer's arm and wouldn't release. She was arrested, I think for "assault with a deadly weapon" or some such.

[x0emiroxy0x]

Originally Posted by runnershigh108

If you are being pulled over in a secluded area that is not well lit and the nearest public well lit area is miles away call 911 to confirm you being pulled over by police.

If you are in the middle of a city or suburb that has street lights, businesses, well populated and a high traffic area you do not need to call 911 unless for some other reason you feel that it is not a police officer pulling you over.

If the police officer is afraid of your dog chances are they will just do a non-approach. Meaning, they will ask you to step out of your vehicle. Like a lot of people posted before this don't make it a bigger deal then it actually is. It happens all the time and you only hear about the "bad" situations because it is newsworthy for the media to get a rise outta people.

This is what I was trying to say when I said that Hunter Green's daughters instructor was wrong.

If you are in the back woods then call 911. However, if you are in Dallas or Houston in the city and do this, you will likely piss off or scare the cop with the "pulling your window down 1 inch"

Feel free to try it lol

[hunterisgreat]

I'm waiting for the day this happens when I'm headed home from training at 1am with 2 dogs I just worked in high aggression. I'll just call 911 in that scenerio. Now that I have a trailer clearly marked as having "caution working dogs" it should be very clear to the cop

[Catu]

6.- Train the dog to shut up.

Really. If you can't get the dog to be quiet on command it's not about the noise but about taking control of the situation.

[Mrs.K]

Originally Posted by Catu

6.- Train the dog to shut up.

Really. If you can't get the dog to be quiet on command it's not about the noise but about taking control of the situation.

Mine don't even bother to lift their head most of the time when someone approaches the car without posing a threat.
It would drive me crazy having a barking dog in the back. Since we drive in and out of post on a daily basis, the car is approached by the MP's and our ID's are checked. In Germany we got pulled out and the car was searched almost on a daily basis and they didn't care if I had dogs in the back. I had to take the dogs out, since we didn't have any crates in there back then, and we stood on the side while the guards searched the car.

Mine are used to a loooot of things.
So as long as there is no threat, they won't even bother.

[flynbyu2]

Originally Posted by rangersdad

Okay here's what I recommend (I'm an LEO). Pull over safely as soon as possible, put up the rear window that the dog can get his/her head out of, turn on your dome light and roll down your window. Put your hands on the top of the steering wheel and as the officer approaches yell out the window the dog is restrained. Most cops are used to dealing with dogs in cars. We appreciate it if the owner has the dog restrained (many people drive with dogs unrestrained or in their laps and we get charged by the animal sometimes). Just be considerate and aware (as you obviously are already).

Also LEO here and this is great advice. I also appreciate when the driver hands their documents well outside the window so I don't have to have my hands IN the vehicle with an unfamiliar dog. Many friendly dogs don't appreciate having their space invaded.

I have had a driver exit their vehicle when their dog would either not stop barking or was overly excited/aggressive. If you do have a CCW make sure you advise the officer PRIOR exiting the vehicle.