dirty ethel rackham Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Our 70 lb labradoodle LOVES to go for rides in the car. While he may test out the driver's or front passenger's seat, he knows he is supposed to sit in the back and is usually rather good about staying put and generally lays down once the car is in motion. All it takes is one slight swerve to remind him since he has such a high center of gravity. Well, yesterday was a wake up call for me. I was taking my daughter somewhere and had Bear in the car (he has been very lonely since our 2nd son left for college last week.) I had to make a sudden stop when something ran out in front of me. Bear rolled off the bench seat into the backs of the front seats and onto the floor. This was only in the neighborhood so my top speed was under 25 mph. It dawned on me that he could be hurt if this had been a higher speed incident. Last night, I noticed that he was taking the stairs rather gingerly and is not as enthusiastic about playing fetch today. Granted, it could be that we played fetch for over 30 minutes yesterday and he did crash into the fence a litter harder than usual. So, I am not exactly blaming the car incident for his soreness today. So, this has me researching car restraints. I am surprised at how poorly these have performed in crash tests. The only one that did well is about $100 for a dog Bear's size. Also, it doesn't seem to allow the dog to lay down as is our dog's preferred travel style. Does anyone have any input on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 We could never find one that fit properly on our old lab mix. And with two fairly tall and skinny dogs now, I would not expect much success either. I am fortunate that I have an Explorer. The dogs are behind a wire barricade in the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Crash tested up to 75 lb. dog: http://sleepypod.com/clickit The only other crash tested dog safety device I know about is a crate that starts at about $800, and your dog can lie down in it. http://www.mim.se/?p=productgroup&i=1&l=en Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 We have an "American Tourister" harness for our 85 lb, 23" at-the-shoulder Labrador. He absolutely wears it every time he is in the car. If we need to stop, he's a deadly projectile for everybody. He can sit and lay down; he just can't fly into the seats in front of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 We have a seatbelt harness for our little poodle. She would go flying if I had to stop quickly. I think you could find one for a better price at your local pet stoe, and then you could try it on your dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 My daughter has a service dog through a very reputable organization. They 'require' us to use a dog restraint every time her dog travels in the car. Their primary reasoning is that if there is ever an accident, they want the dogs attached so that they can not run away in the chaos. Evidently, in their experience, that has been the greatest risk. With their advise and help, we use a short leash tie down attached to secure place that allows her dog to move a minimum amount which then attaches to her buckle collar. So nothing expensive, just to keep her from being a projectile and getting loose. Depending on where she is in the car, it is usually looped through the bottom of a seat to her buckle collar. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 My daughter has a service dog through a very reputable organization. They 'require' us to use a dog restraint every time her dog travels in the car. Their primary reasoning is that if there is ever an accident, they want the dogs attached so that they can not run away in the chaos. Evidently, in their experience, that has been the greatest risk. With their advise and help, we use a short leash tie down attached to secure place that allows her dog to move a minimum amount which then attaches to her buckle collar. So nothing expensive, just to keep her from being a projectile and getting loose. Depending on where she is in the car, it is usually looped through the bottom of a seat to her buckle collar. YMMV. This is pretty much what I do with my dogs. They wear good quality harnesses and I use a heavy leash coupler (which has clips on both ends), to hook them to the car seat anchor. It's certainly not likely to provide great protection in a crash of any speed, but it's better than nothing and IMO probably just as good as dog seat belts or a crate that isn't heavily strapped down. I use a harness rather than a collar because I'm guessing if there was any trauma from the restraint the dog would handle it better in the chest/shoulder area from a harness than in the throat area from a collar. FWIW, I have a storage bin half full of dog seat belt contraptions. None of them worked satisfactorily, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 We use the harness/tether system too. (Hooking a tether to a collar seems dangerous to the trachea) I looked into sleepypods, which seem to have the best safety rating, but there isn't an independent testing source out there, so who knows if they really are safer. One day we may be able to afford it, but for now our $5 tether works well to keep our pup from flying through the windshield or slipping into traffic should we get into a crash. FWIW, here is what we use: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IGKKJCA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00IGKKJCA&linkCode=as2&tag=libhilhou-20&linkId=JYVLOY77PLRFJPHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 We have a great dane. For his safety and ours he wears a high quality harness (with metal buckles rather than plastic break away buckles) whenever he is in the car. His harness is attached to a seat belt tether (a strap that the seat belt runs through with a clip on the end that attaches to the harness ring...$10 at petco or petsmart). He is able to sit or lay however he wants but if I have to stop quickly the seat belt locks just as it would for a person and prevents him from going flying. It isn't a perfect solution and most likely wouldn't save him in a very high speed crash but it is the best we have found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I agree a harness would be better then a buckle collar. I admit it is laziness on my part thus far as her dog already has a lot of gear. I've just never gone a step further to add a harness that would have to be added/removed (then her service dog vest, control leader, ID collar, etc). Since she travels so much, I do need to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Old thread, I know, but FWIW, my mom just sent me this: https://www.scribd.com/document_downloads/direct/249293894?extension=pdf&ft=1417832619<=1417836229&source=embed&uahk=4hmZQFLLq0UWcSV6jfSMTN0BNcQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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