I have an 8-month-old Beagle mix who I’ve always harnessed in the car. The small harness I bought when I got her (5 months and 22 pounds ago) worked fine for a while, but about a month ago it was time to buy something bigger. I bought a one-size-fits-all harness and used it for the first time last weekend. Well, it sort of worked: it seemed to serve its purpose in the car, but it’s a real PITA to adjust and the “leftover” straps drag on the ground next to her – plus the cross-straps kind of readjust themselves as she moves, and the harness winds up slipping to the side. I’m not happy with it (and the puppy hates it even more than the old one), but am reluctant to buy yet another harness.
My SO has a 5-year old Beagle who does not get harnessed or restrained: she jumps into the passenger seat and either sits, lays down, or balances herself just fine. I’d like Bailey to be like that, but she’s only 8 months old and still a little clutzy and when I think about not restraining her I get paranoid visions about an accident and the dog being preventably hurt/killed.
Does anyone use any kind of doggy restraint in the car other than a harness? Do most people simply not bother with any kind of restraint at all? Or, can anyone recommend a really good (i.e., easy to adjust and put on the dog) harness?
I’ve never belted any dog in in the car, but I do see why people do - once Haplo stole my cheeseburger and scampered under the brake pedal with it, and of course if you were in a wreck the dog might go flying. I’ve never bothered, though - my dogs have always just chilled out in the passenger seat. (Except for that one brake-pedal incident.)
A friend of mine has both this and this. I like the hammock one better, but the barrier is better if people get in the back seat. And, surprisingly, it doesn’t feel like doggie jail.
It’s not strictly necessary as long as you’re comfortable with losing your pet, which is a virtual certainty in any significant frontal collision. FWIW, most people don’t bother, although I couldn’t say how much of that is due to ignorance and how much is due to nonchalance.
We have a 30 pound Beagle mix who goes in a pop-up crate like this when we have to take him in the car. Seat belts go through loops in the corners of the crate so it won’t slip off the back seat. The small size crate fits the back seat of a Prius and holds the dog comfortably.
I’ve never seen a one-size-fits-all harness, but I can’t imagine it would work well on any size–too much room for adjustment means making adjustments up or down takes for-bloody-ever.
I think you’d be much better off with a doggy seatbelt that is made for your dog’s size. My parents got Dolly one several years ago that I really liked. It was appropriately sized, so adjusting it wasn’t a big deal, there was a ring to clip the leash on, and the loop the seatbelt went through was long enough that she could shift around and stay comfortable but short enough to keep her secured. I haven’t used it since we got the Fit, though; now I fold up the seat bottoms in back and put the big dog bed down in the floorboard. Much cozier than trying to balance on a seat.
I saw a poor, bloodied, chocolate lab that had been in a simple rollover. His owner had to take evasive action on the highway, pulled onto a shoulder that ended up being soft. By then the car was moving slowly, so they did a gentle roll over onto the roof, but the not strapped in dog was a cut up bloody mess. Poor guy.
We use a regular harness, the kind you’d use to walk a dog, and an additional strap that we feed the the seatbelt through. The dog already has the harness on him when he climbs in the car, and then we just clip a carabiner to it.
Thanks for the replies, everyone! Sorry I couldn’t make it back to the thread yesterday.
Neither of those are quite right for me, but that site has a bucket seat cover that might be useful: it seems easy to put on/take off, it would give the dog more purchase than she currently has on my leather seats, and it might be more comfortable than leather in the winter and summer. Not to mention that it would protect my seat, and would let me forget about bringing a towel when we go to the dog park. Thanks!
Couldn’t calculated risk also be an option? I’m considering not restraining my dog anymore because I think the odds of being in an accident are pretty low. I’m still trying to decide whether it’s an acceptable risk for me, but I don’t think it’s fair to imply that most dog owners either are ignorant or don’t care about their dogs’ safety.
I’m hesitant to buy anything sized, because Bailey is only 8 months old and we don’t know how much growing she has left to do (she’s already 31 pounds, surprising even our vet), but I’m intrigued and will keep looking into this idea. Thanks!
I have a padded chest harness rigged up like Swallowed for doggy car rides for larger dogs that I slip the seat belt through to keep a dog confined to the back as well as a barrier between the front and back seats that I got from Fosters and Smith.
For smaller dogs, I have a small rubbermaid container with a bed attached raised up close to window level with another harness going through.
I do rescue, so I always transport dogs to and from places. The smaller dogs like the window view and it keeps them confined and safe. You can buy actual doggy booster seats that raise a smaller dog to window height, but I just rigged one up.
I bought one when Bailey was little and we were going to puppy classes: it had a faux fleece lining, adjustable height legs, and storage under the seat.
It’s not unfair at all. What would you say to a person that doesn’t strap in their infant or child? You’d call them callous or ignorant, right?
The risk to a dog in a serious accident is no less. In fact, it’s likely to be higher, since the dog’s center of gravity is much higher, especially relative to the seat- the dog is almost certain to be standing on the seat, rather than sitting on it. That won’t make much difference in the back seat, but it will make an awful lot in the front.
1 in 8 drivers will be involved in an accident involving $300+ worth of property damage in any given year. Obviously, most of those impacts will be harmless to a belted human, but not so for an unrestrained dog (or person).
Oh, good point! I forgot to add that the harness is the kind that distributes weight across the chest. Like he could tow a wagon with it. So in a head-on collision the toughest part of him would take the impact, not like those weeny harnesses you see on little dogs that just have loops around their bodies.
Also, another good reason for doggies to wear seatbelts is that a frightened pooch whose just been in an accident and is frightened, may run off in a blind panic and disappear into the woods, or worse, run into traffic. If your dog is buckled in, you know where he is and he can be safely cleared from the scene and/or rescued.
Consider also that in a collision, an unrestrained dog will become a projectile. Even if you didn’t mind risking the dog’s safety, you wouldn’t want your (seatbelted) passengers to be the target of an airborne, frightened creature with teeth and claws.
I don’t have passengers, but I don’t want me to be the target of an airborne, frightened creature with teeth and claws!
Ok, my brief flirtation with letting my dog ride in the car unrestrained – which I’ve never done – is over. I’m still looking for a better option/system than an adjustable harness, though, and I’ve gotten some good ideas already but feel free to keep 'em coming!
At 8 months, he should pretty much be done with the rapid growth. He’ll still get a bit taller and longer, and he’ll probably continue to fill out through the chest till he’s around a year and a half, but I wouldn’t expect any substantial changes. Also, bigger harnesses have more adjustment room than smaller ones. Don’t buy one that’s snug when it’s let all the way out, but if you get one that’s got a fairly small amount of extra room, that should fit him for the duration.
My seat belt is a Four Paws model, and the label appears to call it a large. Dolly was right at 45 pounds when we got it, so I’d think a medium should do your fellow pretty well.
Yesterday I ordered a Kurgo Tru-fit dog harness, and it arrived today (I love Amazon Prime): Bailey actually stood mostly still while I put it on her, it was pretty easy to put on, I only had to make some minor adjustments for fit, and right now we both seem to like it. I really like the padded chest part. The test will come tomorrow evening, though, when I take her to the grand opening of a friend’s dog spa.
Thanks!
