Dogs in Car

bellaboo86

I have a harness for my dog. It has a loop which the seatbelt fits through, which you then fasten as normal. My dog can sit and lie down as he pleases but won't go flying if the worst happens.

MatyMoo

A car drove in to the side of my sisters vehicle,nobody hurt but her window smashed and the loose, frightened, dog jumped through it and ran.

My sister called her and she stopped, just then a train went over the bridge and frightened her again and she took off, there was no stopping her. It took us 5 hours to find her.

Since then I would never, ever, have a dog loose in the car. My two have a car crate, friends use harnesses. Whatever, the dog should be restrained for their safety and your.

danih

Harness and seat belt clip, every time.

Its other people's driving that worries me - plenty of idiots texting, hungover, overtaking on corners . . .

I drive a lot, to and for work. Have seen too many scary drivers.

EmCHammer

Sadly, something I didn't realise until recently was that the vast majority of car dog harnesses are not actually crash tested, nor have any minimum standards they must adhere to...

I am too new to post links, but if you google crash tested harnesses there is some video footage of crash tests on 7 different harnesses with different sized dogs

lostinrates

We bought a guard for our last car. My husband had it out and nipped out with just one dog in the car, and had a roll over.

Thankfully he and dog were both safe, and it was because no guard or harness fitted the dog was safely and quickly got out.....however ....it WAS an unusual accident.

With three dogs and different travel arrangements, so does how we handle them. Our biggest dog is ALWYS in the boot. There is no guard but her size and our car mean there is no way out for her either over seats. In case of a rear shunt she would be I trouble in any scenario:(

Our not smaller but much lighter dog is usually on the back seat harnessed.

Then it gets tricky...little'un, either on a harness belted on front seat if its me and him or me and other dogs, or harnessed next to the other dog on back seat. They travel ok together.

Soon we will just have two dogs and will change car ( our car is only to cater for the third dog) at which point both the backseat dogs will be put in the back behind a guard. I might arrive places without dog hair on me sometimes.

Merry_Wanderer

Well my greyhound doesn't try and move around, she just lies there, and so it is something to keep her in place in case of a bump or a stop, rather than moving or pestering the driver. I was wondering about putting a dog guard behind our seats, but I am thinking that won't stop any impact into us.

We have thought of rescuing another but the fact that we might need a bigger car stops us just now. I thought of putting down the backseat permanently (we don't have kids) so dogs could be in boot/back, but I am wondering if it is better to keep the back seats as they are and have her in a harness.

A harness would be ok as long as she could have some movement - lying down and then getting up slightly to change position for example. (it would not be comfortable or practical for her to 'sit'). I will also bear in mind that not all are crash tested.

Different cars will make different options easier I'm sure. Interested to hear from anyone who has a little hatchback.

MrsAtobe

Krlyr, do you mind if I ask where you got your guards from? Our current do is happier in the boot, but I can't find a way to safely attach his harness in there. Thank you.

krlyr

There's quite a few manufacturers. Mine were from MMG guards but I did have a poor experience with customer service from them. Barjo, Guardsman, Barnesbrook to name a few.

moneylover

this is an old post but wanted to ask if anyone knows if this is safe enough - my dog likes her travel crate and we have this on back seat with seat belt over it. That said I was thinking that at a year old she might prefer more of a stretch out on back seat, as she does whine sometimes on long journeys to come out and I am then sometimes tempted to put her on floor in front of me on front seat, or worse, on my lap. Can anyone point me in the direction of a not desperately complicated to use, crash tested dog harness?
I do think a guard in the boot best but she plays merry hell in there, hates it so would prefer an alternative.
Many thanks

krlyr

You could look at the Pet Tubes, to give increased space on the rear seat, yet within the safety of a confined area. The mesh may restrict her view too and make her more settled.
http://www.roofbox.co.uk/dog-bag/dogs-pets-carriers-pet-tube.php