Secured In The Car

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

More attention has been paid lately to dogs that are hurt in car accidents and how that can be avoided by securing the dog in the car. (Or people who are hurt from their dogs becoming projectiles.) I really want to do this but don't see how. We have a good sized Jeep but it won't hold two crates. Our fairly new Greys don't even seem to be able to sit so putting them in a seat belt type harness wouldn't work I don't think. Besides, if the two of them were on one car seat the seat would be overflowing with greyhounds!

 

I bought a netting barrier for behind our seat but that mostly is just to keep them from trying to get in the front seat. I think it would just fold if there were to be an impact and the dogs pushed into it.

 

Does anyone use any kind of restraint in your car? I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts or stories on how to do this.

 

Thanks!

[OwnedBySummer]

I also just have the netting barrier. I have a Buick Century sedan so anything else (crate or one of those metal barriers you see in SUV's) is impossible. She travels very well, lying down 99% of the time.

[JAJ2010]

DO NOT USE the metal barriers!

 

They do not stay tight (even if you use super human strength and wrenches to tighten.) So when they fall on the pups said pups will panic, wiggle sideways out of the 4-6" open window, land on their backs out of a moving vehicle, then the social one will go bother some terrified man and the shy one will boogy up the road as fast as she can. Talk about loosing years off your life! End result is NO barrier and full heavy steel medal window grates that are designed for agility people. Honestly I think animals absorb impact a bit better than we do. Plus cars are not designed to crumble around our pets, just us humans. So they might have a better chance at being thrown from the vehicle, then getting crushed to death. Although you then have a loose dog so I now also keep 8ft leashes on them in the car.

[Guest Flysmom]

We used to have a Jeep Cherokee and bought a Metal divider from the Dealer. I have it now in the Volvo and it works just fine. My boys go to sleep when we drive and seldom get up.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

JaJ, wow, try decaf...

[JAJ2010]

JaJ, wow, try decaf...

sorry only the scariest day of my life there

[OwnedBySummer]

JAJ2010, sure sounds like you're speaking from an absolutely terrifying experience! Jeez, I hope I never have that one!

[robinw]

I use the Moonglow Champion seatbalt System. The small, fat, sturdy leash attaches to the tie down in the back of my Toyota Matrix and the harnesses are really thick and sturdy.

Edited September 30, 2010 by robinw

[Guest Olivia0208]

To Greyt_dog_lover: I'm a big coffee drinker and think the same way as JAJ. Very funny response. I'll go make some decaf now, I need to cut down the caffeine too.

[jenn8]

You can secure the metal barriers to any stationary object with zip ties. I have had one in my Jeep Cherokee for many years. Two crates are impossible to fit in.

 

It is hard for anyone to say what would be the safest for our pups because we can't predict the outcome of an accident. I am not sure I would want my dogs anchored to the inside of a car that was all smashed up or on fire. Being leashed or strapped to something could also cause them to panick more from an impact while struggling to get free. It just seems like it might be easier for them to regain their footing or even brace their fall if they had the room they needed to do it.

 

But those are just my choices and I hope I don't end up regretting them some day.

 

A few more ideas:

 

Leaving the window open far enough where a dog can fit his head out is very dangerous. If you had to stop suddenly, a simple fall could break his neck.

 

Always keep one of those seatbelt ripper/window breaker tools in your car where you will be able to easily reach it. I think they cost 5 bucks.

 

Jenn

[Guest boondog]

I use this in my car after reading about it here on GT. I only take one dog at a time in my car, though.

[JenniferS]

I've used this for years.Champion Harness Your dog can stand up or lie down. They can't really turn around too well, but they get used to it eventually. My dog is never unrestrained in the car.

[kudzu]

I find harnesses, the well made, well fitted sort, work well with one dog in the car. Be careful when choosing a harness. You do not want one that will ride up above the chest & onto their neck in an accident. In my Prius I use a strap that hooks to the child seat restraints. There is enough give for the dog to lay down but if I stop short they can not travel forward more than a few inches. It isn't ideal but a very good compromise that I have been thankful for on several occasions. However, two in my little Prius sedan get tangled when wearing the harness & strap arrangement. They are uncomfortable if you try to strap them in tight enough to prevent tangles. I rarely travel with two in the Prius since we got the van but when we do, they ride unharnessed which worries me. There is the rear seat hammock to keep them from tumbling into the front if I have to stop short but I doubt it would help much in a serious accident.

 

We can, thankfully, fit multiple travel sized crates in the van but more often have just one in there. If we take both dogs then one dog rides in the crate & the other harnessed. That works fairly well also but I would still prefer they both be crated. When we trade my Prius & the van becomes mine, that is how they will ride. The crates are plastic with tie down points on each corner. They are tied down to floor of the van. After considering all the pluses & minuses of the various restraints available, I decided this was my best option. BTW, I already had one plastic crate of the correct size. However, it is older & I worry about old plastic getting brittle. Also, it did not have the tie down spots. So we bought two new ones. The plastic crates do get warmer than wire ones or riding harnessed. We have an auxiliary fan to pull the cold air to the back. It works well as long I do not mind freezing my tuckus off up front.

 

On trips the dogs ride crated in the van. For the record, the girls vote for riding with harnesses instead of crates. My vote overrides them. The jury is still out on which is really the safest, crates or harnesses. I think it would all depend on the accident.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Yes, there is a good argument for both being restrained, and not restrained in an accident. You can read in the Amber Alert of a couple that was traveling through the Arizona (I think that is where it happened) and had a roll-over accident. When the first responders opened the vehicle to get the people out, the two hounds bolted, never to be found. Don't know if they were strapped in or not. Also, there have been accounts of haulers overturing when transporting hounds. I know of one such accident in the Quad Cities area of Iowa/Illinois. A few hounds escaped, a few never made it to their forever couch (didnt see the vehicles comming), but most went on to continue racing. I have not heard of many stories on GT where there was an accident and the hound was killed because of being thrown around the vehicle. One thing I worry about though is an 85 lb greyhound becoming a missle in the car because of a rear-end accident. I own a Mitsubishi Outlander that has seats that roll forward, so there is no way a greyhound laying down would be able to make it into the front seat during an accident (they would impact the seats, not the back of the driver seat). I also own a full size van and a Jeep Liberty. The Liberty is the vehicle that concerns me the most as the back seats fold down so the hounds can just walk right up to the front seat, this is the worst set-up during an accident as they can simply fly into the front seat. I personaly do not use restraining devices because I do not feel the available restraining devices are properly designed for safely restraining a canine. I believe they will in fact do more harm than good in an accident becuase the points at which they restrain the hound (neck and majority of body left uncontrolled). I am by no means an expert, but this is my personal belief.

[Guest Sunset123]

I use the Kurgo harness and zipline system. I absolutely love it but I would not recommend it for anyone driving with more than one dog.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

I had a metal barrier installed (screwed to the frame of the car) by the Jeep dealer. Was made especially for the Liberty but I bet they have them for other models. It didn't cost too much and I never worry that it is going to fall over.

[moofie]

Are you from Cardiff, Wales?

 

I use car harnesses on my 2 dogs, they are the sort that the seatbelt goes through the harness strap but I only have a 3 door car and found it difficult to get them both to fit on back seat. So i had to adapt it a bit with another restraining strap that slots into the seatbelt socket and clips onto to harness strap instead so i can travel with the back seats flat, as i couldn't find another way of securing them.

The only car harness i've seen that boasts of being crash tested was £60, so i've had to make do with cheaper ones that i'm dubious of TBH but will hopefully stop them being flung forward at least and it makes it much safer for me to get them out of the car having them restrained . We don't have a problem with tangles as neither tend to move about while the cars in motion and just lay down. I'd like to upgrade the harnesses to the tested ones and our next vehicle will be bought with the dogs in mind so could perhaps use those solid car crates instead.

 

Here they are

[Guest MDMD]

I travel in a van with 2 greys and the seat removed.I was very concerned about this story on the news. I'll check into that harness, but I know my greys will need to get use to this. I see this as an opportunity for someone to make some serious money and protect our dogs if they can come up with another alternative!

Edited October 4, 2010 by MDMD

[cleptogrey]

if i had a car/truck that was large enough to hold crates, i would secure my crates and keep the pups in them. but i squeeze my dogs into the back of a 2 door honda civic. i always feel vulnerable in those large suvs too large a space for dogs to be thrown around, even on a sharp turn. i often sit in the back of a suv when pups are being transported to and from the vet and then to their foster homes. it's scarey back there holding a nervous dog.

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

If a vehicle has a back seat, that seat would be included in the "survival zone" that is designed not to be penetrated by the other parts of the car during a crash. So an animal riding in there might be somewhat safer than one riding in the back of a van, wagon, mini-van etc. I have no idea if the area behind the last seat in included in that zone.

 

Of course, a lot of the crash-rating of a vehicle is based upon properly restrained humans upon whom air bags have predictable and studied effects. All bets are off with 60-100 lb dogs. It is likely that the flying dog will itself become a very dangerous projectile.

 

Massive amounts of bubble wrap?

 

~D~

Edited October 4, 2010 by Bang_o_rama

[Guest Olivia0208]

Actually, I love the bubble wrap idea!!!

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

If a vehicle has a back seat, that seat would be included in the "survival zone" that is designed not to be penetrated by the other parts of the car during a crash. So an animal riding in there might be somewhat safer than one riding in the back of a van, wagon, mini-van etc. I have no idea if the area behind the last seat in included in that zone.

 

Of course, a lot of the crash-rating of a vehicle is based upon properly restrained humans upon whom air bags have predictable and studied effects. All bets are off with 60-100 lb dogs. It is likely that the flying dog will itself become a very dangerous projectile.

 

Massive amounts of bubble wrap?

 

~D~

 

If a vehicle has a back seat, that seat would be included in the "survival zone" that is designed not to be penetrated by the other parts of the car during a crash. So an animal riding in there might be somewhat safer than one riding in the back of a van, wagon, mini-van etc. I have no idea if the area behind the last seat in included in that zone.

 

Of course, a lot of the crash-rating of a vehicle is based upon properly restrained humans upon whom air bags have predictable and studied effects. All bets are off with 60-100 lb dogs. It is likely that the flying dog will itself become a very dangerous projectile.

 

Massive amounts of bubble wrap?

 

~D~

[Guest Fluffy]

Before I got a seatbelt for Badger, I was dealing with the possibility of bolting by having two leashes: one that I attached and unattached to him as we went in and out of the car, and one that was semi-permanently looped around the headrest of a front seat. So I walked him out to the car with his regular leash, had him climb in, and still holding leash #1, hooked him to leash #2, then took off leash #1 and closed the door. At our destination, reversed it: open door, hook leash #1, unhook leash #2, go.

 

However, I knew that only dealt with the "dog bolts after I open the door" issue, and that if I got into an accident with that setup it would, at the best, not help, and at the worst, strangle him or break his neck when he got to the end of the leash, so I bought a real seatbelt after a month or so.

 

Now he has the Champion Harness. I'm only too aware of how anything, including dogs, loose in a car can become a dangerous projectile, and I simply couldn't stomach the idea of killing him or me because I hadn't bothered to get him a seatbelt.

 

 

The Champion is designed to "float" a bit as the dog moves, so that he can sit (not that he ever does, who am I kidding), stand (half the time), or lie down (the other half). It took him a few months of use to figure out how to negotiate turning around in it without tying himself in knots, but he did eventually get the hang of it. The strap attaches to either a closed seatbelt or to the child seat metal hook thing, so there's no reason I couldn't have two dogs wearing two harnessed belted in (er, other than the part where I drive a small Hyundai and don't have two dogs!).

 

As a bonus to having him safely restrained, I can put the window partway down now so he can stick his nose out without me having mental images of that scene from "Marley & Me" where the dog tries to leap out the window and then has to run alongside the car on two paws because he only got halfway out!

 

Here he is suffering greatly riding in my mother's (much roomier - roomy enough for him to have his bed in there!) van in his seatbelt. He wears the harness, and then the strap with the hook is attached to the car's seatbelt out of frame:

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

Are you from Cardiff, Wales?

 

I use car harnesses on my 2 dogs, they are the sort that the seatbelt goes through the harness strap but I only have a 3 door car and found it difficult to get them both to fit on back seat. So i had to adapt it a bit with another restraining strap that slots into the seatbelt socket and clips onto to harness strap instead so i can travel with the back seats flat, as i couldn't find another way of securing them.

The only car harness i've seen that boasts of being crash tested was £60, so i've had to make do with cheaper ones that i'm dubious of TBH but will hopefully stop them being flung forward at least and it makes it much safer for me to get them out of the car having them restrained . We don't have a problem with tangles as neither tend to move about while the cars in motion and just lay down. I'd like to upgrade the harnesses to the tested ones and our next vehicle will be bought with the dogs in mind so could perhaps use those solid car crates instead.

 

Here they are

 

Are you from Cardiff, Wales?

 

I use car harnesses on my 2 dogs, they are the sort that the seatbelt goes through the harness strap but I only have a 3 door car and found it difficult to get them both to fit on back seat. So i had to adapt it a bit with another restraining strap that slots into the seatbelt socket and clips onto to harness strap instead so i can travel with the back seats flat, as i couldn't find another way of securing them.

The only car harness i've seen that boasts of being crash tested was £60, so i've had to make do with cheaper ones that i'm dubious of TBH but will hopefully stop them being flung forward at least and it makes it much safer for me to get them out of the car having them restrained . We don't have a problem with tangles as neither tend to move about while the cars in motion and just lay down. I'd like to upgrade the harnesses to the tested ones and our next vehicle will be bought with the dogs in mind so could perhaps use those solid car crates instead.

 

Here they are

 

We're from Cardiff by the Sea, CA near San Diego. Loved the picture of your dogs. Like the way they look so secure in there.

 

 

 

Are you from Cardiff, Wales?

 

I use car harnesses on my 2 dogs, they are the sort that the seatbelt goes through the harness strap but I only have a 3 door car and found it difficult to get them both to fit on back seat. So i had to adapt it a bit with another restraining strap that slots into the seatbelt socket and clips onto to harness strap instead so i can travel with the back seats flat, as i couldn't find another way of securing them.

The only car harness i've seen that boasts of being crash tested was £60, so i've had to make do with cheaper ones that i'm dubious of TBH but will hopefully stop them being flung forward at least and it makes it much safer for me to get them out of the car having them restrained . We don't have a problem with tangles as neither tend to move about while the cars in motion and just lay down. I'd like to upgrade the harnesses to the tested ones and our next vehicle will be bought with the dogs in mind so could perhaps use those solid car crates instead.

 

Here they are

 

Thank you to all who responded to me. I really appreciate your input. The last few weeks here in San Diego several dogs have been killed in car accidents (along with their owners, sadly). In all other areas we do all that we can to be sure our kids are safe from harm. This to me is one glaring area where we are lax. In a few years we plan to get a Honda Element because it appears it could hold two crates, but for now we have to protect them as best we can in the Jeep Liberty. Scary.

 

Thanks again everyone!