Car safety - two dogs

[lurchermummy]

Any recommendations for car safety seatbelts/harnesses please, we have two dogs, a lurcher and a JRT. The little one uses a fabric travel crate currently but he's outgrown it. The big one has a car harness with a seatbelt clip on it but the strap is too short and she can't sit properly. Both have to go on back seat of car. Ideally I'd like both to have a harness and be safely clipped in but with freedom to lie down/sit up as wanted. Thanks.

I have wondered why they don’t design something based on the triple-strap/escape proof harness design, which could potentially fit two restraints, but I suppose then they’re at risk of the harness itself potentially damaging internal organs below the ribcage.

I did think this one was a joke when I first saw the video. I can see the logic, but those poor dogs!

You need something like these for the boot

They are crash tested to protect the dog in the event of a crash and work with the crumple zone of the car. They won't snap and create sharp points like some of the thinner metal ones.

I have the gate in the car for my dogs

https://mimsafeuk.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwqPGUBhDwARIsANNwjV6B0Gn1uRYf5Dsyun1Knulzw7AA8dlRKu8V2tneq4XKQeoUJsufwaAuovEALwwwcB

Wow the Ruffwear one looks great but £94! I think DH would have a fit.

We've got the Ruffwear for our 19kg spaniel and did wince at the price. But it's very effective, he sits and lays down easily, and has remained secure on the seat in a couple of emergency breaking situations. We've travelled for 6+ hours with it, and he's never objected - in fact he gets really excited when it comes out as he knows he's going somewhere fun!

I think ours is about 2 years old now and is lasting really well. It goes in the washing machine too, when he's been out for a muddy walk. For peace of mind and price per wear I think it's worth it.

I’ve just looked on the website and they are out of stock in all sizes due to quality issues. We have a metal crate for the boot, not ideal but better than loose.

We have that harness, one of the clips failed so it was replaced, the replacement also failed, so I personally wouldn’t trust a ruffwear harness or collar again.

I was told that the Ruffwear harness has been redesigned for that reason, so if you are buying one you need to make sure it’s the latest version.

The problem with some of these crash tests, while better than nothing, is that they are tested to the US child seat standard, which is quite different to ours, and allows for about 30cm more forward movement. UK cars simply don't have this space unless you have a large estate car, so your dog would be at high risk of hitting the seats in front. You can see this in the crash tests, the dog moves really far towards the front of the car. For visibility crash tests are usually done on a bench with just a bar or line (tracked by camera) representing this distance which is indicative of the front seats.

And yes from what I know about child seats - the goal of any kind of crash restraint should be to minimise movement. So any extender is a bad idea as this allows more movement. A solid barrier is likely to work well as long as the dog is close to it - this would work much like a rear facing seat. However if they are some distance away then they would crash into that barrier at force which is not great. Think about how you brace in an aeroplane. A harness of any kind will be difficult to avoid putting a lot of pressure on certain body parts - you see this with children's car seats, if you put a baby at too young of an age into a forward facing seat the harness holds their body back but not their head and the stress on their neck is too great, causing spinal injuries which can be incredibly serious or fatal.

Crash forces can be significant. The mass of an item increases because of the speed, so your dog gets heavier and any webbing, fasteners or material need to be tested to the equivalent of hundreds of kilos. The more fasteners you have on anything the higher the chance that one of them will fail under crash forces. So you want to minimise the number of connections, another reason to avoid extenders as others have said.

That's great about the crash test dog with injury sensors. I honestly didn't think that would happen, let alone that it already has!

@BertieBotts I was impressed with the crash test dog too. I agree about the crash test standards not being ideal, but better than nothing too, so would probably go for a Sleepypod harness if it suited my dog, because I know it would have been tested with the highest technology currently available with regard to avoiding injury of the dog, not just protecting other occupants.

Unfortunately, given that ‘Duke 2.0’ is 75 lbs, it still raises the issue of whether or not harnesses are a viable option for small and toy breed dogs. Personally, I came to the conclusion that they probably aren’t, at least until such time as they come up with a mini dummy (Duke 3.0 maybe) which specifically tests and records the effect of an impact specifically small breeds. As PPs noted with the Ruffwear video, the way small dogs get thrown around is completely different to larger, heavier dogs and this is clearly an area that needs more appropriate, specific testing.

I’m hoping the massive growth in dog ownership over the past few years and the lucrative dog supplies/accessories market that has sprung around it, might mean that someone, somewhere picks up on this gap in the market and fills it soon.

It would be nice if they tested it to European child seat standards at least for the frontal crash test if not side impact. I just feel like the forward movement allowed for American seats is absolutely massive compared with the average European car.

Which is a problem, because impacting on the front seats could cause injury to the dog as well as driver/front passenger.

Kurgo do crash tested harnesses.

Company of animals (company of animals.co.uk) also sell crash tested harnesses.

Videos of their tests are available on their websites.

Both brands are available to buy on Amazon

@PuddyR79 thanks I'll have a look