Dog Harnesses

[Meceme]

I wonder if anyone can help with a recommendation for a dog harness that can be used both in the car to attach to the seat belt connector and for walking.

I have a 20 month old male lab who currently uses a halti no-pull harness for walking and a different car harness for travelling safely.

He rarely pulls now and uses a simple slip lead at home but, if going somewhere new, gets so excited that he needs his harness until settled. Its not such a problem when theres two of us but Id like to be able to take him out alone and a quick change of clipping off his seat belt and clipping on his double ended lead would help.

He's great in the car, just young (very strong) and overly excited/sometimes anxious when visiting new places.

Thanks

Perfect Fit.

Forgot to add, your dog is gorgeous 😍

Thanks very much. He gets by on his good looks 😍.
I'll check out the perfect fit harnesses.
We've had labs before and never needed a harness to walk but hes a bit excitable. Improving with training but still unpredictable.

Perfect Fit website states:

"Our Harness has not been crash tested so we do not recommend using it in the car."

We used a Ruffwear webmaster for our Houdini Labrador after he managed to get out of the original harness by sort of backing up suddenly. Not even sure he meant it - he looked as shocked as we did 😂 but once he’d done it, he tried it again so needed a safer option.

Thanks. Im really hoping to find something that can do both. Ive seen a couple advertised online but its always good to hear from people's personal recommendations.

We have a perfect fit one . Works in the car .

Sorry I just seen that quote about not using it in the car . Iv used mine in the car . Only on short journeys , but if we are on a longer journey she's crated in the boot .

We use Ezydog chest plate harness in the car. Comes with an attachments to fit the seat belt (not the seat belt slot- you loop it round a fastened seat belt).
Other times we use Perfect Fit- great harnesses!

Our other labs always went in the boot too. This one hates it, has to be buckled in on the back seat where he can see us both then happily snoozes along. I think he has separation anxiety. Likes to rest his head on the dog cover between the front seats to watch 😁

We used Ezydog Drive. I also have use Ezydog fit in every way walking harness. The Drive does not have a front (chest) ring , so for walking with that I attached the lead to the back ring and his collar.

Nowadays they are in a crash crate in the boot as I bought a bigger car.

i have black labs - both around 30 kg so within the size range for that harness.

We have the Carsafe Crash Tested Harness and use it for both the car and for walks with a double ended lead. We find it great. We're not in UK and got it in a local pet shop but there's a link below to the manufacturer's site.

companyofanimals.com/uk/brand/carsafe/

The Saker Ascension harness is crash-tested for dogs up to 35kg and is a good design for both walking and vehicular travel - unfortunately, it’s also very very pricey!

Another vote for Ruffware, it seems to be the only harness my dog can't reverse out of.

I also use these quick release connectors which make like a lot easier attaching dog to lead or straps in car etc.

We've got one for use in the car from RAC, that we can fit over DDog's usual harness (which is just a little webbing one as she doesn't pull). But it has various metal loops so might be suitable for a double ended lead

RAC Medium Dog Car Harness | Pet Travel | RAC Shop

There's also this one, that is dual purpose

RAC Extra Large Advanced Harness | Pet Travel | RAC Shop

I'd definitely trust the RAC to sell only car harnesses that are genuinely safe for travel.

Both are available in S/M/L/XL

Crash tested car harnesses are expensive and not common. look at RAC ones.

your dog is big. In a crash all that weight will be on the harness - which I’m not sure is going to be good for the dog or for restraining them - they will still impact the seat in front and hurt themselves / the person there.

have you explored boot crates etc as a possibility ?

Hi. Thanks everyone. Yes we do currently have a crash tested car harness which he loves but it doesn't have a chest D ring for walking that the halti harness does.

He's amazing in the car, just lies down and sleeps but hates the boot. Refuses to get in then howls and cries - has always struggled with separation anxiety (unlike our other labs who loved the boot).

It's just a pain swapping harnesses when I need to. Hopefully it will just be short term as we're working on exposure to different places and lessening excitement/anxiety.

It would just be helpful if I could pull up, clip his lead on then sit/stand until calm, take a short sniffy walk and return without the faffing as I think this ramps up his anxiety.

The aim is eventually to be able to simply drop his slip lead over his head and walk like he does at home.

It might just be exposure/training and maturity, I'm just looking for ways to help in the interim.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Unlike child seats there isn't safety regulations/standards for dog car harnesses to adhere to for performance in crash which is surprising really given when become a projectile may also injure/kill the people sat in the car. Therefore most of these car harnesses and seatbelt clips on the market are just restraints to keep the dog from causing a driver distraction moving about or leaping out of the vehicle when the doors opened and unlikely to protect your dog in a crash. This US organisation did a study years ago of those that were on the market at the time but it's worth a watch to see what happens to the dog crash test dummies even at 30mph impacts

Those that have been crash tested are usually on the expensive side due to needing heavy duty materials and extra stitching to cope with the added forces. Though do check that those that claim crash testing are proudly showing the evidence of the product passing not that they just did a test

I have the same issue with my rescue lab who is 3. Where he knows, he walks like a dream. New places, it goes out the window and back to pulling like a train.

I have found that making him wait in the car, with the door open, until he is settled makes a huge difference. Having the door open is important as he gets to smell what is going on but can't access it until he is calm. Then the usual stop every time he pulls.

It is a long game but it is working. Also, I'm taking him to as many new places as possible to work through it.

Kurgo car harness. Crash tested and fine for walks. Very sturdy.

Go to a cobblers and get them to add a D ring where you want it on your current harness?

This. Or a local saddler/leatherworker.