Pet Auto Safety

My booth at Dogtoberfest.

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Pet Auto Safety.com has a number of dog car harness brands to choose from. Each restrains your dog in the car a little differently. The Guardian Gear and Cruising Companion dog car harness brands have the limitation of not working in Volvos, Saabs, or Ford Explorers. The Tru-Fit dog car harness has the limitation of restricting your dog’s movement in the car. This is a positive feature unless your dog is like mine and can’t hold still. A dog that tries to move around too much in the Tru-Fit dog car harness is likely to get tangled. The Pet Buckle dog car harness works like the Tru-Fit unless its adapter is used. But the adapter only works in vehicles with a latch bar which is generally only found in 2001 models and later.

The new addition to our dog car harness selections has no such limitations. The Bergan dog car harness is not as restricting as the Tru-Fit or Pet Buckle dog car harness. Like the Guardian Gear and Cruising Companion dog car harness brands, it has a tether which can be lengthened or shortened. And the Bergan dog car harness will work in any vehicle that has seat belts.

Instead of buckling directly into the seat belt receptacle like the Guardian Gear and Cruising Companion dog car harness brands, its tether clips directly around the seat belt of your car. The Tru-Fit dog car harness also works with the seat belt of your car, but because it uses the loop system, it is more restricting and more likely to cause tangling.

The Bergan dog car harness also has a more versatile fit than the other dog car harness brands. No more worries for dogs with slender necks but big deep chests. The neck fitting of the Bergan dog car harness is fully adjustable.

The Bergan dog car harness is lightweight but strong. According to Bergan, “they meet or exceed V9DT Pet Safety Durability Test Standard.” And the material around the chest is soft and comfortable.

One drawback we found with the Bergan dog car harness is that unlike the other dog car harness brands we have, the Bergan dog car harness is not easily used as a walking harness. It does not have an easy way to attach a leash instead of the tether. Another drawback we found with the Bergan dog car harness is that fitting it to your dog is rather confusing. Despite the instructions, it took us about 20 minutes to figure out how to adjust it. But the good news is that once it is fitted to your dog, you never have to adjust it again (unless your dog grows). And it is very easy to put on and take off once it is adjusted.

We are so confident about the Bergan dog car harness that we may consider discontinuing the Guardian Gear and Cruising Companion dog car harness brands. The prices are comparable but the confirmed strength testing of the Bergan dog car harness brand is more reliable and the fit is better for all sized dogs. The only advantage that the Guardian Gear and Cruising Companion dog car harness brands have over the Bergan dog car harness is color and style variation. The Bergan dog car harness only comes in blue with black.

Sadie behind the BreezeGuard Window Screen.

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Remember the Animaniacs? I loved them! This was the best and most hilarious cartoon ever, in my opinion. I loved their small segments of Pinky and the Brain, Slappy Squirrel, Chicken Boo, and Good Idea Bad Idea, just to name a few.

So in remembrance of my favorite cartoon, I have put together a list of good ideas and bad ideas for pet travel safety, then also shared an Animaniacs video.

Good Idea
Keeping the car windows rolled up or putting BreezeGuard Window Screens on the car windows before rolling them down.
Bad Idea
Letting your dog hang his head out the window. He can be hit with flying debris such as roadside trash, rocks, or someone flicking their cigarette butt out the window. Also, if you have to swerve your car suddenly, your dog could fly out and be injured.

Good Idea
Having your dog ride in the back seat.
Bad Idea
Having your dog ride in the front seat. Airbags are not safe for dogs and most cars nowadays have passenger side airbags.

Good Idea
Having your dog be safely restrained in the car.
Bad Idea
Letting your dog roam around in the car or sit in your lap. A dog who is free to do as he chooses in the car can be a very dangerous distraction. Although there is no law that says your dog has to be restrained in the car, you can get a ticket for reckless driving. Or a worst case scenario, your dog could be seriously injured or killed in a car accident.

I know, it is not as funny as the Animaniacs version. But it is still good advice so protect your pet and practice pet travel safety!

Distractions cause over a million car accidents each year. These distractions include anything from talking on the cell phone, grooming, tending to a baby, and pet distractions. Keeping a dog in the back seat is an important pet auto safety feature which helps reduce the distraction a pet could cause. The Outward Hound Pet Car Barrier is the simplest way to achieve this.

The Outward Hound Pet Car Barrier is a piece of sturdy canvas which attaches easily by wrapping around the headrests of the front seats and around the bottom half of the front seats. Once attached, the canvas part of the pet car barrier blocks the center console area. This keeps most dogs from being able to put their head between the seats, from standing on the center console, and from jumping into the front seat.

Notice that we said ‘most dogs’. As you can see from the photo above, the Outward Hound Pet Car Barrier is only as high as the seats of your car. It does not go all the way to the ceiling so some dogs may try to jump over it. Therefore, the Outward Hound Pet Car Barrier works best for small to medium sized dogs. It can work for large dogs too if your large dog is not inclined to try to jump over it. If my dog Maya (the dog photographed above) was not wearing her dog car harness, she would probably try to jump it.

The Outward Hound Pet Car Barrier could help protect your dog in the event of a car accident. For small to medium sized dogs, your dog is not as likely to get thrown through the windshield in a front end car accident. But since the Outward Hound Pet Car Barrier does not go all the way to the ceiling, this is still a possibility. While other pet auto safety products exist for protecting your dog, the Outward Hound Pet Car barrier is relatively inexpensive and it is easy to use. Just remember that while it may be effective in keeping your dog from being a distraction, it does not provide the same safety as a dog car harness, pet car seat, or secured pet crate.

In case of a car accident, airbags are a great safety device. Most cars nowadays have airbags for both the driver and the front passenger. But remember, airbags are made for adult people, not children or dogs. So if your dog rides in the car, be sure they are in an area that does not have airbags.

Most cars with passenger side airbags in the front seat only go off during a high impact car accident if there is someone sitting in that seat. Check with your car manufacturer to verify whether the passenger side airbags trigger automatically or only if there is a certain amount of weight in the seat. If your dog is a small dog, you may not need to worry about the airbag because the airbag sensor might not register anyone sitting in that seat. This is a safety feature that was set up to protect a child sitting in the front seat since you do not want the airbags to deploy for small children.

However, to be certain that the airbag does not deploy when your dog is in the front seat, check your car manual to see if the front passenger airbag can be disabled. If not, have your large dog ride in the back seat or have your small dog sit in a pet booster seat which hangs from the headrest of the seat rather than sits on the seat itself. With the pet booster seat hanging from the headrest, the airbag may not trigger since there is no weight in the seat.

Killer at the Wheel
(My parent’s dog, Killer, behind the wheel of a car.)
(Killer has since passed on.  Check out his story at Saying Goodbye to Killer)

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It is the last holiday of the summer so let’s go enjoy it!  Many of us will be hanging out at the lake this Labor Day weekend.  If you’re like me, you are going to take your dog.  Here are a few important pet safety tips to remember:

* When driving out to the lake, be sure everyone including your pet is safely restrained in the vehicle.  Your dog should use a pet safety device such as dog car harness, pet car seat, or pet crate.
* Be sure everyone wears sunscreen.  Consider sunscreen for your dog too – especially if your dog has short fur.
* Pet safety means keeping your dog on a leash unless he is in an off-leash area for dogs.  There are many reasons for keeping your pet on a leash.  You don’t want him wandering off and getting lost.  With so many people about, you do not want your dog getting into trouble with people or other dogs.  And you don’t want your dog wandering around picking up scraps of food or garbage.
* Bring plenty of water.  Don’t forget your dog’s water bowl so he can drink too.  Just because you are at the lake doesn’t mean your dog should be allowed to drink from it.
* Be aware of the dangers of heat stroke.  Watch for signs and if any person or pet exhibits signs, get them somewhere cool as soon as possible.  Signs of heat exhaustion include vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, and increased heart rate.  For dogs symptoms also include excessive panting, pale gums, and/or a bright red tongue.
* Stay away from pond scum.  As per our pet safety article on our American Dog Blog, blue-green algae can be harmful for both you and your pets.
* If you are going on a boat, be sure everyone including your pet wears a life jacket.  Boating accidents are common and should your dog fall or get tossed overboard, you want him to be able to keep afloat until help comes.

If there are any other pet safety issues you can think of, let us know.  And have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!!!

I was lucky enough to win a sample CD from Through a Dog’s Ear.  I liked it and upon reviewing their website, I found the perfect CD related to pet travel.  It is called the “Driving Edition“.

Music can be very soothing.  It is a great way for us to relieve stress and unwind.  And it can even help dogs.  The creators of Through a Dog’s Ear have done bio-acoustic research on the effect of music on dogs.  Imagine what a selection of music perfectly suited to the acclimations of your dog’s sense of hearing can do for an overly excited dog in the car or for a dog who is very nervous in the car.  Visit Through a Dog’s Ear for more information.

Pet Auto Safety.com has lots of pet car hammock products including the Guardian Gear pet car hammock, Wander pet car hammock from Kurgo, and the Outward Hound pet car hammock.  All the pet car hammock products at pet auto safety.com are similar in style and use.

A pet car hammock helps to keep your dog in the back seat.  And it also helps to protect your dog in a minor accident.  Because a pet car hammock covers the floor of the back seat, your dog won’t get thrown onto the floor if a minor car accident should occur.  A dog getting thrown onto the floor could suffer broken bones.

Best of all, a pet car hammock also protects your car from muddy paw prints and dog hair.  The pet car hammock products work by hanging off the front and back headrests of your seats.  If you back seats do not have headrests, then you probably will not be able to effectively use a pet car hammock.

If the pet car hammock products all work the same, what makes the pet car hammock from Outward Hound different from the other pet car hammocks on Pet Auto Safety.com?  The biggest difference is the price.  The Outward Hound pet car hammock is the least expensive.  The cloth is a bit thinner than the cloth of the other pet car hammock products, but it is just as durable.  And the Outward Hound pet car hammock does not come with all the added features that the Wander pet car hammock comes with (ie water bottle and carrying bag).