Pet Auto Safety

Check out the crash test video of the only dog car safety harness to be crash tested - The Pet Buckle®. I would like to caution you before watching the video. Although the video is of crash test dog dummies, they closely resemble dogs. Visit http://www.immioutdoors.com/petbuckle/sledtest.htm to watch the video. And to purchase the Pet Buckle® Dog Car Safety Harness, visit Pet Auto Safety.com.

Today I want to blog about a fun topic which I could go on and on about – my dogs Sephi and Maya.  Everyone I know knows that I love Sephi and Maya.  I always have an interesting Sephi or Maya story waiting to tell – how Maya turned herself pink, how Sephi saved me from an intruder, and more.

But today’s story is a little more mundane.  Like most dogs, Sephi and Maya love to ride in the car.  And they do nothing out of the ordinary when they get in the car.  Maya whines excitedly for the first 10 minutes and Sephi likes to sniff out the window.  Nothing interesting, right?  But what is extraordinary is how they ride in the car.  You’ve seen people with their dogs in the car and most if the time they are not restrained and they have their heads hanging out the window.  I use the BreezeGuard Window Screens made by Mutt Mangers so that Sephi and Maya can’t stick their heads out and I make them wear their dog car seat belts.

On short trips, Sephi and Maya stand up and catch the breeze.  On long trips, they eventually lie down and go to sleep.  They mostly keep to their prospective sides.  But on occasion, especially on those long trips, they switch places and get the tethers of their dog car seat belts twisted together.  Not to worry, they are still safe.

While the story about them riding in the car is a bit boring, the places we go are exciting.  The people at the bank drive-through always have treats handy, the dog park is super fun, and going to visit family is even more exciting.  (A trip to the vet is not so exciting but thankfully we don’t have to do that very often.)  If you want to hear an interesting dog car ride story, you should hear about a dog I had years ago named Huckleberry who jumped out the car window to chase cows!  Luckily, the incident just left him a litte stunned.  Too bad the BreezeGuard Window Screens made by Mutt Mangers weren’t inveted yet.

Where do you take your dogs?  Do your dogs wear dog car seat belts or use other pet auto safety devices?

Spring is finally here!  Pack up your car and take a fun and well deserved vacation to the Lake of the Ozarks.  There is swimming, hiking, boating, and more fun to be had in this scenic area of Missouri.

Don’t leave your dog at home.  He too can enjoy hiking the mountainous trails, swimming it the cool lake, or taking a ride on a boat.  So pack up your car with both you and your dog’s things and go!  Don’t forget your dog’s dog car harness.  It may be a long drive so you want him to be safe.

On my first trip to the Ozarks, it was me and Sephi.  Although Sephi does not have a big love for the outdoors, she did have a good time camping and hiking.  The Lake of the Ozarks has two big state parks to visit.  There is the Ha Ha Tonka State Park and the Lake of the Ozarks State Park.  Both allow leashed dogs.  There are plenty of pet friendly campgrounds, a few pet friendly hotels and vacation rentals, and lots of RV parks.

If you are tired from a day of hiking and swimming, visit the Bridal Cave and Thunder Mountain Park.  Dogs are allowed in the park area but only small dogs which can be carried are allowed in the cave.

A few restaurants will allow you to have your dog on the patio area.  Check with Backwater Jack’s and Miller’s Landing before you bring your dog just to make sure.

No matter where you travel with your dog this spring, be sure he is wearing his dog car harness.  Check places before you visit to make sure your dog is allowed.  If your dog goes on a boat, make sure he wears a dog life vest.  And have a ball!

Carrie, the owner of www.AllThingsDogBlog.com shares her experience with buying our products in a three part series called “Dog Safe Travel Around Town and on the Highway”.  On February 28th, she tells her experience about traveling with her pets.  She says about us, “After the beginning of All Things Dog Blog, I met a new friend through the blog. The owner of Pet Auto Safety, has introduced me to safer options that I never knew existed.”  Click here to visit her blog and read Part I of “Dog Safe Travel…”.

On March 8th, she posts Part II of her series and tells us a little bit more about her dog Oliver’s experience with his pet car seat (Oliver in his pet car seat pictured above).  Here is a partial quote from her blog, ” Transportation issues change when you risk a large dog stepping on a small dog in the back seat, so we’ve taken precautions to protect little Oliver.

Since Oliver’s inclination has always been to stay by my side (he is a ‘companion’ breed, after all), he’s much happier when in the front seat. There are only a few safe options for this scenario; we picked a raised car seat, pictured above. While there are different types, mine is a model that has 3 straps attaching it to the seat, so there’s a pretty fair backup system in place. An adjustable strap inside the seat area attaches to your dog’s harness with a clip. This gives you the ability to decide how much he can move around inside the seat.”  To read more, click here to visit her blog and read Part II of “Dog Safe Travel…”.

In Part III posted on March 16th, Carrie talks about Tanner’s experience with the Pet Buckle.  In her blog post, Carrie says, “My only surprise was that the buckles are as strong and secure as our human seatbelt buckles are. That loud click sent me a clear message: Tanner will be safe in this seatbelt. I liked that.”  Click here to visit her blog and read Part III of “Dog Safe Travel…”

Visit www.AllThingsDogBlog.com again for more great posts from Carrie.  She doesn’t just blog about pet auto safety, she blogs about All Things Dog! 

Are the kids out of school for a whole week?  What will you and your family do?  What special place are you going to travel to this year?  And most importantly, will you take your dog or leave him behind?

If you take your dog with you visit DogFriendly.com for hotels, tourist sites, and other pet friendly places you can take your dog.  If you drive by car, make sure your dog wears his dog seat belt.  If you fly, be sure to talk with your vet and review the airline regulations thoroughly.

If you leave your dog behind, can you leave him with a friend, hire a pet sitter, or leave him at a boarding kennel?  If hiring a pet sitter or leaving him at a boarding kennel make your reservation as soon as possible.  Otherwise, the pet sitters might already be booked or the boarding kennels full.

For a boarding kennel, you will also want to have your dog visit the vet first.  Bordetella shots and other vaccinations may be required by the boarding kennel.  Having your dog visit the boarding kennel beforehand is a good idea too.  If the boarding kennel has a doggie day care play area, let him stay for an afternoon to see how he likes it.  Some boarding kennels may even require this.

If hiring a pet sitter, be sure to review them first.  Check them out online to see if anyone has left any reviews.  Meet the pet sitter in person and let your dog meet them too.  Perhaps hire the pet sitter for an afternoon while you are at work.  If possible, have a trusted friend or neighbor check up on the dog too in order to make sure the pet sitter has been fulfilling their obligations to your dog while you are on vacation.

Wherever you do with your dog while you travel for spring break, make sure your dog’s identification goes with him.  Microchip him so that if he gets away and his collar comes off, he can still be identified.  Make sure all your contact numbers are current so that you can be contacted in the case of emergency.  Leave alternate numbers of friends or neighbors.  Make sure his veterinary office phone number is current as well.

Don’t feel bad if you have to leave your dog in someone else’s care while you are gone.  Travel can be stressful for your dog – especially if you have to fly.  There are a lot of good pet services out there.  When I lived in Overland Park, Kansas, Sephi loved Grand-Paws Pet Sitting Services.  Maya loved Woof’s Play & Stay and Camp Bow Wow (Sephi doesn’t like boarding kennels).  Services like this could be a little vacation for your dog too.

Although the measurements of the dog car seatbelt brands are given on the website, it can still be a challenge to determine the proper size for your dog.  That is why we have a Guarantee Fit Promise on our dog car seatbelt brands.  What does that promise mean?  It means that if you get a dog car seatbelt which is a little too big or a little too small, then just send it back to us and we will send you another dog car seatbelt at no additional cost to you.

Certain conditions and limitations apply.  First, the exchanged dog car seatbelt must be no more than one size difference.  So if you purchase a medium dog car seatbelt, you can only exchange for a small or large.  You cannot exchange a medium dog car seatbelt for an extra-large.

Another condition is in regards to the padded dog car seatbelts - Houndstooth pattern, Ride Right, and Plaid pattern.  We have indicated on our site in many places that these brands will not fit dogs with a girth size between 15 and 20 inches.  So if you get an extra-small dog car seatbelt and it is too small, you can’t exchange for a medium.  A medium will not fit.  Likewise, if you purchase a medium dog car seatbelt and it is too big, chances are that the extra-small will be too small.  You can return them for a refund (excluding shipping), but an exchange is not available.

Also, the dog car seatbelt must be returned within 30 days in new condition.  We’d prefer the dog car seatbelt packaging be returned as well, but are willing to make exceptions.

And a final condition is that your dog car seatbelt must have been purchased from Pet Auto Safety.com.  Even if the dog car seatbelt brand is the same, we cannot except exchanges from purchases made through other vendors.

If your dog fits right at the edges of the measurements indicated on our website, feel secure in knowing that you don’t have to worry about being stuck with a size that doesn’t fit.  With our Guarantee Fit Promise on the dog car seatbelt, you can make an exchange for the right size.

If your dog rides in the car without a restraint of some kind, what do you think will happen to him if you get in a car accident?  Depending on the severity of the wreck, he could be seriously injured or even killed.  But that is not the only danger.  Here is a list of some other things which could happen:

• Your dog could become a flying projectile and hit other passengers in the car.  Again, depending on the seriousness of the accident, this could lead to anything form minor injuries to death.  If a box of Kleenex turned projectile can kill a person, imagine what a dog could do.
• Your dog could fly through windshield of the car.  If this doesn’t seriously injure or kill him, he will be so traumatized by the accident that he will try to run.  He could run into traffic and get hit by a car, or he could run for miles and miles and get lost.
• Your dog could escape out of a broken window.  After a car accident, your dog’s most likely instinct will be to run.  And if there is a broken window, he may try to get out.  Like above, he could then get killed by getting hit by a car or by running away and getting lost.
• At the very least, your dog could develop a fear for riding in the car.  Your dog may have once loved riding in the car but after a traumatic incident in the car, he may never want to ride again.

So keep your dog safe when he rides in the car with some sort of pet auto safety device.  Have him wear a dog seat belt or put him in a crate and strap the crate into the car.  Another restraint method, which isn’t quite as effective but is better than nothing, is a pet car barrier.

If you are afraid that your dog might chew on his dog car harness, here are a few tips which might keep your dog from damaging the device which could save his life:

• Get your dog used to wearing the dog car harness by allowing your dog to wear the dog car harness around the house.  Only let him wear it when you are able to watch him.  When you see him chewing on the dog car harness, say “no” or “eh eh”.  Do fun activities with your dog while he is wearing the dog car harness.  If you have a dog car harness in which the seat belt attachment can be removed, take him for a walk with his dog car harness on.  You can also do other fun activities while your dog is wearing the dog car harness, such as playing fetch - just remember to help your dog learn to associate his dog car harness with fun stuff.
• Begin taking your dog on short trips while he is wearing his dog car harness.  If possible, have someone sit in the back seat with him to give him the “no” command or by distracting him with a squeaky toy.  Be sure that your short trips are not to someplace where you would have to leave your dog alone in the car.  You can go to a bank or fast food drive-through, to the park, or to a pet store where your dog is allowed to go inside with you.
• Another thing you might try is to spray the dog car harness with bitter apple spray or another anti-chew but safe spray.  Or make your own spray by mixing water with cayenne pepper or peppermint.

Pampered Pug in the Padded Pink Plaid Pet Seatbelt – Perfectly Pretty in Pink!

Ok, enough with the P’s.  But what better way could I have told you that Pet Auto Safety.com has recently added plaid pet seatbelts which match perfectly with the plaid pet car seat covers?  The pet seatbelts and pet car seat covers come in pink plaid for girl dogs and blue plaid for boy dogs.  The plaid pet seatbelts are slightly padded and fit across the dog’s chest for both comfort and safety.  The connecting strap buckles directly into the seat belt receptacle.  And the connecting strap can be removed so that you can walk your dog in their pet seatbelt.  The plaid pet car seat covers are also slightly padded and fit most standard-sized bench seats.

Please note that the plaid pet seatbelts do not fit dogs with a girth size between 15 and 20 inches.  Be sure to measure your dog around their girth (the chest area just behind their front legs).

Suppose you get in a car accident with your dog in the car.  And suppose he was not wearing his dog seatbelt.  Worst-case scenario, he is seriously injured.  If he’s lucky, he is not badly hurt - but he is terrified.  Let’s look at what could happen in either case.

If your dog was not hurt after a car accident where he was not wearing his dog seatbelt, he is still traumatized.  After such a terrifying experience, his instinct is going to tell him to run.  So if there is a broken window or other means of escape, he is likely to use it.  And he is going to run fast and blindly.  If he runs in the street, he might get hit by a car.  If he manages to avoid getting hit by a car, he is going to run a long way before he finally stops.  This means he is likely to get lost.  Being lost without his loved ones would be almost as terrifying as being in a car accident.

If your dog is hurt after a car accident, he is going to need medical attention.  But most likely, an injured dog is not going to let strangers touch him.  How are the police, firemen, or medics going to help him if he tries to bite them?  If he doesn’t try to bite them, he is going to try to struggle to get away from them.  Dogs don’t understand someone is trying to help them.  All they know is that they are hurt and strangers with an unknown intent are near them.

A dog wearing a dog seatbelt won’t be able to escape from the car. Just like a personwearing a seatbelt, a dog wearing a dog seatbelt can still be injured.  But an injured dog wearing a dog seatbelt will not be able to struggle as much and will be easier for emergency personnel to restrain and aid.  So a dog seatbelt isn’t just to protect your dog during a car accident.  It is also to protect your dog after a car accident.