Pet Auto Safety

The Comfort of a Pet Auto Seat Belt

A pet auto seat belt can actually be quite comfortable once the dog gets used to it.  Dogs can have a difficult time laying down in the seat of the car because of the turning, speeding up, slowing down, and stopping movements.  With a pet auto seat belt, a dog can stand, sit, or lay down comfortably and not have to worry about bracing themselves against car maneuvers.

Keep Your Dog from Jumping Out the Window

Not only will the dog not be able to put their head out the window, they won’t be able to get their body out either.  Dogs are instinctive creatures and if something catches their attention, such as another dog, a squirrel, or other animal, they may go after it without a thought.  Perhaps your dog is too smart to do this, but why take the chance?

I had a dog about 15 years ago who jumped out the car window while we were on a dirt road and passing a bunch of cows. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt. I was going slow because I was on a dirt road. It was a short time after this when I bought pet safety restraint products for the first time.

This is reason #5 about why your dog should wear a pet safety restraint. See previous blog posts for the first four, then stay tuned for the remaining five.

Giving someone a pet auto safety product as a gift for their dog could be interpreted in the same way as giving someone exercise equipment or a cook book for beginners. These gifts say you need to lose weight or you can’t cook. So does giving a pet auto safety product say you need to properly care for your dog?

It might. It depends on what you are giving, who you are giving it to, and why. First, let’s examine the what. A dog car harness may send the wrong message. But what if it’s a stylish dog car harness that they can also walk their dog with? Then the gift might be considered more thoughtful. A pet car seat could also be considered a thoughtful gift for someone who loves to pamper their small dog.

Who you are giving the gift to can also make a difference on what message you are sending. If you are giving a dog car harness to your son or daughter, it’s okay. Giving hints about what they should and shouldn’t do is expected from a parent. But giving a pet auto safety product to a co-worker may not be considered as thoughtful unless you are good friends and you happen to have heard that co-worker talk about getting a pet auto safety product for their dog in the past.

Are you giving a pet auto safety product to someone because you saw their dog hanging out the car window too many times? Or are you giving it to them because you know they really care about their dog? Perhaps they never thought about a pet auto safety product for their dog before, right?

Giving the gift of a pet auto safety product to your close friend or family member can be a thoughtful gift. If you are concerned about how they might interpret the gift, try bringing up pet auto safety casually in a conversation. This way you get a sense for how they feel about pet auto safety products. And if you have talked to them previously, then they may be flattered that you remembered what they told you in that conversation.

Keep Your Dog from being a Distraction to the Driver

The dog won’t be able to distract the person driving the car.  Distractions can be very dangerous to the driver.  Some dogs are naturally well-behaved in the vehicle but many dogs have to be trained car-riding decorum.  Why not train them in a dog car seat belt or other pet safety restraint instead?

As you may have learned from our previous posts, we have a new dog car harness from Bergan. But did you know that we also have a new pet travel barrier from Bergan? It is like our Backseat Pet Travel Barrier from Outward Hound in that it covers the area between the seats. Like the Backseat Pet Travel Barrier it goes as high as the shoulders of the seat and as low as the bottom of the seats. This keeps small, medium, and sometimes even large dogs from climbing over the console to the front seats.

The Bergan Pet Travel Barrier is like the Front Seat Pet Travel Barrier from Kurgo in that it has a netted view window so that the dog can still see in the front seat. However, the Bergan Pet Travel Barrier does not go as high as the Kurgo pet travel barrier which goes as high as the top of the seat headrests.

The Bergan Pet Travel Barrier is easy to install and secure. It is made from a dual layer of 600D polyester which is very durable. The netted section of the Bergan Pet Travel Barrier not only allows your dog to see the front, it also promotes circulation between the front and back seats. In extreme cold or extreme hot situations, the circulation of cool or hot air will make a big difference for your dog.

Reduce driver distractions by keeping your dog in the back seat. The Bergan Pet Travel Barrier can help you do this. Please note that some large dogs may try to circumvent the pet travel barrier.

Check out our interview with Edie Jarolim at Animal Cafe.co regarding why Pet Auto Safety.com was started and what types of products we have. Read Edie’s article and listen to the podcast interview. Let us know if you have any questions about Pet Auto Safety.com or its products.

The Bergan dog seat belt is new to our site. Although we have had many dog seat belt brands on our site since its inception in 2006, we couldn’t pass up adding the new dog seat belt from Bergan. It is one of the most versatile dog seat belt brands in that there are no limitations what kind of vehicles they will work in and they will fit every size of dog, including the largest of dogs. But what we like most about the Bergan dog seat belt is the extensive strength testing that has been completed on it.

Our Kurgo and Pet Buckle dog seat belt brands have also been well tested for strength and durability. But the Kurgo Tru-Fit Smart dog seat belt uses the loop system to restrain your dog and we feel that an energetic dog can get tangled in this mechanism. The Pet Buckle is the only dog seat belt that has extended their strength testing to actual crash testing with dog dummies, but it only comes in a small or a large. They also use the loop system but can come with a tether that only works in 2001 model cars and later.

V9DT is the first standardized test for the dog seat belt. Bergan has completed this test and the results will be posted on the V9DT site soon. While the results are not yet available to download, they are complete and the Bergan dog seat belt has been given the V9DT seal of approval. You can find out more about the V9DT Test Standards at http://www.v9dt.com/standard.htm and the V9DT Test Procedures at http://www.v9dt.com/procedure.htm. Knowing the extent of such testing, we are confident in the quality and safety of the Bergan dog seat belt.

Putting the Bergan dog car harness on your dog is easy. Sizing it, however, is another matter. The directions provided by the manufacturer come with photos of how to put on the dog car harness, but not on how to adjust the size of the dog car harness. There are written instructions but without corresponding photos, one is left to guess. So in order to help you out, we have put together a list of instructions along with our own corresponding photos of how to put on and adjust the Bergan dog car harness.

Step one in putting on the Bergan dog car harness is to unclip the harness at the back. Then lay the dog car harness flat on the ground with the Bergan logo facing down. The part of the dog car harness with the Bergan logo on it is the top part.

Then, have your dog step over the dog car harness with his front feet in the open spaces. Your dog’s head will be facing the top of the dog car harness.

Once you dog is in place, pull the dog car harness up and clip it on the back. The dog car harness will be very loose the first time you put it on. Adjusting the size around the neck and the chest of the Bergan dog car harness works in tandem. By making the neck strap smaller, the chest strap gets bigger. Don’t worry, the chest strap can then be shortened without making the neck bigger. This is important to know because this means that you will need to adjust the neck size of the dog car harness first.

Adjust the neck size by pulling the strap through the padded front of the dog car harness. Be sure to do this on both sides for an even fit.

Once the neck strap of the dog car harness is fitted, you will need to adjust the chest strap. Rather than pull the chest trap through the padded front of the dog car harness like you did for the neck, you will pull the strap through the buckle at the top.

When the neck and chest straps are well fitted (snug like a dog collar), you can cut off the excess strap. If your dog is still growing, leave as much length as you think will be needed, plus three inches. If your dog is at his maximum size, be sure to leave at least three inches of strap.

Once your dog is fitted into the Bergan dog car harness, you will not need to go through these steps again. You will, however, need to verify the fit from time to time in order to make sure it remains snug and to adjust for any weight gain or loss.

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As you know from the recent post on the new dog car harness from Bergan, the Bergan dog car harness works differently that our other dog car harness brands. The Guardian Gear and Cruising Companion dog car harness brands buckle directly into the seat belt receptacle, the Tru-Fit and Pet Buckle dog car harness brands use the loop system, and the Pet Buckle brand also uses a tether which attaches to a latch bar.

The Bergan dog car harness doesn’t work in any of these three ways. Like the Guardian Gear, Cruising Companion, and Pet Buckle dog car harness, it uses a tether. But that tether is not depended on a fitting seat belt receptacle or latch bar. It can clip on to any seat belt system.

The photo above shows how the Bergan dog car harness tether uses the carabiner to attach and secure your dog in the car. One end of the carabiner clip is attached to the back of your dog’s harness while the other end is clipped between the folds of the seat belt attachment (pictured below).

If the seat belt receptacle attachment will not easily accommodate the carabiner, you can simply buckle the seat belt strap in and wrap your carabiner around it (pictured below).

The use of the carabiner is quick and easy. For further simplicity, you can leave the carabiner attached in your car and simply attach the other end to the harness part of the Bergan dog car harness when your dog gets in the car. If you have any questions about how the Bergan dog car harness works, please feel free to contact us. We will post another article in a couple of days showing how the Bergan dog car harness is put on your dog.

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.