Pet Auto Safety

Which dog seat belt is right for your pet?

Since we have now added the Ruff Rider Roadie and are phasing out the Guardian Gear / Cruising Companion brand dog seat belts, we are doing a new comparison. We now have four quality brands of dog car harnesses to choose from:  Bergan, Kurgo Tru-Fit, Pet Buckle, and Roadie. Which one is best? They are all great, but each has a different style and feature. Compare them below:

Quality
Quality is hard to quantify. All of these four brands are well-made with strong materials. While some or all parts may have been constructed outside the United States, each of the companies that make these brands has strict quality control measures in place to ensure that each and every dog seat belt meets the same high standards.

Safety
Since each of these brands has been tested by a different strength and crash test specialist, it is difficult to determine which dog seat belt brand is the safest. We are confident in the safety and crash testing of each of these brands.
* Bergan was tested using the V9DT Pet Safety Durability standard.
* Kurgo Tru-Fit enhanced version was tested by the New Hampshire Materials Laboratory, Inc.
* Pet Buckle was tested by the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE).
* Roadie Ruff Rider was tested by both the Commercial Test Labs and the Allianz Insurance Crash Research Center.

Fit
Can dogs get out of them? Yes to all. A determined dog can get out of any pet travel harness. Keeping the seat belt harness too tight will not prevent this and will likely only make a dog more determined to get out of it. So when we look at how it fits, we are looking for any loose spots or any place that doesn’t adjust well.
* Bergan – Fits well and adjustable at both the neck and sides, although the chest piece may be a little long for some dogs.
* Kurgo Tru-Fit – Fits well and is adjustable at both the neck and sides.
* Pet Buckle – Fits well on small dogs or large dogs. It does not fit medium-sized dogs.
* Ruff Rider Roadie – Fits well, and all except the smaller sizes are adjustable at both the neck and sides.

How it Works
* Bergan – Uses an adjustable length tether with a carabiner clip to attach directly to the seat belt webbing of the car.
* Kurgo Tru-Fit – Uses a loop that the seat belt of the car goes through.
* Pet Buckle – Uses a loop tether for the seat belt of the car to go through. An adjustable length Kwik Connect tether may be included. This tether clips directly onto the latchbar between the seat cushions of vehicles 2001 and later.
* Ruff Rider Roadie – Uses a loop tether for the seat belt of the car to go through.

How the carabiner clip on the Bergan tether works with the seat belt in your car.

How the Kurgo Tru-Fit tether loop works with the seat belt of your car. The Ruff Rider and Pet Buckle works in a similar way.

How the Kwik-Connect tether of the Pet Buckle works in your car.

Ease of Use
In trying out each of these brands, we have not found one that is particularly easier to put on than the others. All take a little thought when putting them on for the first time, but once you get a hang of it all of them are easy.

Distinguishing Features
* Bergan – Padded chest piece; since no loop tether, tangling is less likely.
* Kurgo Tru-Fit – Slightly padded; enhanced version has steel buckles; allows for harness to also be used as a walking harness.
* Pet Buckle – Metal buckles; if the Kwik-Connect tether is used, tangling is less likely.
* Ruff Rider Roadie – No plastic parts; tested to ensure there is no pressure on dog’s throat; pleated design on straps under dog’s legs to prevent irritation; tether and harness is one piece and tether can be used as a short walking leash.

Price
Listed from least expensive to most expensive:
* Bergan
* Kurgo Tru-Fit
* Pet Buckle
* Roadie Ruff Rider

If you have any questions regarding any other differences in these pet travel harness brands, please email us at naturebydawn@aol.com. We have had the opportunity to use these on our own dogs, including my own:  Sephi wore the Kurgo, Maya wears the Kurgo with a Bergan tether (to prevent tangling), and Pierson wears the Bergan.

These aren’t very good photos but it was the best I could do on Tuesday evening. We are leaving at about 5:30am tomorrow so tomorow would not be a good time to post pictures. These two photos are of our rental car. My dogs Maya and Pierson will be riding in the cargo area since there will be four people-passengers in the seats. Since we are renting a vehicle, I have lined the cargo area with a sheet and a car seat cover. I have also put Maya & Pierson’s bed in the back. And I have attached the tethers of their seat belts to the cargo area. Their dog seat belts are lying on the dog bed so that all I have to do in the morning is get them in the back and put the dog car harnesses on.

Our rental SUV since we can’t get four people and two big dogs in our cars.

I made the back nice and comfortable for my pups. And also tried to protect the cargo area of our rental vehicle from dog hair. Otherwise, the cleanup fee would be an additional $50 or more.

I will try to post more pictures of our trip along the way. If I don’t add more by Thanksgiving day, check us out on Saturday! Happy Wordless Wednesday!

We have recently acquired the new and improved version of the Kurgo dog seat belts. How are these pet car harnesses better? They have metal buckles instead of plastic. Kurgo has done more research into the safety of their products. They have completed more safety tests as well.

The enhanced Kurgo Tru-Fit Smart Harnesses have undergone three important safety tests:

1. Dynamic static line test,

2. Tensile strength test,

3. Crash testing using a sled test.

The tests show that the enhanced harness can withstand 2,250 pounds of force. This improvement is made in part by the new all-metal nesting buckles. What are nesting buckles? They are similar to the buckles used by rock climbers and linesmen.

Our dog Maya is now wearing the new enhanced Kurgo dog car harness (top photo) and she loves it. It fits her well. She is wearing the red one, but note that PetAutoSafety.com currently only has the black one available. To get a discount, feel free to use discount code, petfriend, for 10% off.

USPS is raising their prices AGAIN!  Other shipping companies are as well.  It is probably due to the poor economy and the rising cost of gasoline.  USPS costs are going up only slightly but I that is the second time this year.

If it seems that the shipping costs on Pet Auto Safety.com are high, this is why.  But some websites don’t charge shipping at all, you say.  They do, but the cost is built into the cost of the product.  Or you could have the opposite effect on ebay where you are lured in with the low cost of the product but hit with a horrendous overinflated shipping cost.

Pet Auto Safety.com does neither of those things.  Our shipping cost is as close to the approximate cost to ship as we can get it.  So if the $29.99 hammock says $10 shipping, then it costs us about $10 to ship.  However, sometimes when multiple items are purchased the Pet Auto Safety.com website inflates the shipping – sometimes.  If that is the case, we refund the difference.  For example, if you order two Pet Buckle dog seat belts, the website will charge you $20 (apx $10 each to ship).  However, since we can ship two Pet Buckle dog seat belts in one medium flat rate box with the post office for just over $10, we generally refund $10 of the $20 charged by the site.

If you purchase from Pet Auto Safety.com, don’t be surprised with the shipping.  We promise, you are not being cheated.  With rising gas costs, shipping costs are going up all around.  And if our site overcharges you, we will refund the difference.

We drove to Texas to see my dad and step-mom for Thanksgiving so we drove to Missouri to see my mom and step-dad for Christmas.  Dad was a 12 hour drive but mom was just 5 ½ hours.  You would think that because this drive was shorter, it would be easier.  But it was snowing at least half of the way.  Thankfully, the roads were clear for the most part.  We just had to drive a little more cautiously.

Once again, we took Sephi and Maya with us.  And once again, it was a long and boring trip for them.  They wore their dog seat belts, of course.  It was also a little warmer for them since we had the heater on the whole way.  Boy were they thirsty when we arrived in Licking, Missouri.

We had less issue with the dog hair.  But not because it was a shorter trip; I brushed them every day for the week prior to the trip.  By the time we got home, there was hardly any dog hair in the car to clean up.  It was great!

Sephi and Maya loved their time in the county.  They especially loved the snow.  I made a small little snowman which Maya tried to eat.  The photo above is of my mom’s dog, Rocky, and a snowman.

Learned a new trick to keeping dog hair to a minimum, enjoyed playing in the snow, and ate a delicious holiday meal.  All-in-all, it was a great Country Christmas!  I hope yours was great too.  We’d love to hear about your Christmas with your pets.

(One more thing I’d like to say about the trip to Licking, Missouri – Maya did not have her Licking license but that did not stop her from licking!)

Both Sephi and Maya have been wearing their dog seat belts since they were puppies.  For Sephi, that is 9 years (since 2001).  For Maya, that has been 3 years (since 2007).  That is a very long time.

But with Sephi, she hasn’t worn the dog seat belt every time she has been in the car.  In fact, I used to be rather lax about making her wear it.  I generally only made her wear her dog seat belt when I was going to use the highway.  This was a big mistake.  First of all, Sephi was a distraction when she wasn’t wearing her dog seat belt because she would put her front feet on the center console and keep her head right by my head as I drove.  It was very diverting when she sniffed me or licked me or just panted in my face.  Second, Sephi wasn’t safe even when I wasn’t driving at high speeds on the highway.  An emergency push on the brake or a sudden swerve sent her flying.  Luckily, she was never hurt.  But after an incident which left her crying, I decided that Sephi would wear her dog seat belt every time she was in the car, even if I was just going down the street to the bank drive-through.

Well, this tells you why I have Sephi and Maya wear their dog seat belts, but it doesn’t tell you how they like them.  Just check out the above dog video and see for yourself.  As you can see, they get so happy and excited when I get out their dog seat belts.  Despite their excitement, they do pretty well at holding still while I put them on.

Sephi and Maya have been wearing their dog seat belts for so long, that they don’t know what it is like to ride in the car without them.  They have learned to associate the dog seat belts with car rides, so they see dog seat belts as fun.

Recently two popular dog blogs posted articles about how dogs should be restrained when riding in the car.  Check out PawNation and Dogster.  PawNation mentions the Kurgo brand dog seat belts and the Bark Buckle Up website which promotes the PetBuckle brand dog seat belts.  Both brands of dog seat belts are great products and both are available at Pet Auto Safety.com. Check out both the PawNation post and the Dogster Post for great informative information.

Still need Christmas gifts for your dog lover friends or family?  Tomorrow, Monday, is the last day you can order from Pet Auto Safety.com and have the item arrive by Christmas.  BUT PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL PRODUCTS APPLY.  Not every item on our site is available to arrive by Christmas.  We can ship some items via USPS Priority Mail on Monday.  But large items like the metal pet car barriers and most pet car seats and hammocks can not be shipped in this way.

 Items which can be shipped via USPS Priority Mail include:

• All our dog seat belts and pet car harnesses,
• The backseat pet barrier and the front seat pet safety barrier,
• Most dog seat covers:  Brown Paw Print dog seat covers, Camouflage dog car seat covers, Cruising Companion quilted seat covers, Cruising Companion Houndstooth dog car seat covers, black dog seat cover, and the Slumber Pet quilted dog seat covers,
• Guardian Gear Sightseers pet car seats and the Skybox Booster pet car seats.

Cruising Companion™ Camouflage Dog Seat Belts are now available at Pet Auto Safety.com. We love the dog seat belts which provide both safety and style. The Cruising Companion™ Camouflage Dog Seat Belts have durable nylon straps to keep pets safely restrained while traveling. Any male dog would look handsome wearing the Cruising Companion™ Camouflage Dog Seat Belts as either a dog seat belt or a walking harness. And he can support our military with this camouflage look.