Pet Auto 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.

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).

Outward Hound Port-a-Bowl and the Handi-Drink are great pet travel water bowl brands for your dog.  Whenever you take your dog out this summer, you want to make sure he stays cool and hydrated.  Many places don’t have bowls of fresh water lying around for your dog so you may want to bring your own pet travel water bowl.

The Outward Hound Port-a-Bowl pet travel water bowl fits easily in your pocket.  When your dog is ready to drink, simply unfold the pet travel water bowl, set it on the ground, and fill it with water.  When your dog is done, dump out the remaining water, shake it off, and put it back in your pocket.

The Handi-Drink pet travel water bowl comes with both a plastic bowl and a water bottle.  The bowl is long and fits around the bottle and both bowl and bottle clip on your belt for easy carrying.  When your dog is ready for a drink, simply flip open the pet travel water bowl and let the water flow.

Keeping your buddy cool this summer is very important.  Go swimming, boating, to the park, and enjoy the sunshine.  But help your dog stay cool and hydrated with a pet travel water bowl.

Perhaps you have heard of the pet brand, Outward Hound.  They make lots of great outdoor gear for dogs including dog backpacks, pet strollers, portable water bowls, and, of course, pet automobile gear.  Our favorite Outward Hound products are the pet car seats.  There are the standard small pet car seats and the larger and padded Kyjen pet car seats (Kyjen is the company who owns the Outward Hound brand).

The Outward Hound pet car seats provide three points of safety for your dog.  First, the pet car seats are secured with strong nylon straps.  The top straps hang from the headrest of the seat while the bottom straps wrap around the body of the seat.  These straps can be adjusted so that the pet car seats are secure.

Second, the Outward Hound pet car seats have a strap on the inside which can clip onto the back of your dog’s harness.  This strap will keep your dog from jumping or flying out of the pet car seats.

Third, since the Outward Hound pet car seats are hanging from the headrest of the car rather than sitting on the seat itself, the airbags will not deploy in that seat should you and your pet be involved in a car accident.  This is a good thing since you do not want the airbags where your dog is sitting to deploy.  Airbags are designed for adult humans, not children or pets.

As with all Outward Hound brands, the pet car seats are of quality make and design.  If your dog loves to ride in the car, they will enjoy the Outward Hound pet car seats and be safe at the same time.

“My dog just won’t tolerate a dog seat belt.”  That is what we hear from people all the time.  Most people think a dog wearing a seat belt is a great idea – just not for their dog.  We agree that it can be very difficult to get a dog used to wearing a dog seat belt.  So while you may or may not be working with your dog to get him used to the idea of wearing a dog seat belt, we have an alternative.

The Front Seat Pet Car Barrier made by Outward Hound is perfect for keeping your small to medium-sized dog in the back seat.  It is easy to use and a very inexpensive alternative to other pet car barrier products.

The Front Seat Pet Car Barrier by Outward Hound is attached using long nylon straps.  Simply unclip the straps.  Then wrap the top half shorter straps around the headrests of your front seats and the bottom half longer straps around the bottom of the front seats.  Lastly, tighten the straps for a snug fit.

*Please note, the Front Seat Pet Car Barrier by Outward Hound may not be enough to keep a big dog in the back seat.

You may already be familiar with Outward Hound pet supply brands.  The Outward Hound brand provides products which combine quality with affordability.  Their products are well made and relatively inexpensive as compared to other brands.  Outward Hound makes dog backpacks, dog toys, water bowls, dog life vests, pet strollers, and more.  But did you know that they also make pet travel supplies too?

Pet Auto Safety.com provides a number of pet travel supplies with the Outward Hound brand.  Both the Kyjen Pet Booster Seat and the Outward Hound Pet Booster Seat are Outward Hound brands.  Both of these pet booster seat styles provide security for your dog when he travels in the car while at the same time giving him a “boost” so he can see out the window.

Other pet travel supplies from Outward Hound include the Front Seat Barrier which keeps your dog from climbing over the console to the front seat, the Window Bumper which provides padding for the dog who likes to put his head out the window, the Extend-A-Seat which covers the floor of the back seat to give your dog more room, and the Port-A-Bowl which is an easy carry food and water bowl for when you take your dog for long walks or long travel trips.

Check out these and other great pet travel supplies at Pet AutoSafety.com.  Feel free to use discount code, petblogger, to get 10% off your order.

Check out Oliver in his new “chariot”… ie, dog booster seat.  Isn’t he adorable!  A dog booster seat is great for a little dog. Just check out what Oliver has to say. Oliver is comfortable and he can look out the window without having to stand on his hind legs. And most importantly, Oliver is safe. The dog booster seat is strapped to the front seat of the car. And it has another strap inside which clips onto the back of Oliver’s harness. That way, if his mom has to stop suddenly, poor Oliver doesn’t fly forward into the dash, the windshield, or onto the floor.

The dog booster seat which Oliver is riding is the red Outward Hound Dog Booster Seat.

Read the great testimonial from Oliver’s mom at the All Things Dog Blog.  Thanks Oliver for being so photogenic and for enjoying your dog booster seat.

The Front Seat Pet Car Barrier is made by Outward Hound. It is made from durable canvas with strong straps which wrap around the front seats of your car. There are two straps which wrap around each headrest and two straps which wrap around the bottom of the front seats. The straps buckle together and are easily tightened so that the Front Seat Pet Car Barrier is snug against back of the front seats.

The Front Seat Pet Car Barrier is ideal for small dogs and most medium sized dogs. A large dog or determined medium sized dog, however, may be able to get over the top. By using the Front Seat Pet Car Barrier to keep your dog in the back seat, the driver has less distraction which makes your drive more safe.

Does your dog try to get into the front seat while you are driving? Do they rest their front paws on the center console only to lose their balance and fall when you have to stop or turn? This can be quite a distraction to the driver. One way to keep your dog in the back seat is to use a dog car safety barrier.

A dog car safety barrier can be of metal, cloth, or netting. But if you have a small car, a metal or netting dog car safety barrier can be rather bulky and unsightly. So consider a cloth dog car safety barrier instead. Outward Hound makes a great cloth dog car safety barrier called the Front Seat Dog Car Safety barrier. This works great in keeping small to medium dogs in the back seat. It can also be a deterrent for large dogs. But just be aware that a determined large dog will be able to climb over this dog car safety barrier.

The Outward Hound Front Seat Dog Car Safety Barrier wraps around the headrests of the front seats at the top. Then wraps around the seat back and seat cushion at the bottom. This makes the Outward Hound Front Seat Dog Car Safety Barrier simple to use, effective for small to medium-sized dogs, and relatively inexpensive.

In conjunction with the dog car seat belts, I use the Backseat Bridge in my car whenever Sephi and Maya travel with me. The device worked perfectly when we first used it on a four hour trip from Kansas City to St Louis. Sephi and Maya were much more comfortable on this trip because they had more room to move around or lay down and stretch their legs.

What is a Backseat Bridge? The Backseat Bridge is a sturdy device which attaches around the front car seats and headrests in order to cover the floor of the back seat. The Backseat Bridge by Kurgo is slightly padded and designed for dogs over 30 pounds. Sephi is 55 pounds and Maya is almost 70 pounds and the it has shown no signs of weakness or breakage.

How does the Backseat Bridge protect your dog? The most defining feature of the Backseat Bridge is it keeps your dog off the floor of the car. If you have to make a sudden stop your dog could fly forward and crash onto the floor, possibly spraining or even breaking their leg, hip, or back. But if your dog is wearing a seat belt, how could this happen? True, with some dog car seat belts the dog would not crash onto the floor because those seat belts severely limit your dog’s movement. However, other dog car seat belts have an adjustable strap which gives them more freedom to move and sit, stand, or lay down. The Backseat Bridge provides even more space for your dog to move around which can be very comfortable for those long road trips.

How does the Backseat Bridge protect me? The Backseat Bridge has a flap which provides a visible barrier between the front seats. So if your dog is not wearing a dog car seat belt, this flap may deter them from trying to get into the front seat and distracting you while you are driving. The flap is not a complete deterrent, however. The best way to prevent your dog from getting into the front seat while you are driving is to have your dog wear a dog car seat belt.

Are there any drawbacks to the Backseat Bridge? One feature we have noticed is there is a slight gap around the side edges. So it is not recommended for smaller dogs who may be able to slip between those gaps. The straps can be tightened so that the padded base is flush against the back of the front seats. However, if the back of the front seats are not straight, there may be additional gaps. The back of the front seats of my car are not straight. However, since Sephi and Maya have the dog car seat belts with adjustable straps, I make the straps long enough for them to still move around but short enough so they can’t get their foot caught in the gaps.

Is the Backseat Bridge right for my dog? To find out, ask yourself these questions:
1) Is my dog or are my dogs over 30 pounds each?
2) Do my dogs hate being restrained in the car?
3) Will my dog be using a dog car seat belt with an adjustable strap?

If you answered yes to all three questions, then the Backseat Bridge is perfect for your dog!