Traveling this summer

Hello everyone!
I came across this and although this is just a cartoon I would like people to pay attention to it. There are so many situations where we think "oh it will be just a quick trip" and don't put our dogs safety as our number one priority. I have been using seat belts for my dogs, because I believe it is just as important as using seat belts for humans. Please everybody be safe on the roads.

I find it interesting that it's a Julius harness. As far as I know, they haven't been crash tested at all...

Actually I was not saying any harness brands. This is just a cartoon that I found and thought It would be a good Topic to start because it is summer and many people travel. Also I would recommend for you to watch this video on youtube, where they are crash testing several different Julius K9 products. The power harness was tested, and the plastic fastener only opened, not broke after 650 pounds, which also means that the tensile strength was more than 3.170 N. So with that being said I would definitely trust this harness, and the seat belt for my dogs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_nBjLwKKb8

The cartoon is *by* Julius K9.

And that's not crash testing, that's just strength testing. In an accident the amount of force exerted on harnesses is extremely high and it happens suddenly, not slowly. The weakest points usually are the buckles and connectors, so just testing the nylon (like in the belt harness test) isn't enough.

I much prefer the independent crash testing that the Center for Pet Safety has done and their results were quite concerning: http://www.centerforpetsafety.org/test-results/harnesses/2013-harness-study-quasi-static-tests/

Granted, I don't think they test the Julius gear, but not breaking isn't enough imo.

If I wanted to use a seat belt in the car I would use the SleepyPod ClickIt, hands down.

I have SleepyPod Clicking harnesses for my dogs, nothing else really measures up. They don't make them for super-tiny dogs though, and I imagine the strength requirements for keeping a 6lb dog from flying through the windshield are a bit less.

I love the Center for Pet Safeguard testing standards, they don't just require a harness to not break, they also require it keep the dog on the seat with an acceptable amount of head movement. That said, I did just buy a Ruffwear car harness to play with.

I was interested in this topic and wanted to find an answer, so I emailed the company and asked about it. This is the answer I received:

"Dear Madam,

Thank you very much for your inquiry!

We are happy to hear that you love our products. Our harnesses are tested and proved on tensile tests. The Julius-K9® harnesses fully meet the highest quality requirements; in each step of research, development and the production process we have been able to provide the same high standards. The car test results usually show that the dog can fly forward or fall out the harness, which can lead to injuries. It cannot be emphasized enough: for safety use you should fix the dog with two adapters connected to the two side rings of the IDC® Powerharnesses with side rings!

Any dog harness accessory (chest pad, seat belt connecting, etc.) has limited abilities to save the dog from injuries in case of car accidents. (In case of improper use Julius-K9® can’t assume responsibility for any injures.)"

Cool! Have they published any sled test videos or independent test results?

Yea, color me unimpressed with their response. There are several ways to do legit crash testing but they don't sound interested at all.

Yep

Yep, that's a Julius Harness. Still a dangerous world out there, for the driver and other motorists. Strap your dog in, but please be careful when you drive. Avoid texting while driving.

They sent me a link to a YouTube video of a pull test for the harness, which really didn't address any of my concerns. Also, the product description for the seatbelt tether includes this:

"This product has limited abilities to save the dog in case of car accidents. It is primarily intended to keep the dog away from the driver, and save him from injuries while sudden stops and changes of direction of the car."

So it's not a crash-protection harness and likely to fail in the event of a real accident.

I'm sorry that this one picture caused this much conflict on here. Sadly in the case of a real accident no harness would save our dogs due to the amount of force acting on them. Say a car is going 70mph, and comes to a sudden stop, the dog would get hurt first and not the harness.

Erm...actually we've been trying to tell you that there is a harness that can protect your dog. I mean yeah, in a major accident nobody's survival is certain. Still, there is at least one product on the market that has been rigorously tested like child safety seats and actually gives your dog better odds, like child safety seats.

That's why a dog walked away from this 60mph crash totally unharmed:

And this dog survived this accident unharmed:

They even have a program where they replace the harness for free if it is damaged in an accident. It has been independently crash tested and not only keeps the dog on the seat but also limits movement in multiple directions to prevent head injuries, whiplash, etc. It's pretty awesome, you should check it out: www.sleepypod.com

Well I believe that any kind of car harness is better than nothing and that was my purpose with this post in the first place. I didn't say in my post "hey, buy Julius K9 harness to save your dog in an accident" I was just simply going through my Facebook and saw it so I thought it would be cool to share it, and remind people to be safe on the roads. But you completely took it in the wrong way and started straight up telling me I was wrong. I apologize for the situation, I just feel attacked over something that wasn't even my intention.

That's a common misconception, and one that we've been trying to help you correct because we all really do want to keep our dogs safe. Please do check out the Center for Pet Safety and their independent crash testing. It was all started by a woman whose dog was injured in a minor crash while wearing a car harness. High quality testing revealed that a number of harnesses actually did more harm than good. They have been fighting to put standards in place to prevent that from happening to someone else.

I'm sorry you've felt attacked, but just try to imagine for a.moment that we were talking about baby carseats. We've been telling you that there's a crash-tested product proven to protect your baby. Imagine posting this:


" I have been using seat belts for my babies because I believe it is just as important as using seat belts for adults. "

To which well-informed people responded that the product pictured had not passed safety tests.

"The power carseat was tested, and the plastic fastener only opened, not broke after 650 pounds, which also means that the tensile strength was more than 3.170 N. So with that being said I would definitely trust this carseat, and the seat belt for my babies."

To which well-informed people replied that those tests did not actually count as crash testing, and helpfully suggested a safety organization that does test stuff, and their number one product that has passed all the tests. We tried to inform you about these:


We had the company weigh in and they said:
"We are happy to hear that you love our products. Our carseats are tested and proved on tensile tests. The Julius-K9® carseats fully meet the highest quality requirements; in each step of research, development and the production process we have been able to provide the same high standards. The car test results usually show that the child can fly forward or fall out the seat, which can lead to injuries. It cannot be emphasized enough: for safety use you should fix the carseat with two adapters connected to the two side rings of the IDC® Powercarseat with side rings!

Any child carseat accessory (chest pad, seat belt connecting, etc.) has limited abilities to save the child from injuries in case of car accidents. (In case of improper use Julius-K9® can’t assume responsibility for any injures.)"

And then we pointed out that there is at least one product out there that does more, that has been dynamically tested with crash test dummies and serious technical analysis and been proven via survival stories. You said you felt attacked, and seemed to write off everything we tried to share.

" Sadly in the case of a real accident no carseat would save our babies due to the amount of force acting on them. Say a car is going 70mph, and comes to a sudden stop, the baby would get hurt first and not the carseats."

Again, I tried very hard to show you the difference. Instead you're getting your feelings hurt without appearing to absorb the message we've attempted to convey. That there is a huge difference between this: and this:

"Well I believe that any kind of carseat is better than nothing and that was my purpose with this post in the first place. "

Thank you for your input about this topic.