Dog Seat Belt

I'll be changing cars soon to a 4-door sedan that won't fit a crate (wah, I love car crates!), so I'm looking into seat belts. But there are so many different ones. Is there something I should be looking for? I've also seen some just have a very small leash type thing that the handle just slips onto the seat belt then you latch it, which makes me think I could just get a small leash (like a foot or two) and then get a nice harness. Suggestions?

Well you want something that would actually hold up in a crash, so no a regular harness won't do. I can't remember where I saw this, maybe it was linked somewhere on here, but it showed videos of "car harnesses" completely falling apart once the force of the dummy was thrown into them in an accident.

I use a Roadie, I like that it's a piece of cake to put on (that was prerequisite numero uno ) and it's actually been crash tested in germany.

I hear good things about roadies. I have one but I'm not sure the brand...

Roadie. Roadie. And if you want something a little different, Roadie.

I've seen that and it was..sickening. One of the harnesses just about strangled/snapped the neck of the dummy. That video should probably be found, posted, and stickied.

Ya know. I've had two door and 4 door cars and I have yet to own one that I couldn't fit a crate into.

My two-door Ford was tricky, but a 300 size vari kennel would fit in the back seat. It took some maneuvering. You have to take the crate apart and put the bottom half in first, then the door, then the top half and then I usually zip-tie my vari-kennels shut.

My ACD's fit in a 300- its not as roomy as the 400, but for car trips I don't feel bad. Zen weighs 60lbs so he's pretty good sized, but still goes into a 3oo crate with no issue.

Just an option. I know the car harnesses are popular on this forum, but very few of them have actually been crash tested for safety, so if you go that route check into it.

This one?

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206956

I have an older style Roadie I really liked. Also a newer style one that I cannot stand...

Also have two other brands I can't remember offhand...posted them before here on another thread. One from CleanRun that is okay but not a great fit on Mira...seems like it's meant for dogs with no forechest. The other is from DogWise (EzyDog, I think?) and while comfortable and a fine walking harness I have no illusions that it would hold up in a collision.

How big of a car is it? I know Blaze is not a small dog but he's certainly not huge either... perhaps you could fit a soft crate in the backseat for him? That's what I do with my guys (though now we have an issue with the four dogs, but you don't have that problem!)

I believe I can fit my Vari Kennel 300 on the back seat. The trick is how to make it stay still? I can fit a crate back there, the problem is that half or less of the crate is hanging off the seat.

I always put mine behind the passenger seat and then scoot it allll the way back and lean the back of the seat so that it braces the crate still. In my two door the backseat was small enough that when I adjusted my seat so that I was comfortable the back of the seat kept the crate still.

Am I the only one here who is going to say DON'T GET A SEDAN?

Seriously, tons of cars come in hatchbacks or wagon form. . . no need to get something as impractical as a sedan for someone with dogs. If you absolutely have to get a sedan, then the roadie is amazing.

Hehe, Nolu, I'm not buying a car. I'm moving to college, so my hatchback car (that's 13 years old) is staying at home and I'm taking the more reliable honda sedan.

I'm going to try the crate against the seat option, but I'm also getting a Roadie from Stardogs. Thanks for the input everyone!

You'll be find, stick with the reliable car.

ROADIE!

And Roadie in lower case letters, too.