Hi All

I have just brought Hamish my westie a dog harness for the car, i have always allowed him to travel on my back seat where i put a towel down to avoid the seat from becoming dirty but i find that he wanders around the back seat up at the windows which is distracting to the driver, somebody always sits in the back with him but i saw these harnesses at the petshop and thought it would be a good idea, it clips around the seat belt and holds them in so that they cannot wander around, they have got room to be able to sit up and lay down but have not got complete freedom to move around a lot.
I just wondered whether other people on here have ever used these for their dogs and how they have found them, i thought they looked a really good idea especially if you travel alone with the dog at least you know where he is, i used to use a crate when i first had him as a puppy but am not happy about him being crated in the boot of the car incase somebody shunts you in an accident and then the poor little dog will be injured if not killed!!!
Thanks
Helen

Hi Helen,

I have car harnesses for both of my dogs, the ones i have; the seatbelt slides through a 'loop' on the harness which anchors the dog to the seat. I prefered the idea of a harness rather than a crate as it worried me that if we were in a big accident the dogs wouldnt be able to try and escape if they were trapped in a cage, at least with a harness they can try and break the belt, also it makes it easier for rescuers/us to save them if we needed to.

Ive never had any problems and it helps to calm the boys when in the car as they cant move about too much. However, personally i never leave the harness on when they are alone, if i need to leave them for whatever reason i always remove their harness and put it away, if they got upset whilst fastened in they could really do some damage to their legs if they got caught up.

Rox