I have had car harnesses for my dogs but worried about the plastic clips! It seems madness to trust plastic to keep the dog safe in a crash! No way can these withstand the forces of any decent impact. But all the ones I can find in shops are plastic and the packaging supplies no information about the safety tests etc... that enable them to be marked for the intended purpose .

So I read up on this and it seem I am right.... and the plastic is brittle in the cold weather so and more break in the winter.   There are safer USA versions available... at a higher cost.... two look quite good...but really no way can they cost so much more to make! So do you know of any safe to use car restraints? Or have evidence of safety testing that can prove these restraints filled with plastic clips are safe?  

So what do you use and do you also think that we are being sold unsafe products in our stores? I would not be happy to use these type of fittings for a baby and so I wonder why are we being sold them for our dogs?

I've just had one of the plastic buckles shatter so I've now replaced the plastic fittings with sailing boat shackles which I think are much safer for now but I would like ideally to get some nice and practical but  safety tested belts for them. If you know any please share this information. Thanks.

Go to the Over The Top web site, they have a swedish car harness which has passed all the tests, it is not cheap mind, but how much is a dog..............

Alternatively the Roadie which you can find on the Roger Mugford site is also recommended, it comes from the US.  These are the only two car narnesses that I believe have been tested fit for purpose.

HTH

Thanks... I'm not having much sucsess in tracking one down. I've tried to persuade the local pet shopws that the ones they are sellin are not impact tested and are just to control behaviour and protect the dog in sharp turns or emergency stop... not for a crash.

Having said that..even the plastic ones are better than nothing... I heard recently of an unrestrained  dog who died due to injuries suffered through stopping suddenly at a traffic light.

I think I will use the ones I have for securing them in the boot if the the car we use for town driving because that will be in addition to a dog guard. .....and then try to track down the Roadie or the CanineAuto, or the swedish one.

I wonder which is the easiest to use... any ideas...?  It is a shame not to have these in the shops to try out for ease of use and comfort and so on...I'm sure people would buy them if they were for ale locally.

On cost... even for a vet bill for a minor injury will cost over £100 so £90 for a safety tested seatbelt is nothing.  I just wish the pet shops would stop misleading the public into buying ones that are not tested and have no promise of offering  collision protection.

the roadie is a pain to put on. haven't tried the others

Oh dear... my family seem to struggle with any harness!  THe Roadie looks the easiest to get hold of..as well as the cheapest.  I was looking at the photo of one and can't work it out how it fits at all...seems to be no on-line diagrams. 

The other two look easier to use...but cost a lot more but I'm struggling to find a  supplier. I would really  have to save a few pennies before I can buy two of these! THey do need to be easy to use or people will forget to use them.

I have contacted hi.craf to ask what safety tests their prodict has passed because local pet shops all claim it to be safety tested.   I really would like  to know what level of impact it will actually withstand.

petplanet sell roadies. I've bought a few things from them and have no complaints.

we got our dog an Ancol one- its easy to use and very sturdy clips, she doesnt mind wearing it either.

forgot how much it cost tho'!

I went through exactly the same concerns as you :)

Bear in mind, with a harness, if you stop suddenly, the harness will stop your dog flying out the windscreen but will probably not be able to sto the dog from hitting the back of the front seat if you see what I mean.

I do have a harness and dog is in a hammock in a harness. I use this for motorways as i hate the idea of a car coming up the back of  me, which i've had several times throgh no fault of my own.

I am in the process of buying a quality crate (Guardsman) for around local area journeys as on balance i feel that is good protection.
It's a hard call and i dont think there is any real answer - :)

Just my thoughts :)

Lindsay
x

..yep... a quality well secured crate is a good idea if you can fit one in the car... I think I just need a bigger car..... or maybe I just need to invest in lashings and lashings of bubble wrap!  

New car sounds a good option to me :P

he,he..I'm working on it! Got my eyes set  on a nice little camper van for doggie trips to the beach and  dog shows and so on. ( I can't believe how expensive dogs are to keep these days...they need so much!  lol! )

Those are the type I have had before...they are to control behaviour and reduce risk if injury in a sudden stop or sharp turn... as far as I can find out they do not offer impact protection.... that's what I'm trying to find out.

  I think they really just need fixing wiith fail safe connections that will overide the plastic clips if they do break... that's all the 'Champion Canine Seat Belt' seems to have in addition to the plastic clips... but it cost heaps and heaps more!

cant believe its got plastic clips- how stupid is that! the one ive got has metal ones.

Yes...plastic seems very daft!  

When did you buy yours... they all seem to have the plastic clips now... and when you look at the clips they use there is only a tiny bit that is going to take all the stress in a sudden stop ... and also they might weaken with age and in the cold they get brittle which I guess is why the plastic clip on one of our car harnesses broke.

got mine last summer- ordered it through work (vets), just the standard ancol one. ;)

I just wanted to add my experience of the 'Ruffrider Roadie' as I haven't found it difficult to use at all - in fact I would recommend it. Also, it is possible to fasten it to the car seatbelt in such a way that the dog can't move forward enough to hit the seat in front.

Thanks...thats great...I'm sold!   I think I will go for it then. I'm sure I will be able to work it...dogs never go anywhere without me anyway.

Any idea what size I'd needs for Aussies?

Here is a link to the sizing guide and here is another link to some instructions (A bit clearer than the ones that came in the box with my harness - now they were confusing! Could be why some people have had problems ...)
It's basically two loops joined together.

Thanks...lit actually looks easier to put on them the standard halters. Any idea on where best to order them from?  Some sites seem to only sell one or two sizes.

Oh - you have got me worried now! Hope they are still available... My dog still has some filling out to do and we may need the next size up eventually. I have had two so far - one from Pet Planet (can't find Roadies on their website at the mo) and one from Company of Animals - who seem to be clearing their stock.
I have emailed Company of Animals to see if they'll be getting any more in the future - will let you know what they say. (Maybe there's an opening for a new UK Roadie dealer?)