I am due to collect my new little man Harvey a black Lab pup this weekend.

I do not have a hatchback car, therefore once he gets a little older and we start to take more car trips, I would like to have a harness for him. Can anyone recommend a harness, or an alternative.

The car is only 2 doors, so using his crate will be almost impossible.

Look forward to hearing the views of the regulars on this board.

Many thanks for you help in advanced.

Duncan

HI, I haven't used harnesses myself, and dont think I would be happy using one until a dog is at least half grown - say 6 months. Have you considered how you will get him in and out of a 2 door car as he gets bigger, as you wont be able to lift him!! Depends on the design I guess, but this could be your excuse for a small estate car? It will be much easier when he is older an filthy after a walk, for him to travel in the back of an estate car. You mention taking him out in the car when he is older - do take him out every day for a short trip in the car from the day you get him so he will become a good traveller. You must be really excited, keep us posted on his progress.

i use the Highcraft car harness for my 2 younger dogs, they seem quite happy to wear it and it's pretty easy to put on which is a big plus :) you can get them in most pet stores, take Harvey with you to get it fitted, you'll probaby need to start with a smaller size and then buy another one later to fit him when he's fully grown as I doubt you could adjust a large one down enough to fit.
Congratulations on your new pup by the way! :D

Julie where do you get them from?;)

Stacey x x x

Pets at Home and most large pet shops sell them. I found the harnesses excellent in those far off days when I only had one dog and a small car! I now have 7 dogs, a new house bought with the dogs in mind, a people carrier with the back row of seats removed for the dogs and very little money!

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Joan don't you find it amazing the lengths you go for your dog:) We're thinking about buying a new house-it's a repossesion and with what we'll make on ours and then that to sell in a years time- we'll have a very nice amount to put on another house the only thing I'm debating is that although the kitchen's larger, the utility room is smaller than the one in my house now and that's Kassie's room As soon as you step in the front door you're in the lounge and I think escape wise it's not very good for Kassie either- but it's a good investment? What do you do? I don't like the house as much as mine but you could make an easy £15,000 on it! I can't believe I'm being put off just because of my dog- it's crazy:D :D :D

Stacey x x x

My old house had a lounge straight off the front door and it was one of the things I deliberately avoided this time because of the dogs.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

See what I mean- to a non-doggy person this sounds crazy:) But it is funny the lengths you go to :)

Stacey x x x

And that is with only pint size dogs, Joan! LOL

Ah yes, but we do fit the occasional Elkhound in the car as well!

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

My apologies, my previous reply should have read the occasional Norwegian Elkhound!

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Bet you get some looks when you all come out of the car. will we be seeing you at the (Norwegian) Elkhound ring at windsor? :D

No, I'm not at Windsor this year.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

As Joan says, good old Pets at home I'm afraid!

I use the hi-craft ones and have had good success with them, but I am concerned that the plastic bits would give way. I've considered ordering the Roadie. If you do a search you should be able to find it.

I've actually ordered another brand from the US, but have had trouble with them shipping it here.

Wendy

Hi,
I like using "Batzi" belts which is an online American brand ...just add a www and .com to the name :) It's easy to use because it's just basically the strap & seatbelt connector. A triangular metal piece slides onto the seatbelt itself and the strap clips to it and whatever body harness you have on the dog. You can leave the attachment on if you have passengers and no one's the wiser.

It costs about 8 pounds or so, not sure what shipping is. I like it because it's easy to clip the dogs onto, swivels so no tangling, and I can also hook a coupler on it when I need both dogs on the same side of the car. You also don't have to worry about puppy outgrowing it if you get the heavier strap.
good luck,
toodles

Hi Duncan, I use the Ancol Ride n' Walk harness. It clips into the back seatbelt point and is easily adjustable to fit a good range of sizes (the x-large one fits a small deerhound and a large wolfhound equally well). I've never used a harness for a puppy, as I want the dog to know it isn't allowed into the front of the car whether it is restrained or not. I don't have dog guard and so the harness is just a safety precaution to stop a dog being thrown forward in a crash.

PS - I'd probably worry about a harness trapping the dog in the car if I hadn't once been stuck on a car myself, dangling upside down from the seatbelt, in a car so rearranged that the doors wouldn't open and the windows wouldn't wind down. So now I keep a nifty little device, with a pointed hammer for breaking windows on one end and a blade for cutting seatbelts (and harnesses!) on the other, clipped in the footwell :-)

Sharon, that sounds like a damn handy little device! where did you get it, I'm always terrified that if I had a crash that the kids might get trapped in their seats :(

I got mine from Halfords. I had a really bad accident 8yrs ago that left me trapped upside down in my car for over 2hrs. The engine had pushed the steering coloumn free from the dash and I smashed my knee on it. I also hit the steering wheel with my face and ended up having 3 operations to repair the damage :( :(

My dad bought me this tool as a birthday present that year so if it happened again at least I'd be able to sit on the roof of the car rather than having to hang upside down in my seat. I have had another accident since that one and I had to cut my seatbelt and the seatbelt holding Jonathon car seat in place. Those tools really are worth their weight in gold.

I was advised by the paramedics not to cut the straps on a baby seat though - the baby is a lot safer in the seat until they've been passed fit by a doctor.

Fiona
x x x

On the subject of car safety - we are all warned not to travel with babyseats in the front if we have a passenger air bag - but what about dogs? DOes anyone know the 'official' advice on this ine?

Digger I thought that was only rear facing baby seats

Stacey x x x

Hi Julie, I got mine in Halfords too. It's bright orange with a flourescent strip and comes with a holder that sticks to the car interior. The holder used to come unstuck, but Ian bolted in in place.

Halfords now do a thing called I think, 'Pets on the move' which are things that you may need when travelling with your dog/cat. It ranges from the harnesses to crates and sealable bowls etc, etc.

Lucy

I've heard that crates are better for travelling in cars in case there's an accident - the dog could be hurt and might snap at people, also, the dog would not run away during an accident and get lost (that is if he got out of the seat belt). I'm not sure myself, which I'll choose - probably the crate. (I know that the poster doesn't have room in the car for a crate :) so doesn't really apply! :D :D

Butter