German law requires pet car restraints: Do you restrain your pets?
By Phyllis DeGioia
March 7, 2009
In Germany, land of the no-speed limit autobahn, drivers are required to keep pets restrained while in the car. While Americans are required to let infants and toddlers ride in appropriate car seats, we have no regulations for pet restraints. Nonetheless, anyone who places a premium on safety needs to understand that unrestrained pets can become projectile missiles during a car accident.
Of course, at certain speeds and types of collisions, nothing will save any occupant. So the idea becomes: What is the safest reasonable way for you to protect your pet?
According to the ADAC (sort of a German equivalent to AAA), the worst one is what most Americans use: a harness a dog wears that attaches to the seat belt. Unfortunately, one carabineer clip is not going to hold a dog in a 65-mph collision:
A comparative study of various pet restraint systems shows that good pet securing systems are available starting under €30.00. The decisive factor is where and how these systems are installed in the vehicle. At an impact speed of 50kph (31 mph) and using a 22kg (48.5 lb) dog dummy and a 4kg (8.5 lb) cat dummy, most of the systems failed. The only convincing and safe solution is using a pet carrier which is secured in the correct position. The test revealed that the safest place to put pet carriers is the floor behind the driver’s or front passenger’s seats or alternatively the boot.
How often do you go over 31 mph? I drive faster than that every time I drive. If you do too, their summary recommends a system with two ties rather than one.
The most flawed were dog restraint systems consisting of a harness with tie-in(s) to the vehicle belt or belt buckle. The system with only one tie-in is the weakest and cannot restrain the 22kg (48.5 lb) dog dummy. The carabineer connector breaks and the pet dummy crashes into the front seat backrest causing a deformation over 30cm (11 inches) deep.
…
Very stable harnesses can reduce the occupants’ injury risk provided they come with large belts with metal attachments and two tie-ins.
Their conclusion for the safest method:
Comparing the pet restraint systems, we found that a large dog can be safely secured and danger prevented for the occupants only by using a large carrier installed in the boot (trunk) and a stable partition grille.
Here is the ADAC report, if you want to read the whole thing.
If you use crates, the safest approach is to tether them to the car.
If you have a friend who is not convinced that their dog and cat needs to be restrained and you want to scare the crap out of them or scare some common sense into them (or you need a little convincing yourself) check out these ADAC videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYms1d6oyz8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpA798rXSc0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdai01PKVYY&feature=related
(it would help if you speak German, but you can understand the intent)
“Buckle up for safety” applies to all your occupants, furry and otherwise.
Image: Loose dog in truck. Illegal in some places, dangerous and irresponsible in all.
I have been using nice airy crates with toys, fans and water for probably the last decade. The dogs used to free range. :-)
Two things made me change. The first was a friends dog who hit the dash board and fracture two vertebrae when she was rear ended.
The second was watching a car plow into the back of a friends Jeep Cherokee at 35-40 miles an hour. The Jeep was totaled. The three dogs in crates were shaken up but unharmed, the unrestrained dog in the middle suffered pulmonary contusions and a neck injury.
So I’m gonna say that a common sense pet restraint in vehicle law is OK by me.
On the flip side CA’s stupid and insidious pet legislation, 2009 vintage, has been assigned to the Local Government Committe. Sigh….
Comment by JenniferJ — March 7, 2009 @ 5:38 pm
Years ago, a young man was speeding late at night down a local 2 lane highway, and crashed head on into an oncoming car, killing himself and severely injuring the other driver. The video on tv showed the contents of the young man’s car strewn across the highway. One of the ‘things’ shown but never mentioned by the reporters was the body of his sheltie lying dead in the road.
I still get weepy thinking about it. It was the most intense visual wake up call about restraining dogs in the car I have ever seen. And no one mentioned it, because after all, it was just a dog. Then my own accident at low speed on black ice with my 4 dogs at the time in the car behind a barrier showed me how totally ineffective that system was. Now I use crates secured to the frame of the car accessible through the rear hatch. It’s the best I can do.
Airbags scare the bejeesus out of me, as my dogs are small, and that low speed black ice incident brought home to me how dangerous air bags are, as I got a broken nose and lost teeth from that low speed impact. Seat belts I can handle, airbags I can’t. They’d pulverize an 8 1/2 lb dog. Therefore my dogs are crated in the ‘boot’, well away from those horrible explosive devices!
Comment by Anne T — March 7, 2009 @ 6:35 pm
I had room to crate in the truck, but when I downsized to a wagon that will only fit one full-size crate in the back (and consequently acquired two more large-ish dogs..)… it’s a constant balancing act. *sigh* They were safe in the truck, I just couldn’t afford to drive us anywhere.
Comment by Cait — March 8, 2009 @ 3:54 am
I have a small car so bringing three dogs would not be possible with crates. I have always used dog seat belts and generally two per dog. I have bought and tried every dog seat belt I could find.
Comment by Erich Riesenberg — March 8, 2009 @ 5:54 am
Man, I’m sad to hear how ineffective dog seat belts are in a crash. My cat is always crated and the crate is secured. My dog, however, is way too big for any crate that’ll fit in my little car. And I can’t afford to buy a new car for the dog (or for any other reason.) :\
Comment by Tara — March 8, 2009 @ 7:04 am
There are doggie seat belts that are crash tested to the same standards as human seat belts. However, getting them in my little dog’s size is not easy.
But she’s fifteen pounds, not fifty, and in situations where I’ve had to slam on the breaks, her car harness has made a huge difference, keeping her and me safe. And if I put her crate in my little car, I have no room for anything else.
As for the safest place for the dog being in the trunk—does anyone besides me see a problem with that? Crashes aren’t the only thing that can kill your pets. :(
Comment by Lis — March 8, 2009 @ 7:39 am
I’m not sure that in Europe the terms “boot” and “trunk” mean the enclosed part of the back of the car that you slam the lid down on. I believe those terms may mean something different there.
Can someone confirm this?
Comment by The OTHER Pat — March 8, 2009 @ 7:46 am
UK boot = US trunk. And Germans, when they learn English, usually learn British English.
Comment by Lis — March 8, 2009 @ 8:08 am
See, then - this paragraph (from the article Phyllis is citing) confuses me:
Comparing the pet restraint systems, we found that a large dog can be safely secured and danger prevented for the occupants only by using a large carrier installed in the boot (trunk) and a stable partition grille.
If you put your dog in a crate (carrier) in a trunk (as I understand the US useage - the enclosed part of the back of the car that you slam the lid down on), then what possible applicability could there be for a “stable partition grille”? It makes no sense that I can see.
That’s why this particular passage seems to me more like it’s describing - for example - the UNENCLOSED rear portion of an SUV where there is essentially no division between that area and the area occupied by the driver of the vehicle. Which is why I’m thinking something is being lost in translation here.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — March 8, 2009 @ 8:33 am
The problem with securing a pet in the cargo area of a vehicle is that in many cases, the cargo area is outside of the “crumple” zone designed to protect occupants. The trunk or behind the seats area of a wagon/SUV is designed to absorb the energy of a collision. That means if your pet is in that space, he/she becomes part of that energy-absorbing protective barrier; in other words, taking the worst of the collision by designed.
There really are no “perfect” answers for the transport of pets in cars. Safety standards are designed to protect people, not pets.
As for pet safety belts “crash tested” — honestly, call me untrusting, but I’d like to see the test evidence. I have been to a lot of trade shows, and the best I’ve seen is safety gear advertised to be “made from the same material as human safety belts.”
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 8, 2009 @ 9:12 am
Something is lost between British and American English, therein lies the rub. The article is referring to what they call ‘estate’ cars ( SUVs) and hatchbacks where the boot refers to the space behind the rear seats where I keep my crates in my Explorer. From the ADAC report:
“Transporting pets in estate and/or hatchback cars using a boot partition grille is a very safe transport option. However, as many older vehicles have insufficient backrest stability
(notably with split backrests), stably anchored ceiling-to-floor boot partition grilles in compliance with DIN standards (75410-2) should be preferred. Stable boot partition grilles can reduce the additional injury risk for the occupants. The animal will neither distract the driver nor get in the way of rescue services. However, it is essential that the grille be mounted securely as it will not restrain the animal otherwise in the event of an accident. If the tailgate and partition grille are far apart and the animal has much room to move freely in the boot, the animal may sustain increased loads in the event of an accident (pre-crash acceleration when positioned in the direction of travel).
A pet carrier can be used in combination as a remedy. It is also an alternative for transporting pets in the boot, provided the carrier is positioned correctly in the vehicle. To ensure optimum load distribution over the vehicle and to prevent spinal compression in the animal, the pet carrier should be placed as closely to the backrest as possible and transversely to the direction of travel.”
There are also photographs showing various set-ups. They show a small plastic carrier belted behind the back seat partition, but they do not show crates secured in an SUV with the addition of a barrier.
My own experience has shown me that a barrier by itself is an unsafe method to restrain a dog in a car, as they can get hurt. Ideally crates bolted securely to the car frame is likely the best way to go.
Comment by Anne T — March 8, 2009 @ 9:13 am
Well, I just went and read the paper.
When they talk about putting the dog in the “boot,” they are indeed talking about the rear area of a hatchback or “estate car”, i.e., station wagon. Presumably an SUV would qualify too.
They also describe appropriate harness systems, and that putting a small pet carrier behind the front seats, if the space is tight enough, is a very safe method.
I’m astonished looking at the pictures, because it would never have occurred to me to secure a crate in a car with the front of the crate facing forward, rather than transversely. Isn’t it intuitively obvious that that’s dangerous, that in the event of an accident that the pet would be hurled forward against the weakest part of the crate—the door? Too much pressure on a small area (the door), and all the pressure on the animal is concentrated in a relatively small body area, too. So when they said that’s not safe, it seemed like a statement of the blindingly obvious.
Comment by Lis — March 8, 2009 @ 9:20 am
I interviewed Vicki Campbell, a boarded emergency/critical care vet, on this subject a few years ago. Her theory was that a seatbelt helps prevent the dog from flying through the air and hitting its head on something, but a crate might better protect the dog from a flying object during a collision. She said whichever you choose,your dog will be better protected than if it were unrestrained. Liz Rozanski at Tufts said she thought a dog in a crate that was attached to something (like a seatbelt) was best, then a dog seatbelt. She said that luckily they see very few dogs with injuries from being in motor vehicle accidents, but occasionally they get a dog with a back fracture because it was unrestrained. Harper and Twyla each ride in a car seat with a clip that attaches to their harness; Bella rides in the cargo area in a crate that is cross tied, but I do worry about what would happen if we were rear-ended.
Comment by Kim Thornton — March 8, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
My Shiba rides in her crate in the back seat. Crate is on right hand side where child seats are usually placed. Bungee cords are strung between the two head rests front and back, between the crate handle to reduce upward bounce and movement. This is the best I could think of.
Comment by glock — March 8, 2009 @ 7:50 pm
My wire crates in the back of the mini van are strapped together and also to the hooks on the floor where the back seats attached.
Our “big van” which is a Canine Traveler conversion has crates more or less permanently installed with heavy duty nylon strapping to each other and to heavy hooks installed in the van for that purpose.
In the summer when there is always the threat of wild fire, I add two to four more and do my best to secure them against moving.
Kim, the Jeep I saw get totaled had three dogs crated in the back when it was rear-ended. We were all traveling together to shows in Oregon.
The three crated were OK, another exhibitor took the injured dog who’d been sleeping in the back seats to a vet.
I think the crated dogs were OK for three main reasons even though they were in the rear. One the crates not only kept them from being thrown but I think absorb some of the force of the impact. The Jeep was a little higher stationed than the mid sized car which hit it. And according to the highway patrol officer, the tow hitch on the jeep took and channeled the impact along through the frame of the car.
Whether or not the last is true, I don’t now, but I keep looking at the Sienna thinking I should put a hitch on!
Comment by JenniferJ — March 8, 2009 @ 8:32 pm
I do have a tow hitch on the Outback with a big bike rack mounted on it, so maybe that would absorb some of the impact.
Comment by Kim Thornton — March 8, 2009 @ 10:51 pm
This is a very interesting topic. If a pet is not buckled up, they can become a projectile during a sudden stop or turn. Even if you don’t crash your car, your pet could become injured. Bark Buckle Up (www.barkbuckleup.com) has some relevant information on this topic.
Comment by Jason Merrihew — March 9, 2009 @ 7:33 am
Gah, I agonized over this, you don’t even KNOW! I went with a wire crate in the back of my Forester, although I do have a Pet Buckle seat belt that hooks into the LATCH system of the car if my trunk is ever full of something else.
I went with the crate because of something I read that mentioned that in the aftermath of an accident if your dog is hurt or just panicked and loose or in a regular seatbelt he might not let the EMTs get to YOU. Or if the EMTs have cut the belts for any reason to get to you, doggie might end up loose out on the road.
Not a perfect solution, I know, but it seemed to make the most sense for me.
Comment by Lori — March 9, 2009 @ 7:39 am
Why I like crates, with apologies to those who have heard this story before …
In July of 1982, I was working on at the Sacramento Bee. There’d been a plane crash the day before in Louisiana, killing all 146 passengers after wind shear threw the plane to ground as it tried to take-off.
My friend Morgan, then one of the photo editors, walked over with a photo off the wires and handed it to me. It was a half-grown Labrador puppy, happy and safe in the arms of an emergency worker. The dog, in his crate, had survived the crash. When the plane split open on impact, the cargo in the holds went everywhere. The dog’s crate was thrown far enough away to survive the post-crash inferno.
I’ve been a crate believer ever since.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 9, 2009 @ 7:54 am
Of course the million dollar question…what type of crate is best (wire, hard plastic, soft?) and how do you mount/secure them in a vehicle (compounded by the various types)?
Comment by eastofeden — March 9, 2009 @ 9:45 am
Depends.
Consider that the benefit of crate is threefold: 1) To protect people outside of the vehicle by preventing driver distraction; 2) to protect people inside the vehicle from large flying objects; and 3) to protect the pet in a collision.
Then, here’s how it breaks down:
Soft crates: Fine for reason No. 1, assuming your dog will stay in one. Worthless for reasons Nos. 2 and 3.
Wire crates: Fine for reasons No. 1 and 2 (assuming proper securing to the frame), questionable for reaons No. 3.
Hard plastic: Fine on all counts.
OK, but there’s more.
If you’re going somewhere where you will be leaving your dog in a crate while you work another dog, there’s an advantage to wire crates, which offer greater ventilation. My example on this is field training, where I keep dogs in wire crates in the van with all the window, doors and hatches open for max ventilation, min drying time.
If you need to load and unload constantly, folding wire is more convenient than hard plastic.
I think from a safety standpoint, high-impact plastic probably gets the nod, but the fact is I have hard plastic, wire and soft crates, and use them at different times for different situations. I suspect my dogs travel more in wire crates than hard plastic, mostly for the ventilation and easy of loading/unloading issues. Right now in my van: Two Midwest side-by-side wire crates and one Varikennel 400 hard plastic. And two folded Noz-2-Noz soft crates folded and stored there as well.
And a harness restraint for Heather, who in her old age hates crates.
Can’t say I don’t have every situation covered.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 9, 2009 @ 10:05 am
Gina, for our car crates we usually use Central Metal crates. The reason is that they are heavy welded wire, with a smaller square pattern, about 11/4 inch by 11/4 inch so they are far stronger in the event of a wreck than the more typical Midwest or precision crates.
The down side is they do not fold to suitcase size and they weigh a lot more. Also more expensive. But they do ventilate well and most are double door. The entire front can be opened too if need be.
Comment by JenniferJ — March 9, 2009 @ 10:15 am
Thanks, Jennifer.
I guess the real problem here is that we don’t really know in the absence of any statistical evidence on what happens to pets in different crash scenarios.
We’re just making our best guesses, based on some good hunches.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 9, 2009 @ 10:19 am
The thing I worried about with the hard plastic crates are the plastic dowels that hold the top to the bottom. If they gave way in a crash (say a lateral impact and they sheared off) then you’d have an unrestrained pet AND an crate pieces flying at you.
Comment by Lori — March 9, 2009 @ 10:23 am
“We’re just making our best guesses, based on some good hunches.”
I still stress out over the kids and baby in the car seats which have been tested ad naseum. :-)
Comment by JenniferJ — March 9, 2009 @ 10:30 am
You know, Christie and I were talking about the general concepts of risk and benefits of risk over the weekend.
The bottom line: Living is risky. But a safe life isn’t much worth living. Finding the balance point is pretty tricky, though.
More on that another time. Safe to say any weekend you bury your dad is one full of much thoughtful contemplation.And probably a lot of self-indulgent contemplation, as well. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 9, 2009 @ 11:10 am
oh, yes, agreed.
Comment by Lori — March 9, 2009 @ 11:13 am
I went driving with my mom this weekend. I’m concerned for her.
Always at the back of my mind and at the fore front if the phone rings after 10:00 PM is my worry of what we will do when she can no longer live independently.
In the mean time I try to get her to travel, to go out of town to to drive, fly and take trips.
She was born in the Great Depression, she frets over money. She is the most financially secure person in my family. She has virtually no debt, has money in the bank and a ton of equity in her home in spite of the financial crisis.
But she won’t spend it. She won’t take those “risks” while she still is able to physically and mentally enjoy the rewards of risk.
I really wish she would.
Comment by JenniferJ — March 9, 2009 @ 11:20 am
I found out the hard way that the trailer hitch transfers impact to the frame when a minor rear-end accident necessitated frame straightening for my Forester.
Gosh, risk vs. benefit! I regret not crate-training dog #1 here. I don’t have room for 3 big crates in my Forester, either. I guess I will go with harnesses or belts — does anyone know of any that allow a dog to lie down. Dogs need quality of life as well as safety :) At least they don’t ride in my lap — they’re too big.
JenniferJ — we have the same mother. Only mine is developing dementia now, at age 84. But I went through all that stuff, and it is hard. If you can afford it, spend your own money….or con her. My mother was such a bad tipper if she paid for dinner that I’d slip the waiter cash when she wasn’t looking.
My mother began to refuse to fly. So we drove all the way from FL to NH to have a special Christmas in a fancy hotel. It was worth the hassle — she loved her first sleigh ride, etc.
A hint: block Fox News, all sensationalist 24-hour news sites in fact, screaming financial channels, etc. from her television. People of my mother’s generation seem to overreact to all this world’s-gone-to-hell-in-a-handbasket stuff.
Most of all, don’t feel guilty if you can’t change things. You can only do so much, and you didn’t ‘make her that way.’
Peace
Comment by LoriA — March 9, 2009 @ 2:22 pm
Lori A.—nice name! And spelled right too. :O) The PetBuckle that I have is adjustable. Kasey can definitely lie down comfortably. They seem to have many options and from the research I did, it seems their parent company is a fairly well known (in the industry) maker of belts for child seats FWIW. http://www.immioutdoors.com/petbuckle/
There are other out there, too. That’s just the brand I have.
Comment by Lori — March 9, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
Thanks LoriA,
between my brother and I we did persuade her to go on a golfing trip with friends to Mexico. She had a great time but now of course says she won’t go again.
She watches CNN, I’m not sure if she or I would survive Fox!
But we got her to get rid of the police scanner. NOT a good thing to listen to in a retirement/continued care community.
Now I am trying to get her blogging. There must be other single/widowed secular jewish women golfers out there….
Comment by JenniferJ — March 9, 2009 @ 3:08 pm
“I found out the hard way that the trailer hitch transfers impact to the frame when a minor rear-end accident necessitated frame straightening for my Forester.”
My friend’s Cherokee was behind me on the freeway. At the previous rest stop I had commented she was following a bit close so she was making a bit of a point in leaving extra space between. We stopped because people were rubbernecking at a southbound fender bender. Seconds later BANG and I looked in the rear view mirror to see her car literally flying through the air at me. She came to rest about four feet behind my car.
The body of the jeep was basically separated from the frame. It looked OK, but it was toast. The car that hit it (driver distracted by the accident on the other side) also toast. Engine jammed up and out of the hood, transmission on the road, just a total wreck. The driver had a concussion but otherwise was OK.
It did look like the hitch had taken all the impact first, the car looked like it had split.
I think even if it means more risk of damage to the vehicle in an accident I’d rather lose the car than the dogs in the back. The kids and I have airbags and car seats but the dogs just have the crates and the best I can do.
I think that there is no way to be prepared for everything. But whatever restraint is used will always give the pets a better chance than riding loose.
Comment by JenniferJ — March 9, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
From a Chicago Tribune investigation of the safety of children’s car seats:
“In a government crash-test video, the infant car seat flies off its base, smashing the baby dummy — still strapped into the carrier — upside down and face-first into the back of the driver’s seat.
Think what could happen in a real crash.
This seat was one of 31 that either flew off their bases or exceeded injury limits in a series of frontal crashes conducted by federal researchers using 2008 model year vehicles, a Tribune investigation found. The test results were never publicized, and even some infant-seat makers were unaware of their existence.”
Here’s the rest.
And these child car seats are SUPPOSED to be tested and safe. So how on earth can we possibly know what’s safest for our pets?
:::sigh:::
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 10, 2009 @ 10:46 am
Gina, you should see the pictures of the post-crash child seats I see in the reports I edit. Takes my breath away. There are government standards which are supposed to provide a “minimum” requirement but they seem to be all the companies work toward. And we all know how effective government standards are in general.
Comment by Lori — March 10, 2009 @ 10:59 am
We’ve replaced car seats numerous times due to recalls or info we fished out of the interwebs. Sigh, those suckers are expensive.
Also many people do not install, secure or tighten them properly.
to get a car seat tightly installed, I, or preferably someone larger, has to basically kneel in it to shove it dow, I cannot tell you how many times I have seen loose seats, bases and loose or incorrectly fitted or tighten straps on kids and car seats.
Anyone with concerns should drive up to their local fire station. They are usually happy to check the seat and installation for you.
Comment by JenniferJ — March 10, 2009 @ 11:10 am
I recently bought the Roadie Elite seat belt and was wondering what everyone thought of that. (I wanted the Champion too but that company seems to have issues…) It is a little tight (not adjustable), but I’m hoping that snug is better than loose in an accident. Has anyone ever heard of a dog being injured by too snug a seat belt?
I honestly don’t care what happens to me in a crash! I care more about the dog, he’s my baby. He is already quiet and not a distraction, and I want something that will protect him in a crash (I drive with him on the freeway a lot).
With the crate vs. seat belt issue, I feel like the seat belt would restrain the dog (the attachment to the seat belt buckle or whatever has to be really really short, otherwise a long lead will just allow the dog to slam into the seat in front of him)…and a crate would also restrain the dog, but a different way. In an accident he would still be flying into hard plastic and still get injured.
I know the dog will get injured probably no matter what, but I want to minimize that risk as much as possible. What crates do you recommend and what is the best way to secure the crate to the car? I don’t want attachments that will break with too much force exerted on them (like a carabeener?). For that matter I don’t want to use bungee cord because that is too stretchy and can also cause the crate to move too much in a crash. I do have those LATCH bar things so can I attach the crate somehow to those?
Another question: I don’t have side-impact airbags in the backseat (where the dog is), but a new car I get probably will. Forward-facing airbags can kill a dog in a crash, but what about side-impact airbags? Would those help or just injure the dog as well?
Any advice is appreciated!
Comment by Whitney — March 11, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
No advice but I also have a Roadie.
Honestly after reading this I’m looking at hard plastic crates. I’m not sure if I will put it in the back of my car though, instead I would get one of those seat belt systems to secure it. I just don’t know. Kind of agonizing over it – AGAIN, after using the Roadie all this time. My dog hates the Roadie, he also hates to ride long distances in the back in a soft sided crate even more. I suspect he would hate a hard plastic crate the most.
Unfortunately I can’t reason with him and explain that the reason he can’t look out the window is for safety. Dogs insist on being incredibly un-safety conscious, fairly reckless in fact.
Comment by Sheyna — March 12, 2009 @ 1:44 pm
Whitney—I liked the look of the Roadie, seemed like a good choice, but I had already gotten mine when I saw them. Personally I haven’t heard of a dog getting hurt in too snug of a belt, but I won’t say it’s not possible.
The ultimate goal is to couple the motion of the dog as closely as possible to the motion of the car, therefore tighter in that regard, is better than looser.
I guess you just do what you can and then try to relax and enjoy your roadtrip. (The relaxing part is hard for me (O: )
Comment by Lori — March 12, 2009 @ 2:27 pm
Is everyone missing the fact that in the video the plastic crate was shattered leaving the dog dummy flying around the car? The force of the seatbelt on it shattered it. I think it would shatter if belted in the back of the SUV too, rather than on the seat. A wire or soft crate may not be shattered, but would would it be crushed? Putting your dog in a plastic crate would be the same as leaving them unrestrained.
The video is advocating a two-point harness, which looks like a great product for most dogs, but doesn’t come small enough for my 6-8 pound Yorkies.
Comment by Marla — March 30, 2009 @ 9:13 am
we are doing a project called project citizen and i am wondering if you could tell me more about pet restraints in a car.
Comment by emma — April 22, 2009 @ 10:48 am
emma, what kinds of questions do you have?
Comment by The OTHER Pat — April 22, 2009 @ 11:58 am
I have designed and patented an automobile pet restraint. The restraint has the same tensil strength as automobile seat belts. Easy to use, and works. Check it out at my online boutiqe http://www.just-pucci.com. Click on the new items link, then doggie hookup also click on the picture.
Comment by Dan — May 8, 2009 @ 8:32 am