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.

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: )

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.

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!

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.

“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:::