Car pet safety harness - what do you think?

I actually really like this! By the look of the picture, the lead is fastened so that the dog can't lie down, but that was probably just for modelling. Demps always gets himself badly tangled up in his harness, so I love the idea of the top-fastening thing, particularly as he's also prone to falling off the seat.

Thoughts?

If the car is slammed into or stops suddenly the dog will swing up and bash the drivers in the head then slam back down and break its pelvis or neck. Safety harnesses should NEVER be above the thing you're trying to contain.

I've seen this before, and considered it - a very neat idea.

My only concern is, that if the dog has enough "lead" to lie down he has enough to reach between the front seats and be a pest, and in case of accident the dog would be quite likely to cause or sustain injury. 

I'm considering this:- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Travel-Safety-Adjustable-Harness-Attached/dp/B00BIGFESS/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1393784366&sr=1-3&keywords=dog+seat+belt+clip

I think that would only happen if the lead was short. The way I'd use it would allow laying down, in which case, the dog would swing behind the seat, not into the head.

Tbh, I'd sooner have this than no seatbelt at all for my dog. Because of Dempsey's shape, he can't use a normal seatbelt harness. It gets twisted around and either strangles him or gets his legs caught.

Oops - didn't include all the pictures. I will in the morning. The strap at the top can be adjusted - it can also go across the seats, which I think would be more appropriate.

I love these but I have 7 dogs.. how would my car look?

I can imagine that!

I dont like this. We have a short strap (15cm?)  from a harness to the belt clip. It will stop the dog moving in the car far more than this. 
That dog could hit windows or people in that restraint.

Lynda, that is what we use here. The dog has restricted movement & in an accident they do not become a missile as they are contained.

Edit: Sorry I viewed your link after I posted.

It's probably the only seatbelt we could use for Demps, so I'd rather have that than nothing. Although I'd attach the strap sideways, across the seats, rather than at the top. Exactly the same as a normal seatbelt, except is allows side-to-side movement and stops him from breaking his legs when he gets tangled.

The short strap that lynda showed needs to be used with a harness, not a collar. Dogs should be trained to lay in the car so it stops them becoming a missile or injuring themselves.

Easier said than done. Due to his shape, Demps can't physically lay still in a car and there isn't room in the boot. And you're talking about a very unnatural thing for a dog - moving and jolting, which makes the dog lose its balance. Not all dogs can get used to it, depending on how calm/nervous they are.

All mine have been trained  to lay flat in a car. Back seat floor, on the back seat or in the wagon boot. Mine are not allowed to sit up while I drive.
It's also illegal here to have an unrestrained dog if not car trained ( sitting at human head height) or a dog in the front unless you have a ute.
Then they must be tethered in the ute or under the dash in the cab.

Even Molly wears a short seat belt.

Xan sits in the front seat of my car and watches where I'm going and the world going by. He is so weird. My car seatbelts have all been chewed up.

Used to be dogs loose in the back of a ute wasn't a problem. They just learnt to sway & have "car legs" swaying leaning around corners. Dogs on front seats were fine. Now, We get fined for a dog in the front passenger seat if we could have them in the back. Ute trays have tethers. Dogs are regulated like children here.

Now, if your seatbelts are even frayed.... that will be $230? bucks + a few points off your licence. We only have 12 here & 3 points come off for loads of things.
Dogs are the same as kids here in a car.

Jeeeeez. I've been told off once for having lexi in the front unrestrained but it's not that bad most police don't even know that they must be restrained - it was a warden that told me off!

So you do have to restrain your dogs there?
Here, if you're dog is not down, they can light you up! (Stop you.) They must be dropped to avoid an incident in an accident.
Mine do get up at the lights for a look around, but know to drop when the car moves again. They know they have to be below the back seat while we are moving.

No we don't have to restrain them. They can be loose on the back of an open ute as well. It's up to the owner to keep their dog safe.

Dempsey's too big to comfortably fit in the rear foot well, we only have a small car!

Even the boot area is quite small & won't take a crate. So a 'seat belt' is the only option, but the standard ones tangle him up ' he panics.

This one, if it's attached to the seat rather than the roof would be ideal.

I'm considering getting it!

It's been ordered

Think this is more about protecting the people in front than the dog and giving dog freedom of movement whils travelling . If , heaven forbid we had an accident the kids would go no further than the edge of the back seat . Adapter leads have just enough length fro them to comfortably lie down ( usually on each other ) on the back seat

Sounds decent!

Shisa wrote:No we don't have to restrain them. They can be loose on the back of an open ute as well. It's up to the owner to keep their dog safe.

Used to be that way here, but now....We'd be done (fined) before we got to the end of the road with a loose dog in a ute.

We can have a loose dog in a backseat or wagon if they are dropped but an unrestrained dog sitting up would draw attention if the cops noticed it.