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Originally Posted by Maximo  Interesting, but what about rear and side impacts? I still believe that the most important elements for car safety are:
1) a harness the dog will not fall out of and that will not cause harm
2) a sturdy tether that will not break on impact and that minimizes the dog being thrown (the same way a seat belt minimizes human movement, but does not stop it completely).
A soft sided carrier/crate secured to the seat is probably best, but my dogs would never tolerate it. Wire or plastic crates would be like falling in an elevator, in my opinion. |
Interesting comments Maximo. Unfortunately, there are NO harnesses that will fit a small terrier that have passed crash testing. The only two that have are the Sleepypod and the Allsafe and both are too big (for very big yorkies, the xs Sleepypod might work but the Allsafe is huge).
The Center for Pet Safety pretty much nixed tethers. They want the dog to stay on the car seat and tethers that add length to the dog means the dog will be thrown off the seat in an impact
Soft crates are extremely dangerous because the zippers burst open and many dogs can get out on their own by giggling the zippers
I have the Variocage for my own dogs and love it but it will only work for SUVs and it costs a king's ransom. I like the idea of this car seat but don't know of anyone who has used it yet.