If your yorkie rides with you in the car, you MUST read this!

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by R-Teddy

Its great, if you can afford it. Sadly I cant.

A less expensive option is to use the straps and hooks that you can find at the home centers that are the same thing mountain climbers use. Teri/Verbena needs to remind me of the proper name for these straps/hooks.

Use this with the right harness. I am confident about the harness we use. My boys can run full force to the end of a 30' leash, snap, and fall over without injury (not from the harness, at least). They definitely cannot slip out of the harness.

[margiepickens]

A bit confused. Is the unsafe/safe part the harness, the tether or the crate/pod they could be riding in? I use the Pawrider which velcros onto about 8 inches of the seatbelt and a heavy duty metal clasp and a very well made leather buddy belt. It looks like it is the tether and the harness that are failing in the videos?

[P-Nut Mom]

We use a Snoozer car seat and the boys wear buddy belt harnesses clipped to a Pawrider. We were not happy with the Snoozer tether, it's flimsy and feels like it could easily fail. We're much happier with the Pawrider, which you can find on the Chokefree website.

[margiepickens]

Another thought. If you use the heavy duty straps like mountain climbers use, you still have a weak spot where it is sewn to attach the hook, right? I just don't know how anything is going to be 100% safe. Does the pod provide something more than a heavy duty strap system and an excellent harness? The strap I use is really heavy duty, but it is still sewn.

[Princes mom]

Wow, this thread has gone in all directions! The report was about HARNESSES, but has gone to pods, carriers, car seats, and now DIY stuff!

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by margiepickens

Another thought. If you use the heavy duty straps like mountain climbers use, you still have a weak spot where it is sewn to attach the hook, right? I just don't know how anything is going to be 100% safe. Does the pod provide something more than a heavy duty strap system and an excellent harness? The strap I use is really heavy duty, but it is still sewn.

The mountain climbing straps do not rely on a sewn part. There are different kinds: some are like a seat belt with the force going to the strap that is looped through a metal piece. Others rely on strong knots in the cord. Sorry I am not explaining this adequately. I don't have the vocabulary.

If these straps are adequate to support a mountain climber who occasionally free falls, I am confident they would be safe in a car crash.

Originally Posted by Princes mom

Wow, this thread has gone in all directions! The report was about HARNESSES, but has gone to pods, carriers, car seats, and now DIY stuff!

Sleepypod shows one "generic harness" in a crash test. The other report that was posted on YT recently showed similar harnesses. I think they are car harnesses that you find at the pet store.

I think the most important things for car safety are:

1) a harness that the dog cannot fall out of and that won't ride up on the neck, and that has strong hardware (I can swing my boys in their harnesses with their leashes like a carnival ride and the hardware has not broken -- we had to do this to avoid an angry dog a couple of times).

2) A short tether that will not break on impact and does not allow the dog to move farther than a seat belt allows a human to move in a car crash

Some people believe crates are safer. I think a soft sided enclosure like Sleepypod is great, and should be secured in the car with a seat belt. THe only downside is that they do have a size limitation -- and my boys would be annoyed if they couldn't see out the window.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by gaijingirl

Not at all impressed with the Snoozer tether. I used it for awhile, but didn't feel confident that it would hold up in a crash. The plastic buckle just doesn't feel like enough. I would really suggest finding something better. What that is...I have no idea. I searched a lot and felt like there was nothing I felt really comfortable with. I actually ended up making my own. The Center for Pet Safety also recommends that the tether be no more than 6" and if at all possible, there should be no tether at all and the seatbelt go directly through the harness itself. But, I don't think that is really an option with a very tiny dog.

It should be noted that the Sleepypod Clickit harness that has been tested will not work for a tiny dog. Even the smallest size they have is too big for a Yorkie. It seems like an excellent product though, and I would consider it for a larger dog.

I actually contacted the Center for Pet Safety and asked her if they had any plans to test products for truly small dogs (because I think the smallest size crash test model they used was 25lbs...which compared to my dog, is not small at all.

She told me they have plans to do more testing and also will be doing carrier testing in the future. She said at this point, they believe a carrier is the safest option for very small dogs, but advised that with whatever carrier I looked at, I should research the manufacturer's crash testing thoroughly.

After much thought and research on what would be best, I decided on the Sleepypod carrier. We have the regular size, which is more than sufficient for my 4-lb dog. I could easily fit two small dogs in it. My dog does not like it as much as his carseat and harness, but I do feel like it will be the safest option and I think the Sleepypod company has put much more effort than most into testing for safety. Yes, it was expensive...and we also got the warmer pad that goes with it (which is WAY overpriced for what it is, but, oh well). The price of the Sleepypod is also not anymore than a lot of us have paid for our Kwigy-Bo bags....

I have done some of my own testing on the snoozer tether enough to make me feel comfortable with it my dog also will not fit in the sleepypod and throws up if in a carrier and not able to see out of the window.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by R-Teddy

Its great, if you can afford it. Sadly I cant.

Besides the fact that my dog won't fit in the sleepypod and throws up when in carriers in the car and when she can't see out it is also over priced in my opinion.

[WannaBe]

Which harness will fit a 5lb yorkie? Or do you use your own harness?

[Buster Brown]

Looking at the video's it only shows the forward motion of the impact. It does not show the force of the airbag that deploys in a crash. A dog in the back seat would possibly impact on the back of the front seat if the harness is too long. In the front seat you also have to protect them from the force of the airbag which is NOT shown in the video. I think a carrier offers more protection in the front. Funny how in their video the plastic carrier was not secured by the seatbelt which can be easily done by looping it through and around the carrier. I also use bungee cords to help secure Buster's carrier.

[Buster Brown]

Originally Posted by Maximo

A less expensive option is to use the straps and hooks that you can find at the home centers that are the same thing mountain climbers use. Teri/Verbena needs to remind me of the proper name for these straps/hooks.

Use this with the right harness. I am confident about the harness we use. My boys can run full force to the end of a 30' leash, snap, and fall over without injury (not from the harness, at least). They definitely cannot slip out of the harness.

I think the clips are called carabiners. Carabiner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[gaijingirl]

Originally Posted by Princes mom

Wow, this thread has gone in all directions! The report was about HARNESSES, but has gone to pods, carriers, car seats, and now DIY stuff!

On your first post you said harness, but your link went to a page about the Sleepypod Pod carrier, rather than a page about the harness. Thats why people started talking about other things.

[Verbena]

Originally Posted by ShowGirlLola

What tethers do you guys use?

I bought a snoozer car seat used from amazon (looks like they just opened and returned it) and the tether is missing.
Should I buy the snoozer tether or something else?

Contact the seller on amazon they will send you out one.

[Verbena]

Originally Posted by Maximo

A less expensive option is to use the straps and hooks that you can find at the home centers that are the same thing mountain climbers use. Teri/Verbena needs to remind me of the proper name for these straps/hooks.

Use this with the right harness. I am confident about the harness we use. My boys can run full force to the end of a 30' leash, snap, and fall over without injury (not from the harness, at least). They definitely cannot slip out of the harness.

They are carabiners. I use them for everything

[Verbena]

The only thing is if you watch the dog in the pod he goes crashing into the side of the pod. I really do not think there is any truly safe restraint for you pet. I use the booster seat and tether and harness. He is not a fan of the carrier. That is my fault because he is rarely in one.