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

This was on the news last night, and was the only harness that was effective. I'm getting one for Ian!


Sleepypod Safety

It is impressive that they have crash tested their products, but to say that it is the *only* safe harness (and tether) implies that they tested every single other product on the market. That is not the case.

Although the harness and tethers that I use have not been crash tested, I am confident about their strength and safety (the dogs won't fall out of their harnesses, and the harness will not harm them on impact).

I have the mini sleepypod carrier and love it...very well made and keeps my baby safe.

The sleepypod looks pretty cool, but I know my boys would hate to be shut in there while in the car. If it had a booster seat underneath it so they could see out the window, yet they could be locked safely inside, that would be the bomb!! I'd happily pay $200 for that!!

I worry about the soft top of some of the pods that I've seen but it seems a good way to travel with a dog far more safely than those tethers that all failed one of the safety tests and many of the old-fashioned car seats where they just sit in the carrier unrestrained or worse, letting them ride loose in the seat. I usually put Tibbe in his hardshell carrier with larger soft toys and a blanket and seat-belt it in place but that's an imperfect method also if the seatbelt guides that the belts go through fail in a bad crash.

Ditto that

I have seen sooo many of those harnesses that are sold that don't seem to work very well. I don't have confidence in a lot of them to be honest and sometimes think the only reason they're safe is because they won't bother an owner while driving, NOT to protect the actual dog. This seems like a nice product, but I wouldn't want to deal w/ a stressed, barking maniac of a dog since he doesn't like to be crated and that pod looks awfully small.

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?

Snoozer tethers. You can buy them separately. They loop around the seat belt:
Snoozer Car Seat Strap

We have the regular sized sleepypod and Sachi loves it. As soon as she is in it, she makes herself comfortable and goes to sleep.

I have been happy with the snoozer tether but really it's up to you.

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

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....

The news report was referring to the harness, not a carrier or pod. I'll see if I can post the report. This harness was tested on small and large dogs. The video was graphic, even with test (crash) dummy dogs.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!;)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

They are carabiners. I use them for everything

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.