Yeah I definitely agree about picking your poison. There is definite pros and cons to all... *sigh* It's so hard. Jackson typically just sits or lays in the car seat in the back. So does Lola. But whenever I tried to tether them up, any time they try to turn around or lay different, I dunno... something about being restrained makes them act panicky. It was just so much stress for all involved. I definitely worry about if they ran off or got loose in an accident though.

It's similar to the argument of crating vs not crating at home. On one hand, leaving a dog in a crate would make for easier removal by a fireman if there was a fire. But on the other, leaving them loose allows them to have a chance to run as far away from the fire as possible. It's like damned if you do, damned if you don't.

The Sleepypods (I think?) look pretty safe. Any next puppy of mine will trained to a restraint from a young age so they don't know any different. Also would love to be able to fly with my next dog so would want them to be able to travel comfortably in a carrier. Jackson is likely too big to fit under a plane seat but he'd be stressed out with it as he's never been crated before.

Joey used to get so pissed off as a puppy when he would be leashed or tethered it was actually kinda funny but he grew out of it. It’s hard to make decisions for these little beings there are times it’s like it sucks either way or you feel judged or really anything. I have learned many lessons the hard way with these pups luckily nothing life or death. Sometimes it helps to get opinions on it and some of times it makes you crazy not knowing which way to go.

Back in the mid 90's they didn't have then what they have today, booster seats, or any type of restraining devises. I had a pack of 3, the smallest weighing 9 pounds 2 at 13 Lbs. They were very well behaved lil girls, each had their spot on the back seat and never moved. One week end on the highway I had to brake hard to avoid hitting the car in front of me, my 9 pounder was thrown onto the floor, she had short lil legs and couldn't get back on the seat, I had to pull off the highway and give her a boost back up, thankfully she wasn't hurt, and the other 2 had the strength to hold themselves back. From that time forward all my pups were tight leashed to the back seats, I was never going to have another pup be thrown to the floor. Cody's has a booster seat because he gets car sick, there's a short tether that comes attached to the booster seat that I attach to his harness, then another very strong tether that clips into the cars seat belt and attaches to his harness, this kid ain't going nowhere if I have to slam on my brakes or god forbid I am involved in an accident.

Strap these babies up, prevent them from injury, most of the time it's the other guys fault, always better safe then sorry.

I agree. All dogs should be tethered. I got Gidget a booster seat, hook her in and off we go. I raise the seat up so she can see out the window with her front paws on the side of the booster seat. Feel much safer driving this way.

Here's an interesting pet car seat with tether alternative. It's a rear-facing unit called "PupSaver." Manufacturer claims the smaller products may be suitable for use in the front passenger seat.

PupSaver Crash-Tested Car Safety Seat for Dogs up to 45 lbs. Air Version too!

Link below to manufacturer's comments about using the product in the front seat.

Why the PupSaver is Safe for Front Seat Use

Thanks for the pup saver link, looks like a good safety device for the pups, I see several issues with it not pertaining to safety issues. And depending on your dog will it work for them, again, not pertaining to safety. For my lil guy this would never work out for him, he's in a booster seat that is elevated off the passenger seat because of car sickness. There have been many crash test videos concerning dog safety devices which are quite scary, I watched the video on the pup saver, they would never get propelled from this seat. I am sure many members will be researching this, so again, thanks for the link.

Joan wrote, "he's in a booster seat that is elevated off the passenger seat ... car sickness."

My little Katy girl had some issues like that. She equally loved sitting in my lap and free roaming, but we settled on an oversized pet-bed/booster with a high back and sides that sat in the passenger’s seat.

I don't plan on re-using Katy's bed/booster and have been scoping out alternatives. Priorities for me are keeping these little bitty things off anyone's lap in the front seats* and something that will work whether my back seat is up or folded down. I only wish I had to make this decision sooner. Sigh.

Thank you for your kind words. --Katy'sMom

*See http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ag-danger.html

I use the snoozer and love it.

My truck and car I have the ability to turn off the air bag on passenger side, the booster seat is in the front passenger side and my pup has 2 tethers attached to his harness, one that came with the booster seat, one is a thick tether that clips into the passenger seat belt then harness. The safest place is the back seat, this I know, my choice to have him in the front. The pup saver is good, but not for my dog that must be elevated off the seat to eliminate his car sickness. If a vehicle gets T-boned, I don't care what type of safety device is being used, the dog will get injured if not killed. All the test vids only show front accidents, never T-bone collisions. Fortunately there are a lot of choices out there for ppl to make, to decide which is the best for their dog.
Thank you for the YT airbag link, I wish every member, newbies and oldies would read it and get their dogs off their laps or free roaming of car and into the safest dog device of their choice.

I've never even thought about the possibility of an airbag crushing a dog. We keep Bella in a hard plastic carrier turned sideways on the front seat. I wonder whether it could survive the crushing force of an air bag? My priority is to keep her enclosed and from being free roaming where she could get under foot and cause a distraction or accident, but it's good to be aware of other things that could go wrong...

As I understand it, modern cars feature "occupant sensing" front airbags on the passenger side. Mine does. Assuming the devices are working properly, this means the front, passenger-side airbag shouldn't deploy in a crash unless a fair amount of weight is on the seat.

I have seen different terms used for the same functionality.

The earlier-linked PupSaver article refers to airbags with this on/off trigger as "passenger presence"� systems. Same article suggests the weight trigger for most cars ranges "between 86-100 lbs, the lowest average weight of an adult."

Hope this helps. --KatysMom

Linda put a link on about this topic. For air bag to deploy the seat must have a weight of 65 pounds on it, it also states to push the front passenger back as far as it can go, the air bag sensors the length. Cars with side airbag will deploy if hit from the side even if front passenger airbags have been turned off, now this was for a 2004 Honda Accord, new model cars may operate differently.

Omigoodness. I did a quick skim of everyone's posts...but I was nervous reading about this story, Matese! Just wanted to say, thank goodness your babies were in the backseat. For many who drive with their furbabies sitting in the front seat, they'd fly right into (through?) the windshield! The thought is too scary!! :eek:

I am a natural worrier. My two are always each in their own dog carrier, turned sideways so they can see me, and seatbelted in the front seat. It's the most I can do, but I still worry what could happen to them if I got into an accident...

It took me a long time to train Scottie to be quiet in his carrier during car rides. I had to persistently tell him it's okay and gave him treats whenever he was quiet. Casie lol, she was a nervous wreck the first car ride. She was screaming! Somehow, during our second car ride, I just told her "Oh be quiet, Casie!!" and she never made a peep again. :D :D :D I dunno how, but I think I got lucky! hahaha...

Mine is 25 pounds. You really have to research and know your own car because there are differences.

Mine is 25 pounds. I did research on my car when I was going to be taking just one of my pups with me. It’s always best for each individual to read there car info because of the differences.