in the driver's seat
I like being able to take my dog with me on car rides so her safety is just as important as mine. My old dog never had his own seat belt and most of the time he would sit in the backseat or in the front on someone’s lap. Times and car safety features sure have changed and now I am quite reluctant to let my new dog in the front seat unless we are parked. I have read and seen on TV how the airbags on the passenger side are hazardous to dogs, potentially causing serious injuries or killing small dogs altogether – something I do not want to happen to Fin.
The problem with having her in the car while I’m driving alone was that even though I put her in backseat, she wouldn’t always stay there. Sometimes she would jump in the front and get into my purse, sniff the cup holders, steal the straw from my drink, swat me with her tail or try to climb on me. Sound familiar to anyone? Well this was rather distracting and I don’t want her causing an accident so I decided it was time to invest in some kind of restraint that would keep her in the back. What I ended up getting was a leash with a seat belt adaptor (see picture below).
The problem with having her in the car while I’m driving alone was that even though I put her in backseat, she wouldn’t always stay there. Sometimes she would jump in the front and get into my purse, sniff the cup holders, steal the straw from my drink, swat me with her tail or try to climb on me. Sound familiar to anyone? Well this was rather distracting and I don’t want her causing an accident so I decided it was time to invest in some kind of restraint that would keep her in the back. What I ended up getting was a leash with a seat belt adaptor (see picture below).
photo from The Sale Online
This restrain was relatively inexpensive and cost 9$ at Mondou but I’m sure it can found easily at other pet stores, but not at Safari (I looked there first). It clips to her harness and the other end gets buckled as though it was any other seat belt. I didn’t really have to adjust it and she can get to either of the windows and still has a little bit of play so she can get her front paws on the console but not go any further. I almost can’t believe I didn’t get this sooner.
It has helped her not fall all over the place when I’m driving. Fin doesn’t quite have her car legs yet, though she is getting better at not flopping all the over the place when I make turns and she is definitely falling off the seat less when I stop. I do make an effort to brake quite smoothly and slowly although that is not always possible in Montreal, when you get cut off by crazy drivers. Also, now I feel comfortable leaving her in the car for short periods of time while I run into the store, bank or restaurant. She can’t really get into or scratch anything this way so it brings me peace of mind.
I have seen a couple downsides though. First, this leash/seat belt might not fit into every latch, on some cars the middle one in the backseat has a special design for the latch and latch plate (see this diagram if you get as confused as I do about car parts) so I can’t buckle her into that one. This really isn’t much of a problem except when there are two passengers in the backseat. Second, because dogs will rarely sit or lie still during a car ride, it’s not uncommon for Fin to end up with the strap wrapped around a leg or woven between them. I’m a little worried this could cause broken leg(s) if ever I had to stop really quickly or we got into a crash. Maybe something like this zip line could be the solution to that, although then I would be worried about her strangling herself.
It has helped her not fall all over the place when I’m driving. Fin doesn’t quite have her car legs yet, though she is getting better at not flopping all the over the place when I make turns and she is definitely falling off the seat less when I stop. I do make an effort to brake quite smoothly and slowly although that is not always possible in Montreal, when you get cut off by crazy drivers. Also, now I feel comfortable leaving her in the car for short periods of time while I run into the store, bank or restaurant. She can’t really get into or scratch anything this way so it brings me peace of mind.
I have seen a couple downsides though. First, this leash/seat belt might not fit into every latch, on some cars the middle one in the backseat has a special design for the latch and latch plate (see this diagram if you get as confused as I do about car parts) so I can’t buckle her into that one. This really isn’t much of a problem except when there are two passengers in the backseat. Second, because dogs will rarely sit or lie still during a car ride, it’s not uncommon for Fin to end up with the strap wrapped around a leg or woven between them. I’m a little worried this could cause broken leg(s) if ever I had to stop really quickly or we got into a crash. Maybe something like this zip line could be the solution to that, although then I would be worried about her strangling herself.
photo from PetCo
I am thinking of getting her a better car ride harness though. While she does have a harness, it’s thin straps and there are some that give more coverage and are slightly padded, like this one from Snoozer. I think this might not cause as much damage if we ever happened to get into an accident. Readers, what is your opinion on that? As well, let me know what your thoughts are on automobile pet safety.
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