Safe dog travel in the car is a hot topic these days among many dog owners. After the state of New Jersey passed the “Pet Buckle Up Law”, it’s become a focus of many pet product manufacturers as well. Why shouldn’t we keep both our pets and drivers safe while in the car? Did you know that unrestrained pets cause 30,000 car accidents a year? We decided to take a look at what one leading manufacturer was doing to make sure we were keeping our two dogs safe while we road trip across the country. Bergan Pet Products kindly supplied us with a pair of their dog auto harnesses to test and review.
Many drivers feel it’s ok to let their dog roam freely in the car while driving. Heck, I used to be one of them. One day though, we realized what a poor choice this was. We spend a lot of time focusing on reducing driver distraction with anti-cell phone and texting laws, but not much time at all considering how distracting an unleashed dog in your vehicle can be. Have you ever seen someone driving along with a pooch in their lap? Seems like a good idea at the time, but what would happen to poor little Muffy if they were in a car accident? I can’t even begin to imagine what would happen if an airbag went off! Many drivers object to the idea of pet restraints, saying the dog “doesn’t like it” or “I want my doggy close to me”. Imagine if you saw a parent with their child in their lap, how would you react if they said their baby didn’t like the car seat?
While cute, this guy is distracting and at serious risk.
Now that I have the importance of safe dog travel established, lets take a look at what Bergan Pet Products has to offer. We were sent two samples of their dog auto harness that complies with Bergan’s V9DT durability test. What’s V9DT? It’s the durability test that Bergan designed in order to crash test their harnesses. Sadly less than 10% of all pet travel harnesses are designed to withstand a sudden stop and actually protect your dog from harm. (for more information on crash testing and dog safety take a look at Paws to Click)
When our dog auto harnesses arrived, the first thing we noticed was how heavy-duty the fabrics felt and how well constructed it was. It’s easily the sturdiest harness I’ve seen so far.
This dog auto harness is well constructed.
When unpacked, the dog auto harness is pretty easy to get set up and put on your doggy. With just two straps to adjust, and one buckle at the top, the whole thing went on in about two minutes out of the box. Once comfortable with it, I could get it on and off of Punkin pretty easily.
Punkin looks pretty cozy in this Bergan harness
What really stood out for me though was the ease of which I could strap it in the car. With two large carabiners on each end of the tether, one simply hooks into the top of the harness, and the other clips to the hooks installed in your car for child seats.
The harness latches quickly for easy dog safe travel.
Then you simply adjust the tether to the right length and your pooch is all ready to go.
