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Car Carrier or Harness

4K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Vartina Ancrum 
#1 ·
Hi, I am looking for the best/safest options for car travel. I plan to travel with our puppy via car often even just locally and since the good options seem to be quite expensive I'd like to purchase one that will last. I should be finding out our puppy's height and weight soon, but don't know it yet. Also if I don't know how big my puppy will grow to be, how do I know what will work long term? Or is this something I will need to buy twice? How do you all decide? I definitely want something that has been crash tested and proven to be safe. I saw Sleepypod, Rough Tough/Rough Land mentioned on old posts. Anything new? Thanks!
 
#2 · (Edited)
Both of those brands are really good. Sleepypod only works for smaller Havanese, so keep that in mind. One of mine would be very uncomfortable in one for long trips. I used Ruff Tough kennels (now Ruff Land) when I just had two dogs and a smaller car and was extremely happy with them. I did order them with extra ventilation holes drilled in the back, but that is only an extra $10, and I think it is well worth it. We still use these crates for all three dogs in our pickup truck when we travel with our travel trailer on vacation, as they stack nicely in the back seat, and Pixel rides in one in the middle seat of our Forester when I have all three dogs in the car.

Since buying the Forester, we upgraded to a double Variocage, which is one of the safest crating systems available. However it is also one of the most expensive, and is really not something that you can easily put in and take out. it weighs about 80 lbs. So once it's in, you probably want to leave it there. It can also ONLY be used in a car that has a fixed back seat. So it is not useful in all cars. But I feel really comfortable that my dogs are as safe as I can possibly have them in their Variocage in the back of my Forester.

The first photo below was the Ruff Toughs (now Ruff Lands) in the back of the Mini Cooper, the second photo is the Variocage in the Forester. The third is how we arrange the Ruff Toughs in the back seat space (seats folded up) of the pickup truck when we are on vacation. The Ruff Toughs are definitely the most versatile and I think they are a great compromise in terms of versatility, safety and cost.

For shear rugged strength, nothing can beat the Variocage. There are newer, very sturdy (also very expensive) metal kennel options, like the Gunner, that weren't available in Havanese size when I bought my Variocage. But I still like my Variocage better for my purposes. It has a lot better ventilation than the Gunner does, and I like the fact that they make the double model. I PROBABLY could have fit two Gunners side by side in the back of the Forester, but that would have cost even more than the double Variocage.

As far as harnesses are concerned, after studying video of crash tests with harnesses, I came to the conclusion that even the harnesses that did not fail were not safe. When you watch how the dog "dummy's" spine is displaced in a crash test, it did not look survivable to me. This was brought home to me in real life when dear friend died in a car crash. His Papillon was with him, in a very well rated car harness. The harness did its job and kept the dog in his seat. The dog had to be euthanized due to spinal and internal injuries. I don't KNOW that the dog would have survived in a crate, but I believe he would have had a better chance. So since then, I have been unwilling to let my dogs ride in a harness. (And until then, Kodi rode in a harness ALL the time!)
 

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#3 ·
Perry rides in his sherpa bag (like a sleepypod, but a little bigger and possibly a little less sturdy) buckled into the back seat, mostly because I don't want to travel with multiple crates. It's pretty tight inside so I don't think he would get thrown around much as long as the seatbelt held. I think it's safer than a harness as well. If we were in the car a lot I'd consider using a normal plastic crate buckled into the back seat.

I have been considering a pupsaver car seat - it apparently has decent crash testing (""The PupSaver small dog safety seat has undergone a series of tests and has successfully contained a 25 lb. occupant in a 30mph frontal crash test similar to that of FMVSS 213 for child seat testing! PupSaver is, to date, the only rear-facing small dog car seat with this testing credential.") but since we're not in the car often, I'm staying with his sherpa bag for the moment.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009D9U446/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_8?smid=A15SLCCJ9EEA8I&psc=1
 
#4 ·
I think the Sherpa (and other well-made Cordura-type soft-sided carriers) are a very safe option as long as they are belted into the back seat.

I have a friend with the Pupsaver and just a couple of comments. They are not particularly easy to get in and out of the car (like installing a child's car seat) and they looked really hot to me in the summer as they blook airflow pretty effectively. Also, when I saw her dog in it, it looked to me as if, unless the dog was ratcheted down TIGHT in it, it would very much depend on how the dog was actually sitting in a collision and whether the collision was head-on whether it would be all that protective, especially of spinal injuries from getting whipped around. If the dog is strapped in THAT tightly, I think they'd be more comfortable in a soft-sided carrier, where they can at least shift position and lay with their spine in a neutral position.

This is another thing I didn't mention about harnesses. Before I decided that I wouldn't use them anymore, we took a trip to Canada with Kodi, in his usual safety-approved car harness in his big cushy donut bed. We were gone for 3 weeks and often drove for 6 hours a day, though of course there would be days between with little or no driving too, with hikes and relaxing. When we got back, he had one of his regular chiro appointments and the vet mentioned that he was particularly "crunchy". We talked about it, and both came to the same conclusion... that it was probably from sitting in one position, curled up in his car harness for so many hours on that trip. So that is another thing to think about if long trips are on the agenda. Probably much less of an issue for around-town stuff.

It's funny, I must have made the decision not to use car harnesses anymore before getting the girls, because they never even learned to wear them! Below are a couple of photos of Kodi curled up in his car harness in his donut beds. He DID like riding this way, and I do think that it's not a TERRIBLE solution for shorter trips as long as the dog is in the back seat, and the harness is a specifically made car harness, and attaches WEBBING TO WEBBING. The metal carabiners and/or D-rings are ALWAYS the failure points, not the webbing.
 

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#6 ·
I know this was mentioned in an old thread a couple of years ago. But has anyone experienced the SleepyPod Air being too hot or poor ventilation? I live in a famously hot southern state. We don't know what a cold winter means in South Carolina. I think we only have two seasons which are Spring and Summer. The threat of snow shuts down the entire midlands and low country.
 
#13 ·
The Sherpa I have for my Yorkie is still in excellent condition. It's almost 9 years old. She sometimes whines and pants to get out though not because she's overheated but because she is nosey and wants to see what's going on. Years and years ago I started out with an off-brand carrier for my Bichon, it was a knock off of the Sherpa. It didn't last very long mostly because my Bichon hated it and discovered a way to chew the handles. However, I like the Sherpa. The Sleepypod looks very sturdy and well made but I think it would be too hot for "Hot Carolina". In northern states, I would consider it.
 
#14 ·
I use a Sleepypod original (not the air) and I am very happy with it. I got it on sale, which definitely helped with the price, but it is crash tested and very easy to install, move. It fits up to 16#, so there is a chance Emmy will grow out of it.. but if that does happen, I can use it as a travel bed when we visit family or more likely, I will just need to get her a younger sibling in a year or two. Hopefully she will not outgrow it, as she loves it and so do I.

 
#16 ·
The problem with even harnesses designed for car travel is that the spine can badly deform at the moment of impact causing seious spinal injuries. That is for a "real" car harness. But the one you linked to is a normal walking harness it is not meant as a car restraint. I am sure your dog is comfortable with it, and, yes, it is better than nothing. But it is not likely to protect her in a serious accident. If you want to keep her riding in a harness, consider switching to one specifically designed for car restraint.
 
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