All the Sleepypod products are very good. I don't use the harness but use the Sleepypod Air in the car buckled in. Loki goes right in and is perfectly silent in it. Sometimes I wish he would make noise so i would know he was ok. LOL! I use it on the plane too.

 

Jackie, I've been looking at various car options the past few weeks. While the sleepy pod harnesses get good marks, the minimum weight is 18 pounds so most Havanese are too small.

Here's their comparison of their harnesses: Sleepypod Dog Harness Comparison - Sleepypod® | The safest pet company | Dog Carrier | Cat Carrier | Dog Harness

 

Oh I didn't know that. I really haven't done any research except look at it on Amazon. Thanks for the headsup!

 

I just want to add that the sleepypod shows a 30mph impact. It seems logical to me that a harness would keep a dog safer than a pod the dog would rattle around in in the event of a rollover or a fast speed of impact.

 

Except that in a harness (even the safest ones) the damage is done to the spine, when the harness restrains the body and not the head. I have a friend whose dog died of spinal injuries while wearing a good quality harness that kept him in place. Now, granted, this was a very bad accident, and my friend lost his life too. But if you watch the videos on CFPS, the amount of displacement in the neck is HUGE, even at 30MPH. The harnesses that get high ratings do so because they do not fail, and allow the dog to become a projectile in the car. Since they (have to) use dummies in crash tests, there is no data on spinal injuries.

Over and over, I have seen accidents where dogs in solidly built crates (not wire crates) survive. The SleepPod is very well rated if you have a dog small enough for it. Kodi is not, and Panda would be borderline. My Variocage was expensive, but I know my dogs are safe. When they are in our pickup truck, which doesn't accommodate a Variocage, they ride in Ruff Tough Kennels. Also a really good choice for those "slightly larger" Havs.

 

Marni, I think, although others here may have more info, the problem with putting a small dog in a harness is the forces exerted on the dog in the event of an accident. The harness may hold them on the seat but they may not survive or may be seriously injured by the very strong forces exerted on them. That's why they have a minimum weight.

This is the video of the crash test for the sleepy pod harness done by the Center for Pet Safety. It gives some sense of the force the test dog experiences.


If anyone has more info, I'd love to know more about this.

Note: the video will play on their website if you click on the Vimeo logo.

 

I saw it. It seems the dog inside would be shaken like dice in a high impact or rollover crash. We need aerospace engineer.

 

When Loki is in the Sleepypod Air there isn't that much extra room for him to be shaken like dice. He can stand up enough to turn around but not really to stay standing. I think buckled into the seat the proper way the carrier will stay pretty secure. Sure he is going to move some at high impact or roll over but he will be infinitely more protected than out in the car. He will also be protected from flying objects. There is nothing to protect him, or me for that matter, in a truly bad accident.

 

I am sorry for the loss of your friends, Karen. Watching the videos for the sleepypods has me rethinking taking the dogs in the car so much. I believe I would rather have a pet sitter come in my home and cut down on travel to minimize risk. Of course, I will get two safer dog restraints. They travel crated at present. We most often travel together in a Toyota Hybrid Highlander. Even the safest vehicle and most attentive driver can't prevent you from coming upon someone driving on the wrong side of the road and suddenly topping a hill (on a two lane bridge with no shoulders) as happened when I lived on Amelia Island last year.

Besides, both the dogs hide under the couch now when they see me loading up the SUV. They have had enough extensive travel.

 

I have dogs to have them with me and enjoy them. ...And they al LOVE going places with us. Pixel goes NUTS when Dave asks her if she wants to ride in the "pick-me-up", even if it's just to the end of the driveway to take out the trash!

Do remember that my (human) friend died in the accident too... It was a bad one. I believe that we can make sure our dogs are safe in all but the worst accidents, just like the humans in the car. ANY restraint is better than none, A restraint that is sturdy enough not to fail is safer, and a sturdy, well fit crate is safer than a sturdy harness. But the bottom line is that the dogs most likely to get hurt in less than catastrophic accidents are loose dogs.

 

Like Karen, I take Loki in the car a lot. We go to class, to friends to play, the small dog park, to run errands (I have a stroller for some places where he can't walk like the mall), to restaurants where we can sit outside and sometimes on long (4 hour trips) to my sister's, and, of course, the vet. He always rides in the sleepypod air. He jumps on the seat and goes right in head first and then turns around to face me while I zip him in and buckle the seat belt. If we are in the car more than 5 or 10 minutes, I can tell he has been asleep. After playing with Java, he always goes right to sleep. I make sure we stop about every 2 hours on longer trips so he can stretch his legs and go potty. He will whine if he has to go before I decide to stop.

He is excited any time he gets to go with me! He prefers the carrier to staying home.

 

Karen, thanks for the info on crates. Willow loves to go with us too and we take here whenever possible. She is currently riding in a crate with fabric sides but it has quite a sturdy frame. Better than nothing. I worry whenever I see people with dogs loose in the car, even sometimes even sitting on the driver's lap. Pretty dumb IMO. Plus if a door or window popped open in an accident, the dog would be gone.

 

Karen, I'm sorry about your friend and the pup. And it's true that in a serious accident any of us will be lucky to survive intact. While it's no guarantee I live in area where there is a lot less traffic and people tend to drive more conservatively than other places I lived.

I'm picking up my new puppy next week and have been all over the map trying too decide how to do car transport. I wanted something crash tested but also portable and that ideally I could continue to use as he grew. I liked the sleepy pod bed because I thought is would it make it easier to take him more places - I could bring into friends' houses and he would have either a bed or a "crate" to go to if needed. But it's at best uncertain he would fit as an adult.

Anyway I finally just decided to get one knowing when he reaches adulthood I may need a different solution because I do think it will be good for taking him places and so that finally consideration won out. it's expensive (sigh) but decided it's worth it to me.

Gunner is now making a small kennel (24 x 18) and if and when he outgrows the sleepy pod, that might be the next step. I didn't want to do that now because it's way too heavy (28 lbs without the dog) to be dragging in and out all the time.

 

Karen, I'm sorry about your friend and the pup. And it's true that in a serious accident any of us will be lucky to survive intact. While it's no guarantee I live in area where there is a lot less traffic and people tend to drive more conservatively than other places I lived.

I'm picking up my new puppy next week and have been all over the map trying too decide how to do car transport. I wanted something crash tested but also portable and that ideally I could continue to use as he grew. I liked the sleepy pod bed because I thought is would it make it easier to take him more places - I could bring into friends' houses and he would have either a bed or a "crate" to go to if needed. But it's at best uncertain he would fit as an adult.

Anyway I finally just decided to get one knowing when he reaches adulthood I may need a different solution because I do think it will be good for taking him places and so that finally consideration won out. it's expensive (sigh) but decided it's worth it to me.

Gunner is now making a small kennel (24 x 18) and if and when he outgrows the sleepy pod, that might be the next step. I didn't want to do that now because it's way too heavy (28 lbs without the dog) to be dragging in and out all the time.

Beatrice - You will be happy with the Sleepypod - they are so well made. I use the SleepyPod Air and Loki weighs 13.5 lbs at 17 months. He is still fine in it. I will try to get him to stay still long enough to get a picture...

 

On our way to manners class, I got a picture of Loki in the carrier and all zipped up and buckled in. The seat belt goes in the loops on the front and back.

 

I also have the sleepy pod air for my 11 lb Luna. I don't have a picture of it (and her) in the car, but I have this one:

Oh, and the dog can see out the black part

 

Luna looks as happy in her SleepyPod as Loki is in his!

 

Haha so cute!

 

I used the Sleepypod Clickit Sport Harness on my Tibetan Terrier. She got very tangled up in it with the seat belt. My husband and I followed all the directions very carefully when we put her in it. We had to pull over and untangle her. She actually was almost strangling. I looked up reviews and other people had the same problem. I am now trying to return it and am getting no response from Sleeypod. My two Havanese ride in Vari-cages but I am thinking about getting a Variocage for them.
Pam Hunter

 

When I didn't know what I do now, Kodi used to ride in a car harness. But it really wasn't just a matter of putting him on it and buckling him in... It took a fair bit of training. Constantly putting him back in his donut bed on the seat, telling him to lie down, treats for staying there... He didn't just automatically know how to do it.

Over time, I became more and more convinced that the harness was not as safe as a good quality travel crate. (or for that matter, not even as safe as traveling in an appropriately sized, properly secured varikennel!) So I switched Kodi into a crate, and the girls have never ridden any other way.

 

Pam - that is scary!

 

It really was scary. Our car is leased and brand new but if I had something to cut the seatbelt I would have.