Ruff Rider Safety Harness for car travel

[MaryellenK]

I've been looking for a good seat restraint for my little one.  Has anyone used Ruff Rider or have any recommendations?

[Hillscreek]

Regret never used  a ruffrider restraint so cannot advise. Angus wears his Julis K9 harness attached to a seat belt. 

[kieiras mom]

Hillscreek,just got a Julius harness and love it!Helps Keira not pull so much, as to the harness buckled to the seat belt, did you have to order a special strap from the company, I noticed one that looks like it clips to the harness and then you clip it to the seatbelt. Thanks, judy

[_whits_]

Addie has the Julius K9 harness. She also has a Snoozer brand car seat. The car seat came with a strap to hook to the harness. 

Most pet stores will sell straps for seat belts that can be clipped to harnesses. You'll usually find them with other travel-related items like airline carriers and car seats and travel bowls. 

Here are two different options available online, depending on how you want your dog attached. 

http://store.ezydog.com/seat-belt-restraint/?avad=201495_dda68e8b

http://store.ezydog.com/click-adjustable-car-restraint/

 

[Hillscreek]

I got the car adapter strap when I bought the harness. It was about four yrears ago.Used everyday since when Angus sits by me. Saved his life one day when I had to hit the brakes as adeer jumped out on the road. I love the harness and the secure strap.

[kieiras mom]

Thanks to both of you for the information. We want our babies to be safe.

[remltr]

I know this is an old post, but I thought I would post some links regarding harnesses. Last spring I was searching for the same thing. I found a Canadian study that showed the weakest point in the harness is not the harness, but the strap that connects the harness and the seat belt. For some reason I can't find that specific study any longer. Thought I had bookmarked it or even posted about here on Cairn Talk last spring.

Here is a youtube link that shows the strap breaking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y6f_-DQYg0

At the time I judged a Kurgo harness as the best. But the strap was weak. Not enough stitching to keep it from separating under pressure. I went to REI and grabbed a mountain climbing strap, much heavier stitching. Locking the seat belt tight so it could not extend keeps the dog in place while using two D-rings (also from REI) to attach the strap to the harness and seat belt.

Below are a couple links to a different and more current study that I found today. Found the Consumer Reports warning that lead to the Center for Pet Safety study that lead to the only harness that they recommend. Sleepypod. For some reason Sleepypod is not loading at the moment. Also found the product on Amazon, but not a small or extra small size, which is probably what we need for our Cairns.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/10/pet-restraints-may-be-inadequate-in-a-crash/index.htm

https://sleepypod.com/

http://www.centerforpetsafety.org/test-results/harnesses/2013-harness-crash-test-videos/#C1

Since the vehicle seat belt is not designed for dogs it does not work for dogs like it does for uprights. The trick with the vehicle seat belt is to latch it and then pull the strap all the way to the stop and then allow it to retract. That locks in position and keeps the belt from running out under pressure.

[Hillscreek]

Agree remltr. Those are very good points. I noticed they didn't test the Julius K9 harness. The Julius K9 strap I bought with Angus's harness is heavy duty and when installing it was pulled up tight. It has often been tested though rarely like I described above. Angus can lie, sit or stand with it. I'm not keen to have a dog tightly strapped to a seat where he can't move or see anything. If there were any doubt about a strap holding I would crate him which is what I always did with my big dogs in the past. They were contained but could move.

The sleepypod did look quite good but I noticed several reviews saying it didn't work too well for small dogs (one mentioned 15-20lbs) as they got tangled or got out of it. Also that threading the seat belt through the harness was a bit of a hassle.

It is hard to find the right safe containment for our furry ones because we all live in so many different environments and what works for one cairn family might not be so good for another so the more comments we can share the better for all of us.