Hellobee Boards

@allison: Yeah, I don't know about rollovers. I'm pretty sure my dog wouldn't make it out alive in a rollover. She would still get tossed around. So it's not completely safe. Sad to think about.

Yeah, I could see my dog getting tossed up front, too. Though the harness leash is about 2 feet, so my dog wouldn't go too far towards the front.

If you have anchors in the cargo hold that are further back, maybe that would prevent your dog from getting close to the back seat area. I do know my car has anchors on the floor in the cargo area (near the gate) that I could attach the zipline to.

ETA: Oh, to answer your question, my dog is able to lay down with the slack from the harness. She can move side to side,too.

Also, with the zipline, I love it because it prevents my dog from jumping out as soon as I open the door. So there isn't too much slack.

We've done several long drives with the dog and never tethered him down. What about raising the rear head rests to the highest point. Could the dog that size really fit up into the back seat?

@bluestriped bee: I have no safety advice, but that first picture of your dog is hilarious. That is the exact face my dog gives me when I give him a bath. The "I won't bark or cry about this, but I thought you loved me and now you are tormenting me for not reason at all and I'm so disappointed."

@Foodnerd81: haha. Yup, I get that look all the time. She also grunts if we are in traffic and I'm braking too much.

@Chillybear: oh, really? My parents live in PA and we vacation in NJ. We had her harnessed so she was all good.

on the footage. Must be scary to watch.

We just stick everyone in and call it good. Not exactly the safest but definitely saner for us.

With the kid (when he was still an infant) you get one dog in back and one dog next to the car seat.

Without the kid (dog in carseat for better viewing pleasure):

Just now seeing this thread! I've researched this topic b/c once I got a compact SUV and put my dog in the back, I got nervous thinking about her safety if we were rear-ended. A loose dog in the car can be really dangerous. If there's a crash, the dog can be hurt or hurt others in the car. If you're hurt and the dog is loose, it might further complicate an accident scene, and some dogs become protective of their owners, not allowing EMT to be near them.

Crates may contain the dog, but they do not usually do well in crashes.

@Bluestriped Bee: A woman I know who trains dogs to be service dogs (and used to be an engineer who tested products) recommends the Kurgo and the RuffRider. You're right--you can anchor them in that space in the cargo area. It needs to be a clip that has been tested to stand up in crashes. You could also get one of those grates that create a barrier between the cargo space and the front.