PetBuckle - very impressed

Momto2whosews

Senior Community Member
I bought a pet buckle today for our dog, Maddie. My DH is going to have me comitted now ;) But I couldn't help but think that taking all this effort to make sure my dd's were safe in the car isn't worth much if I let a 60 lb. Alaskan Malamute ride unrestrained in the rear cargo area.

Sadly, I know this device probably won't save Maddie in the event of a crash, but it just might keep one of us safe. And maybe, in a minor crash it will help her and at the very least keep her from escaping and getting into traffic. That happned to my friend's dog; he survived the crash but went into traffic and either got lost or killed. :(

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm very impressed with the quality of the harness. The buckles are somewhere between a seatbelt and tether. The instructions are great too, they even address LATCH weight limits since this harness can be used with a LATCH connector accessory. I got it at PetSmart for $30 (it's the cheapest "child restraint" I've ever bought :p ).

Maddie will be tethered to the third tether anchor in the cargo area of my Santa Fe. I have a tether strap from an Evenflo Triumph that I no longer have, so I'll use that. The instructions say LATCH is good for up to 60 lbs, and my Hyundai is one that doesn't specify LATCH limits, so I think we're OK. At any rate, there is no seatbelt option for her, so this is the best I can do.

She's not very happy about wearing the harness, but she loves to ride in the car and she's a part of the family. So she has to be as safe as possible :)

Kathy
 
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Michi

Member
Wow! That crash test was just as scary as the ones of the kids/carseats!
I'll have to look for one of these at Petsmart!
 

joycemom

New member
I would have never even considered what would happen to the animals n a crash let alone the people riding with them. My step mom drives around the suburban with a 80lb lab and a 100+lb sheep dog( the breed escapes me right now but he is huge) My biggest concern is when we move home next dec. my children will be riding with grandma a lot more sine they will be baby sitting at least part time while i am in school. I am unsure about the harness weight limits but 60lbs is obviously not enough. What about the cage things you can have installed in the cargo area to keep them back there I don't know how they are installed but do you think those would work? obviously my first thought is that it would be either grandkids or dogs in the car and never both but i am thinking of her safety too.
 

Momto2whosews

Senior Community Member
Actually, the PetBuckle is the harness made by IMMI. RuffRider is a different one.

The instructions say that you can only use the LATCH connectors for dogs 60 lbs and under. For dogs 10-200 lbs you can use the seat belt. But the harness is good up to 200 lbs, so if you think your tether anchors are strong enough to hold the dog (I'm remembering the discussion about tether anchors and the Regent here), and the only place is the cargo area, it's better than nothing.

:D I'm just reading the warning in the instruction booklet. It says "WARNING: Do not place a restrained pet in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger air bag unless the air bag is turned off. DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY can occur. The back seat is the safest place for your pet." It sounds like they took the warnings from carseats and just inserted "pet" in place of "child". ;)
 

Momto2whosews

Senior Community Member
Kathy,

I think the PetBuckle is awesome for larger dogs! Here's their crashtest video if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.immioutdoors.com/petbuckle/why_petbuckle.htm

We have a small dog and I've started putting her in her soft carrier and attaching it via the seatbelt and/or LATCH (I snagged the LATCH strap from our old Evenflo Discovery...).

I have seen it and it scares the cr@p out of me! I hate to think of that happening to any dog. I think the soft carrier is an excellent option for smaller dogs. Everyone in my family has a dog, so I'm going to send them this link.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
I was just coming here to post a question about what the best way to restrain a dog is and here was this thread! It couldn't have come at a better time! We will probably be going to pick up our almost-9 week old Golden Retriever puppy tomorrow night and I want to restrain her from the very beginning so that she gets used to it. I'll be stopping at Petco on my way to pick her up and am really hoping they have these in stock! Awesome! :)
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
I just looked on the website and it looks like that certain brand is only available at PetSmart, which we don't have here, of course! Maybe they'll have a different brand that will be just as good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and might take a look at Petco's website so that I'll know what to look for when I'm in the store tomorrow.
 

joycemom

New member
On the ruff rider website it says to use the cargo hooks in a suv I am assuming that would be better that latch for big dogs I know they are mostly in the cargo area of my step moms suburban and they have the third seat out so the dogs have more room. Since all of us kids are gone the only time she drives it is when the dogs are in tow or needs 4 wheel drive. Does any one know the cargo hook weight limits? are they different for every vehicle or is there some general number any one knows.
 

Momto2whosews

Senior Community Member
I just looked on the website and it looks like that certain brand is only available at PetSmart, which we don't have here, of course! Maybe they'll have a different brand that will be just as good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and might take a look at Petco's website so that I'll know what to look for when I'm in the store tomorrow.

You can order directly from Petsmart.com and it's $5 cheaper than in the store, so that makes up for shipping. You can also order directly from petbuckle.com.
 

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