Better than the PetBuckle (review/comparison)

So I needed a catchy title. It is purely my opinion for my dog that this new harness I found today is "better". My review, I will try to keep it as non-judgmental as possible. But yeah...

Judy will have her own pictures to add also. She purchased the Medium size (Kira's sporting size large) for Mousse. Hopefully she also has some better comparison pictures (I realized after the fact that I didn't really get great ones of the PetBuckle as I was just trying to snap a pic or two and get it off her!

So I attended DoggiePalooza today at the World Forestry Center and also attended a talk on preventing emergencies. The vet talked about poisons and other such household items that could cause emergency injury. He also touched on how to lessen the emergency by acting quickly and all that. BUT... THEN... he talked about car safety! AND he showed a picture of his daughter (should've been rear facing) in a Roundabout, top tether anchored, snug harness above shoulders, chest clip in the correct area sitting next to their dog who was wearing this harness! WOH!

To be honest I have the PetBuckle and have for a long time. She never wears it. Ever. She rides on the floorboard between the front and back seats (think compartmentalization) the PetBuckle is insanely uncomfortable for her and frankly it looks like the harness itself would injure her in an accident because of it's design. But also, it's the only one (until today) that I've seen that can say it's been crash tested to withstand the forces placed on it in the event of a crash... Meet the Bergan:

She is attached under the seat, I'll show a much better picture later. But you should be able to barely make out where the tether is anchored in this picture.


Here you can see while it's laid out that it's basically one long loop of webbing on each side. This one is weighted from 50 to 80 pounds, the webbing on the smaller ones is skinnier.


One thing I dislike about the PetBuckle is how you have to put it on. Kira doesn't like things going over her head, she's well mannered but I still have to sort of fish for her head. Then there's snapping each side on also... What I like about this is that I can lay it out and she essentially steps into it. In this pic her head would go at the bottom of the pic, she'd be facing me.

These little plasic buckles remind me slightly of a chest clip... it secures the harness to her and also puts the harness in the correct position to attach the tether/carabiniere to the loops/harness webbing. Make sense? You'll see.


In the last pic maybe you could see I was holding a flap back? Here it is in position. I'm not entirely sure what it's for other than looks?


Here's a better picture of the coverage... This is a huge plus in my book. You'll see what I mean when I post pictures of the PetBuckle.

This right here was the deciding factor for me... When the PetBuckle was safely snug it cut in sharp at her armpits... She couldn't sit down comfortably period. If it was lose she would, but we all know how safe loose straps are. The structure of the chest portion holds the harness back from her armpits.


Here's the PetBuckle... can you see the difference?


PetBuckle across the chest... to be honest, to get her to sit down I loosened each side at least 2 inches. I just don't feel comfortable with this set up.


Ok, first off... The Bergan (for $28) came WITH the tether strap!! NOT the case with the PetBuckle, it was extra $$. But the Bergan is on the top, PetBuckle on the bottom. I was already sold on the Bergan and had purchased it before we took it to the car but I was ecstatic with the length! She doesn't sit on the seat, she's trained to ride on the floor (mostly) so the extra length means laying down is more comfortable... also, since her anchor is on the floor the extra length still allows her to stand up (cuz heaven forbid she stays relaxed when the car gets turned off).


Top of the box. I noticed that it doesn't say that the product was crash tested in the sense that we know it (like the youtube video of the stuffed pup flinging off the test bench *shudders*) but that the materials used were just able to withstand the crash forces.


Picture A has me very curious... If your transporting a dog over 40 pounds (say, in my Honda since the latch limit is 40) then wouldn't A be totally safe? At first I was concerned about using this system with a dog over 40 pounds because latch is really the only way to do it given the design of the harness there isn't really a way to route the actual seat belt through the harness... but if I had to anchor Kira to a seat (not the way I am currently doing it) then the seat buckle webbing would be the way to go?

These next two pictures are just bad... sorry.


The flashlight is pointing to Kira's anchorage point where I have the D-ring attached... this is the D-ring that came with the tethering kit for the PetBuckle that I'd purchased separately.


Here you can clearly see how dirty my vehicle is... awesome. But more importantly, the D-ring is looped around that bar that the entire vehicle seat is clipped into (you can see the back one). So essentially I've taken away all worry for myself that she is maxing out the LATCH anchor weight recommended by Honda. lol

And lastly...


Yep.

To improve the fit of the PB, slide the metal chest plate thing down more towards her belly. You have it really high in that picture.

But I do like the looks of the new one.

Pixels said:

To improve the fit of the PB, slide the metal chest plate thing down more towards her belly. You have it really high in that picture.

But I do like the looks of the new one.

Click to expand...

I do have it high... it's a catch 22... she hates the harness cutting in, but she tries to bite at the plastic triangle piece (I'm assuming that's the one you mean, ours is just plastic, not metal) when it's lower and I don't know why it doesn't seem to feel any different to me when I run my hands along it, under it, around it. Doesn't feel like it's bugging her. Really, I think she just hates the thing.

Here is Toby, about 67 lbs, in the Pet Buckle. I left his very light windbreaker on so you can actually see the harness.










Now for the Bergan.







The Bergan was very easy to use. I will be back later with Mousse pics. They are loading now.

I like the looks of that. I have been happily using the Roadie for about 8-9 yrs but my dog is getting a little fat for it in his old age. I gave my Pet Buckle away both dogs hated it, it worked well for my friend's lab.

I found the website for the V9DT testing. It fully explains what the testing is including pictures of the testing being done and how the testing must be completed to conform to the standards stated to pass the VPDT testing.

V9DT Pet Safety Durability Test

Thanks for the review! I was just getting ready to order a pet buckle for our dog but placed an order for the Bergen instead. She has never used any kind of harness like that so I am not sure what she will do. Right now, she lays in the cargo area of our hatchback but I'd feel better if she was harnessed as well.

Ok, wow, I have a harness almost EXACTLY like that for Cooper, except the front is tan, not that light blue. But EVERYTHING else about it is exactly the same. I picked it up at Petsmart? a year or so ago. Did I luck out on one that's actually okay?
Dang, now I'll have to pull it out and look at it.

I hope you like it. Kira is 5 and for the most part has never been restrained in the car. So, she dislikes it. But I tested her comfort level by how she acted with the harness outside of the car. Pet buckle it didn't matter where she was, it hurt. With the Bergan she was totally fine/content outside of the car so I knew the only she didn't like was not being able to do her mandatory 360* before laying down in the vehicle. Lol

For the Bergen, if you want to anchor to the seatbelt itself, this is what I would do. Buckle the seatbelt, and lock it if desired. Loop the Bergen strap around the seatbelt, and either clip both carribeaners to the loops on the harness or hook carribeaner A to carribeaner B, and carribeaner B to the loops on the harness as usual.

Here is Mousse. She weighs about 44 lbs.

First, the Pet Buckle:










Now the Bergan, Medium 25-50 lbs:







Bonus car pic:



The Vet told a story of a car crash. Husband died, dog ran off. Small dog too, not big dog. Wife would keep the dog on her lap. The dog, being a projectile, killed the husband.

Thank you both for sharing! We have a Pet Buckle too, but poor Guinness (80 lb. black Lab) has been fairly uncomfortable in it. This looks like a great replacement for the Pet Buckle.

I didn't keep the pet buckle because of the way it fit my dogs (cut into their armpits), this looks like it may work for them and I like that it has a D ring because my dogs ride in the 3rd row area where latch anchors are not accessible.

Judi, how wide shoulder to shoulder are mousse and toby? Curious since they have the same short hair as Zena and the petbuckle seems to cut into her worse than Buda.

Jess, How did Kira like it? Did it interfere with her fur and irritate her at all? Buda has longer fuzzy hair like that is why I ask.

Cryssy, can you post a pic of how you would like me to measure? Please.

Judi said:

Cryssy, can you post a pic of how you would like me to measure? Please.

Click to expand...

Don't know if i can post a pic but outside front leg (r) to outside front leg (l) across the chest.

Zena is approx 13.5 inches across her chest and Buda about 11 inches so I'm just trying to compare sizes. I'll have to go get my dogs weighed to see where they stand at the moment but I think they're both around 60-70lbs.

Cryssy Jane said:

I didn't keep the pet buckle because of the way it fit my dogs (cut into their armpits), this looks like it may work for them and I like that it has a D ring because my dogs ride in the 3rd row area where latch anchors are not accessible.

Judi, how wide shoulder to shoulder are mousse and toby? Curious since they have the same short hair as Zena and the petbuckle seems to cut into her worse than Buda.

Jess, How did Kira like it? Did it interfere with her fur and irritate her at all? Buda has longer fuzzy hair like that is why I ask.

Click to expand...

It doesn't come with a D-ring. Just the carabiners and strap... But describes how to attach it to the seatbelt buckle webbing.
Kira didn't seem to notice over her normal harness (Planet Dog: Cozy Hemp Harness). She wears her normal harness quite loose, not snug at all for sure. I had the Bergan harness very snug... snug like how I would snug up a child's harness. She didn't walk awkward or pause before sitting, laid down comfortably.

A side note, I kept the caribiner attached to the loops on the harness to attach her leash to because the small clasp on the leash wouldn't fit both loops of webbing. Does that make sense?
But, with how formed and stiff that blue portion is it holds the harness in position, away from her armpits mainly...

And her hair? I didn't even think of that... it was way better! I'm actually excited to use now that I've thought of it... her hair will grow longer through the winter until I trim it again in the spring. The buckles are on that piece of material so the hair isn't in the equation at all. I'm sure with a very long haired dog the hair could still get in the way, but... I had no prob buckling at all with her current hair length. The petbuckle always gets a little hair stuck, same with her normal/walking harness that I posted the link to.
huh, I didn't even notice. lol

Toby is 9". Mousse is....not right here right now.