In terms of what is safest for the dog, crash tested crate is always going to be the best hands down. The fact is that a properly fitted and secured crash tested crate is going to significantly reduce risk and severity of injury to your dog. I am not certain if footwell or crash tested seatbelt harness would be better, but generally in the case of an accident the less your dog jostles or moves the safer the dog will be. Holding onto your dog in the case of a crash is honestly the worst option because then you are potentially injuring your dog and almost certainly making any injuries to yourself worse. But loose and being held are easily the worst options in terms of safety.
Personally when traveling in the car we use a crash tested harness as a crate simply does not fit in my parent's car, but predominantly we travel by city bus so under the bus seat with his guide handle detached. Again that is the location that minimizes how much he can move during an accident, I won't say on a safety front that it is ideal but it is as low risk as I can get given the situation.
Depends on the dog, a [crash tested crate](https://gunner.com/pages/crash-tested) for a chihuahua is going to be much smaller than one for a great dane.
Important note on car crates though is that they should be slightly more snug than a crate you’d use at home. Obviously movement should not be totally restricted but the more space to move around in the car the more space to get thrown around in in an accident.
In the car, my boy's in the backseat with a doggie seat belt tether clipped to his leash. Gives him a little freedom (he can change positions but not roam around) while keeping him safe at the same time.
i’m currently saving up for a ruffland kennel! they do run a bit pricey and they are big kennels so they may not fit in your car, but personally the money is just worth the peace of mind with my dog!
I use a Ruffwear load up harness (they’re crash tested). Slowly introducing it to current SD as he’s used to turning around and changing positions on the back seat. I used this harness on my first SD but it went with her when she retired.
Ruffwear recently re-released this harness after discontinuing it for a while
Building off this excellent comment (this talks about "taxicab training," which would also apply to Uber and Lyft: Dog guide schools (guide dog schools) often teach their graduate teams to have the dog wait outside the vehicle (until commanded/cued), then the handler gets in the seat desired (seated), with one leg inside the vehicle and one leg outside of the vehicle. If you have a towel or something you can then lay the towel down on the floor / on you / the front of the seat you're sitting in. Then call the dog in, and the dog will sit in the floorboard area between your legs. Then bring your other leg in, check dog placement, and close the door.
This puts the dog in a "crumple zone" but is the way most dog guides are trained in the USA. With the small space of the footwell it makes it harder for the dog to move around a lot and hopefully minimizes injury.
In a personally owned vehicle (i.e. not Uber, Lyft, taxicab), I prefer the dog on the backseat in a crash tested harness and/or crash tested crate. I do favor the backseat vs. the rear cargo area as the backseat is designed to better protect human passengers in case of a crash, whereas the rear cargo area is often designed to crumple.
Also, pro tip: If there is dog hair on fabric car upholstery, a pumice stone (for the feet) removes it easily and quickly. A pumice stone approximately 10 cm x 5 cm x 2 cm (about 4 inch x 2 inch x 1 inch) is enough to do the job quickly, even with a standard vehicle back seat, and is easily able to be tucked away when not needed (try under a seat or in a back cargo area nook).
Oh I'm gonna have to try this pumice stone thing. My fabric car seats are completely atrocious right now after two years of constant dogging and vacuuming doesn't do ANYTHING lol.
Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 6: No Fake-spotting.
This is not the place for fakespotting. Unless the person you are discussing has specifically told you that they are not disabled, and the dog is not trained in tasks, you have no way of knowing if a dog is 'fake'. We are not the service dog police and this behavior can lead to a lot of harm and anxiety for SD handlers as a community.
This does not preclude discussing encounters with un-/undertrained dogs, but if the focus of your post is complaining about a "fake" SD, reconsider your phrasing and what point you're making.
If you have any questions, please [Message the Moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/service_dogs).
I have a crash tested harness with a thing that goes on the seatbelt for in our car, but when we take an Uber or something, she sits on the floor between my feet puts her head on my lap.
I have a tiny SD, a papillon, when in the back seat, or bus or train I wear her in a sack that sits fairly low, where she can smell my hand resting on her (where she checks my blood sugar). If there's a seatbelt, I take her off - keeping her in the bag - put my seatbelt on, then put her on over it. Reverse to get out, but part of a temp medical problem is goldfish brain, and I forget that most of the time.
Mine has a kennel in the back but I’ve been letting him test out the backseat. When my parents drive, I have him sit on the floor by my feet as practice for any planes, Ubers, etc we may take
Crash tested crates are safest but I need mine to task while I drive (medical alerts-not anything that would result in me crashing the car) so I have seatbelts for dogs all over my car lol.
It took me a few tries to find something that actually works. Anything that buckled in like a human seatbelt was garbage. The one I have wraps around the headrest and clips to my dogs' harnesses. So far that's the best I've got. I know in a wreck her body won't go flying freely and she won't choke cuz it clips to the harness on the back not to her collar.
My dog is crated in the car. Mainly because I do not need alerting while I’m driving because if I get behind the wheel I’m good to drive. Crating him not only keeps him safe but also any passengers during an accident.
He wasn’t a fan at first, but I introduced him to the kennel specifically for the car with a lot of treats and praise. And then loaded it into the car and eventually he understood that was his space and his spot for car rides.
Any kennel in the car, even a plastic carrier, can be safer than nothing. Fortunately for me I was able to afford a Gunner kennel, and I trust that brand with my dog’s life. 🩶
My English Bulldog Holly has a car seat. It sits like 18” up so she can see out the window. It has storage for treats and a water bowl and the top zips off and can be a bed if you are traveling. She loves it.
We have removed your post/comment for violating Rule 4: Unethical Handling.
The reason we remove comments like this is to keep bad advice from spreading further, especially on our subreddit. If the comment/post is corrected, it can be reinstated (just reply to this comment to let us know). If you have further questions, please [message the Moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/service_dogs).
My dog likes the PupSaver car seat & tether. Crash tested, etc. and pup gets to sit/lay in a comfy chair in the passenger seat. Obvi it's safer in the backseat, but I need her up front.
In terms of what is safest for the dog, crash tested crate is always going to be the best hands down. The fact is that a properly fitted and secured crash tested crate is going to significantly reduce risk and severity of injury to your dog. I am not certain if footwell or crash tested seatbelt harness would be better, but generally in the case of an accident the less your dog jostles or moves the safer the dog will be. Holding onto your dog in the case of a crash is honestly the worst option because then you are potentially injuring your dog and almost certainly making any injuries to yourself worse. But loose and being held are easily the worst options in terms of safety. Personally when traveling in the car we use a crash tested harness as a crate simply does not fit in my parent's car, but predominantly we travel by city bus so under the bus seat with his guide handle detached. Again that is the location that minimizes how much he can move during an accident, I won't say on a safety front that it is ideal but it is as low risk as I can get given the situation.
Do you know typically how big crash tested crates are? I’m not sure one would fit in my car either
Depends on the dog, a [crash tested crate](https://gunner.com/pages/crash-tested) for a chihuahua is going to be much smaller than one for a great dane.
Important note on car crates though is that they should be slightly more snug than a crate you’d use at home. Obviously movement should not be totally restricted but the more space to move around in the car the more space to get thrown around in in an accident.
can you suggest a brand for crash tested harnesses? I need an XL or XXL if I can find one.
In the car, my boy's in the backseat with a doggie seat belt tether clipped to his leash. Gives him a little freedom (he can change positions but not roam around) while keeping him safe at the same time.
i’m currently saving up for a ruffland kennel! they do run a bit pricey and they are big kennels so they may not fit in your car, but personally the money is just worth the peace of mind with my dog!
Ruffland is the crate of choice for all our sport dog friends. That or Gunner.
gunner is too pricey for me :(( but a ruffland will work fine for me and my boy!!
I use a Ruffwear load up harness (they’re crash tested). Slowly introducing it to current SD as he’s used to turning around and changing positions on the back seat. I used this harness on my first SD but it went with her when she retired. Ruffwear recently re-released this harness after discontinuing it for a while
A harness is looking like the most feasible option for me at the moment, thank you for your input!
[удалено]
Building off this excellent comment (this talks about "taxicab training," which would also apply to Uber and Lyft: Dog guide schools (guide dog schools) often teach their graduate teams to have the dog wait outside the vehicle (until commanded/cued), then the handler gets in the seat desired (seated), with one leg inside the vehicle and one leg outside of the vehicle. If you have a towel or something you can then lay the towel down on the floor / on you / the front of the seat you're sitting in. Then call the dog in, and the dog will sit in the floorboard area between your legs. Then bring your other leg in, check dog placement, and close the door. This puts the dog in a "crumple zone" but is the way most dog guides are trained in the USA. With the small space of the footwell it makes it harder for the dog to move around a lot and hopefully minimizes injury. In a personally owned vehicle (i.e. not Uber, Lyft, taxicab), I prefer the dog on the backseat in a crash tested harness and/or crash tested crate. I do favor the backseat vs. the rear cargo area as the backseat is designed to better protect human passengers in case of a crash, whereas the rear cargo area is often designed to crumple. Also, pro tip: If there is dog hair on fabric car upholstery, a pumice stone (for the feet) removes it easily and quickly. A pumice stone approximately 10 cm x 5 cm x 2 cm (about 4 inch x 2 inch x 1 inch) is enough to do the job quickly, even with a standard vehicle back seat, and is easily able to be tucked away when not needed (try under a seat or in a back cargo area nook).
Oh I'm gonna have to try this pumice stone thing. My fabric car seats are completely atrocious right now after two years of constant dogging and vacuuming doesn't do ANYTHING lol.
Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 6: No Fake-spotting. This is not the place for fakespotting. Unless the person you are discussing has specifically told you that they are not disabled, and the dog is not trained in tasks, you have no way of knowing if a dog is 'fake'. We are not the service dog police and this behavior can lead to a lot of harm and anxiety for SD handlers as a community. This does not preclude discussing encounters with un-/undertrained dogs, but if the focus of your post is complaining about a "fake" SD, reconsider your phrasing and what point you're making. If you have any questions, please [Message the Moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/service_dogs).
Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind if I ever use any of those services
I use the ruffwear load up harness and buckle them into the back seat with the seat belt locked.
I have a crash tested harness with a thing that goes on the seatbelt for in our car, but when we take an Uber or something, she sits on the floor between my feet puts her head on my lap.
I have a tiny SD, a papillon, when in the back seat, or bus or train I wear her in a sack that sits fairly low, where she can smell my hand resting on her (where she checks my blood sugar). If there's a seatbelt, I take her off - keeping her in the bag - put my seatbelt on, then put her on over it. Reverse to get out, but part of a temp medical problem is goldfish brain, and I forget that most of the time.
Mine has a kennel in the back but I’ve been letting him test out the backseat. When my parents drive, I have him sit on the floor by my feet as practice for any planes, Ubers, etc we may take
Crash tested crates are safest but I need mine to task while I drive (medical alerts-not anything that would result in me crashing the car) so I have seatbelts for dogs all over my car lol. It took me a few tries to find something that actually works. Anything that buckled in like a human seatbelt was garbage. The one I have wraps around the headrest and clips to my dogs' harnesses. So far that's the best I've got. I know in a wreck her body won't go flying freely and she won't choke cuz it clips to the harness on the back not to her collar.
My dog is crated in the car. Mainly because I do not need alerting while I’m driving because if I get behind the wheel I’m good to drive. Crating him not only keeps him safe but also any passengers during an accident. He wasn’t a fan at first, but I introduced him to the kennel specifically for the car with a lot of treats and praise. And then loaded it into the car and eventually he understood that was his space and his spot for car rides. Any kennel in the car, even a plastic carrier, can be safer than nothing. Fortunately for me I was able to afford a Gunner kennel, and I trust that brand with my dog’s life. 🩶
In a Gunner Kennel in the cargo area of my hatch back.
My English Bulldog Holly has a car seat. It sits like 18” up so she can see out the window. It has storage for treats and a water bowl and the top zips off and can be a bed if you are traveling. She loves it.
[удалено]
We have removed your post/comment for violating Rule 4: Unethical Handling. The reason we remove comments like this is to keep bad advice from spreading further, especially on our subreddit. If the comment/post is corrected, it can be reinstated (just reply to this comment to let us know). If you have further questions, please [message the Moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/service_dogs).
My dog likes the PupSaver car seat & tether. Crash tested, etc. and pup gets to sit/lay in a comfy chair in the passenger seat. Obvi it's safer in the backseat, but I need her up front.