Hey kids,

Since I ordered Basil (MCSC CoB/B), I have been thinking about how to transport Sparky the wonder dog. I can't help but think he will love riding around with the top down, but I have some concerns. He is a bit exciteable (a 6 year old golden retriever), and I worry that he will see a cat, squirrel, other dog or piece of paper and want to leap out to make chase. Does anyone know of a strap that would hook onto the collar of the dog and clip onto the seatbelt? Also, with cloth seats do you think we would be better off with the seats folded down?

Thanks!

 

petsmart has all sorts of seatbelts for dogs. we have two dogs and use seatbelts in our cabrio. we have cloth seats and no problem.

 

homerwest, definitely get the dog seat belt. I have an 8yr old golden. A few yrs ago, we had a 2000 MR2 spyder. He decided as we were driving by his favorite dog park that he would toss his ball out of the car, and jump out after it. I jammed on the breaks, grabbed for the leash. I wanted to kill him. In order to get out of the car, I needed to let go of the leash. He wasn't going to get back into the car until we retrieved his ball. I had stopped in the middle of the lane. If you ordered your car, you have time to get the seat restraint, but I would shop it online. Try carealotpets.com or drsfostersmith.com You pay about 1/2 price for toys, etc. No tax, only shipping. I save tons of money that way. Good luck

 

I have a doggie seatbelt too. My dog loves riding with the top down. My seatbelt consists of a harness & a strap. One end of the strap hooks to the harness & the other ends plugs right into my Mini seatbelt buckle.

I got mine from http://www.ruffrider.com They have great harnesses (very safe) but I didn't like the way the strap wrapped around the seatbelt so I use their harness but hunted & found a strap that plugs into the buckle somewhere else

 

We have the ruffrider harness for our 2 year old Bernese Mountain Dog. His name is Diesel and as the name implies he's big and not the smartest boy out there (but he is really sweet and we love him!) and I knew he would see something exciting and forget we were in a moving car. The ruff rider harness is nice because it has a long enough "tail" to be used as a leash as well. Now when he sees me get it out he knows he's going for a ride and gets so excited he spins in circles. Your dog is gonna love riding with the top down!

 

Hey, can you post a photo of your dog in the pet thread?? My SO wants to see one. He says they big boys!!

 

I'd absolutely recommend a doggie seatbelt, not only to keep the dog from leaping out after a squirrel bu also because they need to be safe in the event of a crash. The harnesses I've seen simply clip to an existing shoulder belt and (I hear) aren't difficult to get on and off. I'd also recommend putting something on the seat like a black beach towel or something well-tucked down to prortect the upholstery or leather from claw marks.

 

I cannot speak to leather or cloth but I have leathertte & my 65LB pup has ridden on my unprotected seat 4 days a week (he goes to work with me) for 2 years & there is nary a scratch mark. I just clean/protect my seat with 303 Aerospace protectant every now & then & my seat looks like new

 

we use a chest harness and the dogs have learned to stay put (both overly active retrievers). they learned how to ride in the old Wrangler, which has much lower sides than the Cabrio.

 

For some reason I can't get the pic into this post, but there is a picture of Diesel with the ruffrider harness on in my gallery. He's about 85 pounds and this keeps him safe in one spot. The seat belt just slides through the red end of the harness. There are different spots you can put it through based on if you want the dog to be able to lie, sit or stand in the seat. We leave in the loosest one and it gives him enough room to stand up and turn around in the seat but not enough that he's wandering around back there. I've noticed that if we're going on the freeway he likes to put his head between the two back headrests and look backwards, a little less air that way I think!

Climber Girl, we just recently got a new computer so I unfortunately don't have any other pictures of the big D right now, but next time we get some I'll be sure to post some. he's a really awesome dog, they are big lovers!

 

Now I have a few weeks to shop for the doggy restraint device. Maybe it will help distract me from the obsessive watching the OL for news on Basil's whereabouts.....

 

Here's Petey on the Dragon

 

Here you go. Click on the photo for the super large version. My family is planning to get a greyhound and maybe I could contribute my own picture soon.

 

Here is the strap I bough to use with my Ruff Rider harness


The reason I don't like the strap that comes with the Ruffrider is because you have to have the seatbelt strapped over the seat & buckled in to secure the pup & that just didn't work for me. I love the one above because all you have to do is hook one end to the harness & the other end clicks right into the seatbelt buckle just like the seat belt . They are only about $15 & they have em here (I got mine for $9.99 but I can't remember from where)
http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store....0abe5c0131f352

 

katesmini, he is sooooo cute! Actually, all 3 dogs pictured here are adorable. As for labs, got one of those too! He makes my golden seem angelic. My lab jumped out of the car 3 times as a older puppy. He has since realize that he can no longer do that. But get this, he jumped out of a window not a cabrio. Since turning 2 he listens much better. It's like all the training during the first 2 yrs finally sunk in. Yeah!!

 

Hey, there's Diesey! Thanks rkw! Bamatt, that strap look like it would be easier than trying to run the seat belt through the ruffrider harness. As it is now, I have to halfway climb over Diesel to get it buckled in. And of course he always sits right on the buckle!

 

I used the ruffrider for about a year before I found the strap that plugged directly in. It was such a pain to hook the pup in each day. When I ran across the direct plugin strap it made my life so much easier . I have even thought about trying to start a campaign to the ruffrider makers (Champion I think?) to see if they would start making a strap that plugs directly into the seatbelt buckle.

 

My dog rides in the front seat so I got one of those thick, nylon seat covers to protect the leather seats from paws/mud/hair ect...

They make 'em to cover the back seats too.