It had been so long since having a dog before my boy Duke, that I didn't know there were things like pet insurance, seat belts for dogs, etc. Heck, he didn't even have a crate until he had knee surgery. He rode free in the car and loved the convertible down so he could "feel the wind blowing through his haaaiiiiirrrr!" (to coin an old mint comercial). He rode in the back seat and thankfully we never had an accident.

With Cole, however, we do have pet insurance and he rides in a crate in the van. He's comfortable there - knows where his "happy place" is. I've always questioned, if dogs can roam freely in the back seat with a seat belt/harnass on, what good are they if in an accident? I'm just wondering.

I also am adamant against laws governing what I should or should not do - i.e. helmet laws for motorcycles, even seat belt laws and the like. Common sense just isn't common anymore I guess. When it was safe for dogs to ride untethered in a vehicle was when the speed limit was still 55 on most highways and not near the amount of vehicles on the roads then as now. Didn't have road rage, etc. I'm just saying - it's a way different world we live in now.

Doors remain locked, you don't walk at night in the dark, the kids play in the back yard and not all over tarnation until the street lights come on, it no longer safe to walk blocks and blocks trick or treating without an adult. *sigh*

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Duke 4/25/01 - 2/11/10
My puppy, Duke - I will always lobe you &
I miss you so. I hope you're enjoying all your friends at the Rainbow Bridge!

My baby boy, Coley. Duke - you'd have loved him! I know you're showing him things, though.
Born 01/01/10. Furever home 05/26/10

Your post reminds me of a post from a couple of years back, I think by Iowa Gold, where she had been in an accident that was very serious and her dogs were OK thanks to the crates she had in the back. I hope she will see this thread and post about her experience. If my memory serves me right she also posted some photos of the way she secured the crates in her new van, complete with photos. In case anyone is interested in doing something like that it might be worthy of a search of the archives of threads by Iowa Gold!

With our first boy we let him roam free in the back with one of those barriers that prevents them from jumping into the back or front seats. It was worthless, and later one of the dogs we picked up for the rescue broke through and ruined it.

We tried several seat belts before we settled on the Champion. It seems to hold the dogs in the backseat really well without getting tangled in legs and all. The Champion company offers a puppy package for anyone who might want to get one for a puppy and upgrade to the adult size when the pup outgrows it-- it's basically a nice discount off the pricing.

We can't fit a crate in our car so we do the next best thing for us, which is the seat belt and harness. It may not be perfect, but it gives me peace of mind when we have our precious cargo in the car that he won't become a flying object--that harness attachment is very secure!!

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Meet Yogi! http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...tion-yogi.html

Yes, I agree. Having them secured in either a crate or a harness is really important to make sure in case of an accident they don't fly around the car or are ejected with the force of the crash.

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Rusty's Ranger,Rusty
4-1999 till 10-2011
Topbrass Ready To Rock, Tess
3-2000 till 4-2011
Topbrass Miss Liberty Belle, Libby
Morningstar Treasure Eye'L, Raider
Topbrass Tuggin On My Heart Strings, Tugg

We also have the Champion harness, the puppy version for Liza en the large version for Tess. We have a Subaru, so one crate was the max. Tess didn't want to be in her crate anymore when she was about 2 1/2. Maybe it was because we had a soft crate (darkish...), I don't know. But I couldn't get her into the car anymore. She was fine with the harness. For Liza I got the puppy package, she still fits in the puppy harness,even tough she is big for a puppy.

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I found the thread I mentioned earlier--
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...rates-car.html (So glad I have crates in the car!)

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Meet Yogi! http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...tion-yogi.html

I did it! Traded my precious '05 Mustang (with only 37,600 miles on it) for a new car for Hannah!

Only time I welled-up a little bit was at the car wash that morning when my favorite "finishing guy" was putting so much care into making MySpeedyRedCar beautiful. He only speaks broken English and I don't think he understood when I explained I wouldn't be driving that car the next time I came in. He kept offering to wax it next time.

By the time I got to the Honda dealership, I was content and knew I was doing the right thing. They also gave me a fair $$ amount for "her." The Fit Sport is a lot of fun to drive and feels WAY bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside (it's a "sub-compact.")

Here are a couple of photos of Hannah in her new car... She loves it!

Attached Thumbnails

   

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Hannah's Birthday - November 25, 2011
Hannah's Join-Our-Family-Day - January 18, 2012

I would like to find a restraint system for my Golden. I drive a Jeep Wrangler, rear seat folded so he has room. No way to fasten a seatbelt . It's to difficult to have him ride on the rear seat. Not enough room for him to get in or out of the jeep via the door. He enters using the tail gate and rear window lifted. Any ideas? He does ok just riding in the back but concerned about an accident, he would go flying, possibly thru the windshield. Just the thought is frightening.

Bella rides in a crate in the back of the van. I throw her pillow bed in it whenever we take her somewhere.

I would never allow her to be loose in the car, and certainly would never let her stick her head out the window like I see so many doing.

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Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

There isn't enough room for a crate back there. It might fit sidways but door would not be able to open or enough room for in to get in the jeep and into the crate.

I'm another one that got my big ol' car for my dogs (Chrysler Pacifica).

It does fit both of their kennels, buuut my dogs aren't big fans of the kennel, so I switched to a harness and it works so much better. It's still a bit of a hassle with Buddy because he gets excited - "wait, we're in the CAR?! YAY!!!" - but then I imagine what could happen with a kennel getting thrown around in a crash or them being tossed around in the back...the hassle is worth it. Buddy does get tangled sometimes but my other dog has the harness figured out and lays down very comfortably in his seat, enjoying the chauffered ride.

The only problem right now is that my car has a grey interior with one gold seat.

Wonderdog: Without the kennel, the seat wouldn't need to be folded down and he could sit on the seat. I thought at first that my big ol' boy who takes up an entire twin-sized bed wouldn't be comfortable but he makes the entire space his own and enjoys it. Additionally, I don't know if your Jeep has a hardtop or not, but if it does, you could try what Deber does so your dog has more room:

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“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” (Audrey Hepburn)