Dog Car Seat Failure.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack and I just had the scare of both of our lives. We were driving to do some errands, Jack was in the backseat in his booster seat that sits in the center of the back of my car. The booster seat was seat belted in and he was attached by harness to the booster seat.

 I have a Honda CRV. We were on a back road.. I was going about 45-50 mph. The person in front of me slammed on their brakes as a response to the car in front of them. I slammed on my brakes and Jack who was in a booster seat.. went flying like a 10 pound sack of potatoes up against my windshield of my car..he hit it full force and then was thrown under the dash board of the passenger side car....the little strap that was from the booster seat completely came out from the seam of the booster seat right where it was sewn in... When I say it didn't even slow Jack down, I am serious, it was as if it was not secured at all but rather tucked in. 

I immediately got out of the car...and Jack was knocked out.... I picked him up and he started panting really heavy... He didn't yelp or anything just panted heavy...He was only out for what I would guess less then a minute..

My vet was the closest place to bring him.... they took him right back, he has concussion but other then that he is okay. He has thrown up a few times. I have to check his pupils every hour or so to make sure they are responded right and if not I need to bring him to emergency...

Right now he seems okay, just nervous.. (who wouldn't be if they were just smashed into a windshield) My vet said to get rid of the booster seat totally, to write a letter to the company of the booster seat and to try a different means of strapping him in. The more high up they are the more likely they are to be ejected.....also because he was in the center, which I assumed was the safest afterall that is where we they tell you to put babies, he didn't even have a seat to slow him down or to brace him.

I still can't believe what I saw with my eyes... I am sure he is fine but please learn from us, we were not even on a major highway like we usually are where the speed limit is 70MPH just a country back road.... Please find safe measures to keep your baby from being ejected, had he weighed more, no doubt, he would have broken my windshield and who knows what would have happen to him, Please don't wait till it happens to you....I think he is going to be just fine, but I will never trust another dog carseat..

THe other harness that you can buy that strap to the carseat without the booster are too long and they will leave Jack hanging if I stopped short.. which I suppose is better then the windshield but I would like an even better more safe way. Jack is almost always in the car with me, it is rare that he isn't.. I seriously am going to see if he will tolerate a regular kids carseat.. I don't know about him sitting like that though if he will stay.. 

I read on here not that long ago, but a while ago, someone else making a plea to make sure your dogs were for sure safe in a car.. I didn't listen I just assumed...

Again, Jack is fine minus a concussion but seeing something you love so much thrown up against a windshield  knowing that they fully rely on you to keep them safe made me feel like an epic failure.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Question for anyone who knows... Jack is having horrible gas and diarrhea ... I would say a nervous tummy is okay except he really isn't nervous..... Now I am a bit worried about his belly.... I guess next time he has to go potty I will check for blood with a flash light outside... but he is acting normal but the gas he is having is out of this world awful ( sorry Jack) and so unlike him......

[F, Calla & Luca]

I would think if he had an internal injury he would more likely have paralytic ileum with nothing going on. He may have swallowed a lot of air with all the panic. But checking his feces is a good idea.

[Jennifer and Jack]

great point... thanks for your knowledge. He for sure does not have a paralytic ileum and his belly is soft and non-distended... thanks for the wise soothing words

[Adina P]

Super scary!  I'm so sorry you and Jack had to experience that and very happy to know you are both okay!

[Adina P]

This is what I have, but I have a sedan and two car seats in the back so the dogs rarely ride with me anymore:  http://usak9outfitters.com/index.htm (not that I go anywhere but grocery stores nowadays!).  It seems sturdy, but on my last long trip two July's ago with Boca in the car, I found her unbuckled at each rest stop.  I don't think it was the strap but that she somehow stepped on the seatbelt thing...or something.  In any case, it is another option.  However, there is more than one site that sells this and in the past one of them has been not too reliable.

[Leslie and Halas]

This is the one we have.  I had tried a couple of other brands, but I could never find one that seemed to fit Halas well.  I think he's kind of in between sizes for some of them.  Halas and Barley each have them, and they seem to work well, although we haven't been in an accident or had to slam on the brakes to test them.

[BG and Gavin]

That is why we had to go to a regular harness and tether system.  No designated car harnesses I found would fit Gavin.  In fact it is a real challenge to find any harness to fit him.  His chest is so deep and waist so thin...

[Leslie and Halas]

I think that's the issue with Halas.  He doesn't seem like he has a deep chest, but I have to go up a size from what's recommended for his general measurements.  When I order a size up, it fits him around the chest, but the straps are really wide, and seem way too big for his frame.  And the clip is huge.  He really doesn't like the whole harness thing, but I don't want to let him go without.  Barley's fits him really well, and looks a reasonable size for him.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Maybe it's safer to have dogs in crates in the car, if you have the room. I know some people do that. I haven't looked at any statistics, though.

[BG and Gavin]

Karen I think a secured crate would be ideal.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Sadly, for me it would mean a new car. Of course mine will be 10 this fall. Last night after reading all this I did start thinking about that.

[Leslie and Halas]

A lot of people on the flyball team use crates, but they are somewhat permanent in their minivans or SUVs.  They secure them well, and it seems to be a good system for them.  If they were in an accident, I think the crates are secured well enough that they wouldn't go anywhere.  The dog would be thrown around in the crate some, but that's probably better than being thrown around the entire car.