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.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Especially when you use an airline-type crate and have blankets in there.

[F, Calla & Luca]

But an airline type crate allows the dog very limited opportunity to see anything. Not much fun for the dog. I think a regular crate would be better in terms of a compromise.

[Diana Erhart]

I hope that Jack had a peaceful night and is feeling even better today. I don't know if this will happen to Jack or not, but after my daughter was rear ended with her maltese, Portia, in the car, now that her car is fixed Portia is petrified to ride in her car. She is fine riding in any other car but when she rides in the car that she was in during the accident she cries and shakes the whole time. The car was in the shop for a month and my daughter has had it back for a month but this is still happening. I don't know how long it will continue. I hope that this doesn't happen with Jack but just wanted to pass this along to you in case.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Jennifer, we made our own. Using a Gentle Walker Harness and a seat belt attachment. I'll try to show you a picture when I get home.
The seat belt strap came from a harness - style dog seat belt so it was made for this purpose we clip it to his harness and make the strap short.
This is a horrible situation. I'm very sorry you and Jack had to experiance this. Let us know what the company says

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I see now you already discussed this setup earlier.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Thank Joanne.... I am thinking this style might work for us.. 

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

After seeing those crash tests (100% fail) I am now nervous. We too use the Champion Canine System. The material for the harness and the tether are the same as regular seatbelt material. Now my fear is the lead/tether is too long and she could clearly hit the back of the front seat in my DH car. In my SUV the tether is attached to the hook that you would attach a child seat too so I think that one is okay.

Am I being ridiculous?

[Jennifer and Jack]

I know watching those videos was totally unnerving.  The trouble I see with that picture is that dog can easily be slammed around.. Just not ejected...  That will stop the dog from flying and hitting the driver but really see how loose that strap is around his shoulder, it could end up really choking him too.  just like in the video where the test (not real) dog was decapitated.

[Adina P]

If your tether is attached to the LATCH system then you need to check your car's manual to see the weight limit.  There will be new car seat restrictions/laws in 2014 about this because some car's LATCH systems can only hold like 40 or 50 lbs and if a car seat weighs 10-15 lbs and you've got a 30 lb kid....
I haven't used my Champion system in a while...doesn't the tether adjust in length?  I could never seem to get it JUUUUST right where my dog had enough room to adjust position but not enough room to fly too far forward.  It was always slightly in one direction or another.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

OMD Adina, I just looked (on line) and the weight limit is only 48lbs - not enough for Daisy, so I guess now I have to start using the seatbelt instead? I am totally confused, I thought the latch was better.. Daisy rides in the back of my SUV, I guess we will have to get her into the 2nd row of seats.

The Tether does adjust, I had it on the longest it would go but now I see I will be shortening it.

Am I correct in assuming then that the latch system can't be used for child seats either, it's better to use the seat belt? I need to know this stuff when I finally am a grandma.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Thank you so much for all your support and understanding. No one can understand more then another dog lover who knows their dog is family.... 

 

Jack appears to be fine today. He stopped vomiting around midnight or so... He slept next to me, I got up and checked him all night. This morning he did his normal morning routine. Jumped off the bed. He is slightly hesitant when he goes to get up.. especially in his back end.... I think for sure he is stiff.  I can massage the area and press on it without him being bothered. 

Our vet has been amazing and called a few times to check on him. I still have to watch him for the full 24 hours... I think we got very lucky this time and he is just fine... This is a really good learning lesson because honestly it wasn't even a car accident.. I just stopped short from only 45-50 MPH, Jack and I are always on a major highway where the speed limit is 70. SO we will Thank God and learn from this and find a more safe way to travel.

I would imagine a padded crate of some kind completely secured in would be safest.. Jack would hate that with a passion though and he would rather stay home no doubt.

THanks again...

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Glad to hear he is getting back to normal today and the vomiting stopped. Poor doodle, bet he has a headache. It really is so hard to think of the absolute best way to have them in the cars, especially if safety harnesses like this fail. A padded crate would be torture for mine too and I don't think they would even get in the car if that was the plan. They love their rides, around town, running errands and I do use car rides as boredom busters on rainy days or if its just too cold to walk around. They are so mentally stimulated by watching everything that the crate would defeat the whole purpose.
I have a grate that I put between the back seat and the hatch back portion where they stay. They have a harness on and I clip them to the back of the back seat where the baby carseats attach. This doesn't stop them from moving around or looking out the side window, but it would prevent them from flying out the back window or gettting thrown out of the car in a serious accident. Would they get hurt still from banging into eachother or the sides? Possibly, but I feel it would be minor compared to the alternatives. And I know they can't get thrown towards the front into the windshield either.

So maybe something between the front and back seat like this grate and still have him in a harness?