How to Determine the Effectiveness of Dog Safety Harnesses

Sleepypod, a Pasadena-based company known for reinventing pet products through innovative design, presents a Pet Driver’s Education infographic on how to determine the effectiveness of dog safety harnesses.

The Pet Driver’s Education infographic helps the reader to understand:

• Why is it important to use a pet safety restraint? 
• Why is crash testing an important consideration in determining the effectiveness of a pet safety restraint? 
• Why are the tested weight and speed of testing important factors?
• How your pet is restrained determines the reaction in a crash. 
• What is static tensile testing and why is it important? 

In March 2013, Subaru of America announced a partnership with the Center for Pet Safety to fund testing of pet car safety restraints. CPS completed preliminary product testing in the summer of 2013, and seven harness brands moved on to the crash testing phase.

Meeting the preliminary testing requirement is no indicator of crash protection. It simply means the harness is “strong” and the hardware used performs to reasonable levels.

It is important for pet parents to remain vigilant and understand that a strong harness is good; however, a strong harness that prevents your dog from launching off of the seat and controls the movement of the dog is going to offer substantial protection to all family members.

CPS and Subaru will announce the top harness brand(s) in early October 2013.