Which dog harness provides the best protection for your canine companion in the event of a car crash?

In March of 2013, Subaru of America announced that it was teaming up with the Center for Pet Safety to perform crash testing on several popular brands of harness. In a car crash, the dog can be thrown forward, much as a child or an adult passenger can be thrown forward. Not only can the pet be injured, but so can passengers riding with the pet. Consequently, it seemed like it seemed like a really obvious and important idea to test the available harnesses. This testing IS NOT mandated by any federal authority, and was entirely voluntary.

Subaru and the Center for Pet Safety hired MGA Research Corporation, an independent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracted testing laboratory, to conduct rigorous crash testing on commonly available pet safety harnesses using realistic, specially designed crash test dogs. The “crash test dummy”dogs were created to replicate an average 25# dog, a 45# dog, and a 75# dog.

The results were reported on October 3rd.

And the winner is……Sleepypod’s Clickit Utility Harness. Sleepypod’s Clickit Utility Harness was the only harness tested that consistently prevented the dog from launching off of the seat and the only restraint deemed to offer substantial protection to all passengers, including the dog, in the event of an accident.

The Clickit Utility Harness can be purchased from Sleepypod at www.sleepypod.com and, in the future, from Subaru.

To view the full study results please visit www.CenterforPetSafety.org.

Great dramatic videos are part and parcel of Autopia’s blog on this topic. One view of the stuffed puppy flying through the air and landing will have you on board with the Clickit Harness. Check out Autopia’s video and blog here: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/10/dog-harness-safety/

And last, but not least, there is the auto channel’s story at http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2013/10/03/092360-subaru-and-center-for-pet-safety-announce-full-study-and.html

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