Ruff Rider Roadie Canine Vehicle Safety and Training Harness

I like the speed of delivery, the solid workmanship & the ease of use.In use, when not clipped into the vehicle I can tuck the lead into the elastic band to keep it out of the way and use the leash with his regular martingale collar. He seems to find it comfortable and there is no chaffing behind his legs. As with any other harness my dog could back out of this in a heartbeat if he chose to but that is what training and a hook to his collar is for. Bit like teaching your kids to tolerate a seatbelt without attempting to remove it or screaming. Some take to it quickly others take more work. Associating the restraint with quick trips to a play park or other fun trips works well with acclimating both kids and dogs to travel manners. It helps to have a second person to manage difficult escapees of either species.There is a difference between a car restraint (stops the dog from crawling into your lap to assist with a crash) and a seatbelt harness (stops the dog from flying through the window or into people). I chose this dog seatbelt harness for its figure 8 design. When watching harness crash test failures I noticed a lot of failures came from the hardware & others from the stitching. Some systems allowed the dog too much freedom of movement where the dog would end up rebounding not only from the front seat but into the edge of the back seat and floor. RuffRider has excellent load bearing sewing and there is no hardware to fail. The single d ring is for a leash attachment for well behaved dogs and not for clipping into! The plastic slides that help position the harness correctly on the dog are not significantly load bearing. In the event of a crash the figure 8 webbing is the critical feature.Hooking the seatbelt through the short tether gives some movement without too much leaway. Shorter is obviously safer to hopefully stop your dog from hitting the seat in front of him or the windshield if he is up front. I am primarily using it in a van so his is clipped into a floor hook with a 30kn locking carabiner. I upgraded from the 24kn after thinking about the math. 75 mph X 85 lb dog is 6,375 lbs of force coming to a sudden stop. The harness can't do its job if the hardware you are hooking into fails first.I definitely recommend this product to other dog owners. I only wish there was a two foot extension tether sort of like the ENO hammock straps that would extend the tether for hooking up into cargo space. My dog is 32" tall at the shoulder so in the van he can only lie down to travel until I fix an extension and he loves to look out the windows. That said I wouldn't want the harness to have a longer tether as that would get in the way for out of vehicle use and seatbelt hook up.This works! I am very glad I chose this dog seatbelt harness and recommend it highly.

I bought this for my 18 month old, 104 lb, bullmastiff puppy. I was going to buy the Xtra Large, but she measured right in the middle of the "Large" size based on the web-sites instructions: 25" around her neck and 35" around her torso right behind her front legs. It does fit, but snugly. I can't imagine a dog any larger being comfortable in it. She seems comfortable enough, but I do worry that it might chafe if worn for a long time. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find it too difficult to figure out how to put it on her, head first, but getting the second leg in is a bit of a struggle and if your dog is not co-operative you both might find it frustrating.I have only used it once in the car so far. Because I have three other large dogs, the "puppy" has to sit in the front passenger seat and I wanted to be sure that she wouldn't be thrown, or throw herself in the case of an accident or distraction. The tether seems a bit short, but I am not sure I have the best adjustment on the seat belt. Bullmastiffs have a tendency to push back when you try to move them and so it was hard to maneuver her into the best position to attach it to the belt. Still a work in progress. I worry about the air bag, so eventually she will be moved to the back and I think the seat belt will be easier to adjust there.The good points: It is extremely well made and I have no doubt it would hold her in case of an accident. Also, the larger sizes have a cross piece at the breast, the purpose of which is not clear, but it does make it easier to orient the straps when you are putting it on the dog. I can see how it could be confusing in the smaller sizes that lack the cross strap.I would definitely recommend this to secure a dog in the car, especially if you can figure out the right size and have a cooperative dog. But absolutely go up a size if your measurements are above the mid-point for any size.

This harness is simply outstanding. It's been successfully tested to withstand accidents where other harnesses break, allowing the dog to become a projectile in the car. The harness is made of quality heavy duty webbing and hardware and is very well constructed.Getting the right fit can be problematic. My suggestion is always order up one size - the harness can always be cinched in but you can't make it bigger. Unlike walking harnesses this harness should fit loosely on your dog. My 20 lb dog wears a Medium1 (size 3), my 35 lb dog wears a Medium2 (size 3.5), and my somewhat rotund older 55 pound dog wears a Large (size 4).Some reviewers have had problems getting the harness on the dog and attaching it to the car. Watch the video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO36hMsXcG4. This will show you in 3 minutes how to put the harness on, and how to attach it to the car. Read the instructions that come with it because it's much different than putting on a walking harness. I think putting the harness around the dog's head first is the easiest way to put it on.The harness can be attached using the seat belts, but for lengthy trips I attach each harness to a child seat anchor (1 harness to 1 anchor) with a screwgate locking climbing carabiner rated for a force of 25 kN (5620 lbf).The harness has a built in lead, and I use this without a leash to put each dog into the car, or when taking them out. I've also walked them for short distances using this at highway rest stops.Amazon currently has individual listings for each size, rather then one listing where buyers could select the size they want. It's a shame because it makes it more difficult to select the correct size and harder to read all the reviews.