I’m going to talk about 2 safety harnesses for dogs today. The Sleepypod Clickit Sport Untility dog harness and the Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat. Because safety is important, and it hit me really hard when we got into an accident right before New Years eve.
Donna and Mickey in a comfort cab
Since my last update on cabbing with dog, I found it extremely easy to Uber with Donna. Until our outing to the beach right before New Years Eve… It seemed one dog is ok, but the 4 drivers I rang up declined to pick us up when they heard we were travelling with 2 dogs. The 5th driver, thankfully, was ok… but on hindsight, I had to wonder if all the prior 4 drivers were fate’s way of giving us a warning.
Because you see, en route to Tanjong Beach, Sentosa, we had a car accident on the expressway.
Travelling with dogs and meeting an accident on the expressway
A lorry in front of our car had made a sudden stop, so our Uber driver had to suddenly step hard on his brakes. He narrowly avoided hitting the lorry, but the car behind us was cutting out of the lane and hit us at an angle. Poor Donna, who was sitting on the floor of the car between the back seat and behind the driver’s seat slammed against the back of the driver’s seat twice.
I was lazy to bring along Donna’s car safety harness to strap her in, because I was already bringing her life vest for the beach. Two bulky harnesses to carry? Meh~
I learnt my lesson.
Road safety dog harness: Sleepypod Clickit Sport Harness and Car Seat Belt
I will always be strapped in in future!! Safety first!! – Donna in her Sleepypod Clickit Sport car safety dog harness. You can buy it on Amazon here. See my review and crash test videos here.
Buckle up and keep safe!
- A 27kg dog becomes a 1,224kg projectile, at just 56km per hour.
- Unrestrained pets may delay emergency workers’ access to human occupants.
- Pets may escape through a window or open door and cause a second accident.
- Startled or injured dogs escaping post-accident may end up lost.
- Driver distraction is common when unrestrained pets are rambunctious.
Thankfully in our case, both dogs appeared calm and uninjured despite being jerked forward. Although Mickey’s mom got a message from family that advised that aches from the crash may only manifest a day or two later, so we would be monitoring Donna closely these few days.
We were stalled on the expressway as the drivers assessed the damage and made calls for help. Then the traffic police came and took more pictures. The whole process took about half an hour.
Finally, our driver was released and he continued to drive us to Tanjong Beach.
Water safety dog harness: Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat
Donna likes going to the beach. She likes darting in and out of the shallow water but that’s about it. This is the second time we headed out to the beach with the Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat. And it seems to help make her feel more secure.
Because to date, this is the deepest she has voluntarily gone into the water by herself!!
photo by @mickeyboyjs
The float coat has a very sturdy handle, but it’s really for me to haul her back up if I ever need too. So far, she retreats back to shore for a breather when it gets too much for her. But what I’m really excited about is that she will come back into this depth on her own without me calling.
Well, I suppose I cheated because I did have Ziwipeak canned food in hand. :P
Make swimming a happy experience for your dog!
I’m here for more ziwipeak, mom!
So with food as a strong pull factor, and the float coat to give her support and a greater sense of security, Donna has made pretty good improvement for the scaredy-cat mongrel that she is. :)
photo by @mickeyboyjs
Read product details and reviews of the Ruffwear Float Coat dog harness on Amazon.
One more thing, it really helps to go swimming with a dog that likes to swim! Imagine being asked to go into the water while your friend is kicking and screaming bloody murder because he is being dragged forcibly into the water. Oops!
Swimming. Piece of cake for Mickey the Japanese Spitz!
You can see Donna is feeling upbeat with her tail so high ;) Photo by @mickeyboyjs
Don’t worry if you don’t have a friend with a dog that swims. There are lots of happy swimming dogs at the beach your dog can observe. Just stay away from the ones that are obviously being forced to swim and screaming in terror and showing all sorts of tense body language. That’s not gonna do your dog any good. :P
I am a happy golden retriever popping in and out of the water!
We have lots of fun out of the water too!
It’s always to good idea to keep training / counter conditioning sessions short and sweet. So the dogs get time to play and check out the other salty dogs and just ENJOY being at the seaside ;)
Adopt Dolly!! Currently being fostered with a lady who owns the happy goloden retrievers in the photos above. Enquire with ASD.
Donna checks out some of the dogs from Spawtz daycare. Donna seems to like this fluffy black and tan dog particularly. :P
After a while the dogs get tired and just lounge around… kind of sweet that they are lounging around together. But oy, why so antisocial and far away from your moms!!!
Note: Donna has since been checked by the vet 3 days later and found to be unaffected by the accident.
Two dog harnesses for road and water safety
Check out these safety harnesses for dogs on Amazon. Full product details and customer reviews there. ;)
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Kismet
It seems that a dog either loathes or loves the water. There’s no in-between.
weliveinaflat
Donna is the first. But humans are stubborn and like to hope against hope :P :P :P