The Preventive Vet

You all know how I feel about pet travel safety, right? (If not, check out my previous blog post on the issue - click here. But here’s a hint… I call myself The Preventive Vet ;-) Well, I’ve got some great news to report - I’ve found my ‘soul-mates’ in the pet product business, and their name is Bergan!

A few years back the product development team at Bergan recognized two disturbing facts about pet travel safety. First was that, although most rational people buckle themselves and their (two-legged) children up for a ride in the car, less than 2% of them take the same simple preventive measure for their pets. LESS THAN 2%! The second thing they discovered was that few of the pet travel harnesses available on the market at that point could withstand even 10% of the forces generated in a sudden stop or accident. So, for those 2% of the people who cared enough about their pet’s safety to restrain them during travel, a great many of them were likely doing so with products that wouldn’t actually prevent the injuries that they were trying to protect their pets from anyway. And this was according to the results from tests done at independent safety labs, not some arm of the Bergan marketing department. That’s just sad, isn’t it?

Well, fortunately for the 2% of us (and hopefully growing) that do the safe and responsible thing, the crew at Bergan decided to work with (presumably) those same independent labs to develop the first Pet Safety Durability Test Standard. Its called V9DT B2009.1, you can read all about it here. This one act of theirs, this standardized laboratory test, now allows those of us with the good sense to restrain our pets during travel to be assured that we are doing so with a product that will actually ‘live up to its billing’ in the unfortunate event of a ‘real-world test’. And hence, this is why I say, whole-heartedly and without reservation, that the folks at Bergan are my pet safety ‘soul-mates’. Thanks to their initiative, you can now take comfort in knowing that your pet will be as safe as possible during travel if they are properly restrained using a device made by ANY manufacturer that has earned the ‘Complies with V9DT B2009.1’ label. That’s right, V9DT B2009.1 is an industry standard that is available to any pet restraint manufacturer who wishes to subject their product to the test. So, look for the label shown below on any pet travel restraint device before you buy.

Bergan released their own pet travel harness in 2009, which, of course, complies with the V9DT standard. And that would have been good enough, because that meant that there was a safe, reliable, and tested pet travel harness on the market - changing the second ‘disturbing fact’ mentioned above. But the people at Bergan went a step further in an effort to change the first of the ‘disturbing facts’ - you remember, the one about only 2% of people restraining their pets during travel. Bergan reached out to the pet safety pioneers at the ASPCA to co-market their harness and to establish the ‘Paws To Click’ movement. Both steps help to spread the word about the importance of safe & effective pet travel restraint, and will therefore hopefully grow the number of people who properly restrain their pets during travel. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see the relative percentages reverse; to see the percentage of people safely traveling with their pets grow to 98% and the percentage of those not doing so drop to 2%? It can happen. It has to happen! Because when it does, the roads will be safer - and not just for pets, but for all of us.

Check out the Paws To Click website for more information on the movement and the history of the development of the V9DT standard. While you’re there take a second to sign the pledge to travel safely with your pets. Also help spread the word by ‘liking’ the Paws To Click Facebook page and then clicking the ‘share’ icon on the bottom left of the page. You can of course also help spread the word the ‘old-fashioned’ way… word of mouth :-) And don’t forget to set a good example for your friends and family by always properly restraining your pets during travel.

Ok, now to my review of the Bergan travel harness. Let’s just get right down to it and start with the ‘brass tax’, the ‘bottom line’…

It is my evaluation that the Bergan travel harness would prove to be an exceptionally safe and effective restraint for your pets in the event of a sudden stop or accident when they’re traveling in your vehicle.

Here’s why…

The tether system is fantastic! Its easy to attach and, because it attaches to the LATCH child seat adapters or to the seatbelt buckle loop, it’s super secure. Unlike many of the other harnesses on the market, which have a loop of webbing that the seatbelt passes through to secure, there is minimal ‘give’ in the tether system of the Bergan harness. This is a good thing, as it helps to ensure the primary function of the product - that of keeping your pet secure and restrained. As we all know, with most seatbelts slight and constant pressure won’t typically engage the seatbelt ‘locking mechanism’ that helps to keep the belted in occupant secure. This is a good and comfortable thing for us, as it allows us to lean forward and twist a bit while remaining belted in. But when trying to keep pets restrained, the adjustable length of the tether should serve that function. You actually don’t want them to have additional ‘give’, you don’t want them to be able to step off the seat, it partially defeats the purpose of restraining them (though it will still keep them from climbing into the front seat). The tether system of the Bergan harness though allows them just enough room to get comfortable, to lay down and turn around, but it keeps them on the seat and nice and secure.

• If your dog is comfortable wearing a safety harness and they automatically just sit or lay down in the seat, without twisting and turning, I would recommend purchasing a second tether strap (they can be purchased separately). I suspect that two points of attachment (i.e. both seat LATCH adapters) would likely be even more secure than just the one. For those dogs that do twist and turn, the one tether strap will still permit that, while still keeping them safe and secure.

From a comfort and safety standpoint, the wide padded chest piece seems designed to more evenly distribute the force that your pet would experience in the event of a short stop or accident. It seems to me that the design of the chest piece on this harness would result in less compressive force transmitted to your pet. Now I don’t personally have any specific data to back this up, and Wendy has fortunately not had the opportunity to put this to the ‘true’ test, but judging by the appearance, I believe that this would be the case.

In addition to being what I suspect would be a safer and more comfortably designed chest piece, it is also quite stylish too. Don’t you think…

Or is it just that Wendy is such a beautiful model? It’s certainly not my photography skills. (Speaking of which, these photos were taken before I trimmed the excess off the side straps - which Bergan recommends that you do once it has been properly fitted. I’ve since done so.)

As regards the use of the Bergan harness for an ‘everyday walking-around’ harness, which some people have asked me about and something I’ve seen in other people’s reviews. I can’t say that I would recommend it for that - an ‘everyday’ harness it is not - but then that’s not what its designed for. But as a travel safety harness, it is a truly exceptional product. Don’t worry though, it should prove more than capable for the ‘potty breaks’ at the rest stops along your route. And for longer strolls around town when you reach your destination, it’d likely do fine too. But if you’ll be there for a few days, or going for particularly long strolls/hikes, I’d suggest a true everyday harness or a leash and head-collar (such as the Gentle Leader or Halti)… but that’s a topic for a different product review.

Another ‘complaint’ that I have seen in some reviews is that some people’s dogs have been able to wiggle or sneak one of their front legs out of the harness. Wendy was indeed able to do so too, when I took her for a longer walk in it, but it was also before I had settled on the proper fit for the harness. Now that I have done so, there’s no more ‘wiggling’ or ‘sneaking’. As with any harness, finding the proper fit takes a little tinkering and fine-tuning, but not more than you’d expect. And given the fact that the harness can very well save your pet’s life, or even your’s for that matter - a little bit of adjustment to find the proper fit is certainly a small ‘price’ to pay. There’s a video on both the Bergan and Paws To Click websites showing how to fit the harness to your dog.

So, in conclusion… whether you drive a car, wagon, truck, SUV, crossover, or RV you would do well to purchase a Bergan travel harness to secure your pets when they travel the roads with you. And don’t forget, the travel doesn’t need to be a long roadtrip - if you’re buckling yourself in, you should be buckling your pets in too. And you should ALWAYS be buckling yourself in!

So, I’ll start to sign-off with a shot of the Bergan travel harness ‘in action’ (notice the blur of the trees as we drive by)…

I hope this review has been helpful to you as you consider your pet travel safety options. If you like what you’ve read, please help to spread the word by re-posting and distributing the link to my blog amongst your friends, family, and clients. If you’re interested in purchasing the Bergan pet travel harness visit their website to find outlets and locations where you can do so, click here for that specific page on the Bergan site. Note that this harness can also be found in certain locations sold under the ASPCA brand. A special thanks does go out to my new friends at Bergan for providing me with one of their harnesses to test out for this review - Wendy and I thank you for doing so. You truly make an excellent product! We’re happy to help you spread the word, and to be working together on the Paws To Click movement (see below).

Disclaimer: As you all are hopefully already aware, I’ve blogged about the ‘Paws To Click’ movement previously. What you may not be aware of though, and what I am thrilled to tell you about, is that The Preventive Vet has recently become a partner in this worthy and wonderful movement! (Check out the awesome logo placement on the ‘Paws To Click’ website - link below.) I am in the process of writing a ‘Pet Travel Safety Tips’ section for the website… so stay tuned and check back regularly :-). Please be assured though that, regardless of my new partnership with Bergan in the ‘Paws To Click’ movement, this review of their travel harness is, as all of my pet safety product reviews are and will continue to be, completely unbiased and based on my thorough evaluation and use of the product. In fact, my partnership with Bergan came about because of their company focus on pet safety and other’s reviews of their travel safety harness. I contacted them to put them (and their products) to my ‘test’. And it is because of their company ethos, the safety of their harness, and the importance of the ‘Paws To Click’ movement, that I decided to put The Preventive Vet name (and energy) into this collaborative relationship.

So, if you’ve got the time and the inclination to do so, after reading this rather long review, please feel free to share your pet travel safety stories and photos here in the ‘comments’ section. I’d love to hear other’s feedback and thoughts on the Bergan harness. Or any other harnesses too, for that matter. If there are any other pet safety products that you’d like to see me review, you can post your requests here or email them to me at info@ThePreventiveVet.com. If you have a company that produces pet safety products that you’d like for me to review, please contact me at the same email address.

Wishing you and your pets happy and safe travels - whatever distance they may be! Don’t forget to restrain your pets, and don’t forget to visit (and spread the word about) the Paws To Click website too ;-)

As always… Be proactive, be preventive, and be safe!

All the best,

Jason

Jason Nicholas, BVetMed(Hons)

The Preventive Vet™

www.ThePreventiveVet.com

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