Seatbelts For Dogs

G'day Dog Lovers,

Yesterday I got a phone call from one of our readers about an article in our latest issue on seatbelts for dogs. This reader explained to me how she was driving her SUV one day recently with her two dogs safely secured (or so she thought) by harnesses in the back.

However, one of her dogs, a 50kg Rhodesian Ridgeback, decided he'd had enough of being restrained. He pulled on the harness and broke the plastic clip that held the harness around him. Luckily, the reader was able to pull over without any trouble. But what if she had been travelling at 80km/h or faster and had to slam on the brakes? The harness could have broken just as easily and her dog would have turned into a lethal missile.

How safe are plastic clips on doggy car harnesses? Shouldn't they use metal clips that will be much stronger under pressure? This reader has since gone on a search for a car harness that uses metal clips instead of plastic ones - the only product she has been able to find is made in the U.S - www.ruffrider.com

Does anyone know of an Australian-made product that might fit the bill?

While we're on the topic, what about safety testing for these harnesses? Seatbelts for us humans undergo intensive testing to make sure they keep us safe, but do you know of anyone who does any sort of safety testing on their dog car harness?

Feel free to post a comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one...

Dobermann Wardog Memorial

The current March/April 2008 edition of Dogs Life has a breed feature on the Dobermann in which it states that the breed is the US Marine's mascot. A reader, Wendy from Brisbane, left a voicemail last week saying the Bulldog is the US Marine's mascot, not the Dobermann.

After some research on the web, we read that at some point in time, both breeds played a vital role and are considered mascots by different units of the US Marines. But what started out as a quick research to make sure we got the right information out to readers, turned into an emotional journey that taught me something new about the breed I love so much.

According to Wikipedia (what an awesome encyclo-website!), the Dobermann breed was used extensively by the US Marines in World War II, and 25 Marine war dogs died in the Battle of Guam in 1944. I found out there is a beautiful memorial in Guam in honour of these brave Dobermann Pinschers! http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/7109/wardogs.html

My heart goes out to these canines - they did not have a choice when they were led into the battlefield. But they still fought courageously and protected their soldiers at all costs. Our brave, strong dogs...

The strays of Cesme, Turkey

I just got back from Turkey, where I spent three weeks visiting family and enjoying great food and wonderful hospitality. I stayed in Çesme (meaning fountain in Turkish), on the west coast of Turkey, famous for its clubs, beaches and fish restaurants — and stray dogs!

Each morning my father and I climbed the beautiful hills lined with wild oregano to shed some kilos gained from all the food my mother had been cooking for us. We walked past farms which were guarded by the native Anatolian Shepherd Dogs, warning us to keep our distance. I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder nervously as I passed these big dogs that walk around freely all day, but they stood their ground and let us go on our way.

Dogs in the surrounding townships are a different story. Whether you go to the market or walk down to the local store, you see stray dogs lying around everywhere. I came across one sleeping almost in the middle of the road! How he didn’t get run over, I don’t know. Another stray was keeping a group of tourists company as they sipped their morning çay (tea) at a garden café. I saw one Jack Russell cross sleeping peacefully at the foot of a small shop. Occasionally, a dog would walk by and meet up with other strays congregating nearby, as if they were meeting for lunch. Leftovers at the local restaurant perhaps?