Ruff Rider ROADIE Canine Vehicle Safety Harness

Hudson spends a good bit of time in the car with us.  When we picked him and his brothers up, we did a 12 hour drive from NC to NY.  A few months later, we did a 10 hour drive to Ohio for Christmas, and then then 10 hour drive back.  We made the same drive in February and again in April.  Plus, for vacation we went down to the Outer Banks area and drug him along.  All and all, he has spent a lot of his short life in a car.

When I got him, I knew that there would be a lot of trips from NY to OH and back, since that is where our family is, so I started looking for a solid, safe car harness.  Both for if, God forbid, there is an accident, and to keep him in the car until I had a leash hooked on him.  Most of our driving is interstate and I cannot imagine how terrifying it would be to have your dog get loose at a rest stop or gas station.  I also know that our cars are too small to safely secure a crate for a full grown Hudson.  So, car harness it was.  What I finally decided on was a Roadie Harness.  They are a little expensive, but I liked that they were designed for car safety first and foremost. I also liked that the car attachment was permanently attached and that it gave my 6 ft leash a little extra length.

I ordered the smallest size for Hudson because he was still an itty bitty puppy.  It was easy to figure out how to put on, which was was the front, which way was the back.  It seemed comfortable for Hudson, he didn't shy away from it like he does his EzyDog Chest Plate and it had several different places to adjust.

When he out-grew this harness, I toyed with replacing it with another Roadie, but since he was still growing, I went with a less expensive harness with a car seat attachment until I knew what his final chest size would be.  Since then, I have had a chance to think about it and I am not sure I'll be adding another to my harness roster.  Here is why.  It was a little tricky getting it on and there was a bit of tugging on his one leg to get it through the leg hole.  Definitely not something I would suggest if you have an older dog who has joint issues. That also makes it hard for me to ask anyone else to put it on him, if I was also getting ready to go outside. My other big issue with it is that, being a harness designed to keep a dog secure in case of an accident, it is the only harness I've seen Hudson wiggle out of.  We were at a park and he get his long line wrapped around a pole and in his struggle to untangle himself, he got loose!

In the end, I liked how it fit him, though a little difficult to actually get one and I liked how it looked.  If I was looking for just a general, everyday wearing harness, I would look at a Roadie, but at $50+, it's a little expensive for just a walking harness.   

As a "keeping in the car when the door is open" it definitely works well and even though there are several other harness brands with 'car attachments', I like how long the one on the Roadie is.  It gives the dog plenty of room to sit or lay down while traveling, which I think is important on long drives.  I no longer worry about keeping him in the car when I open the door, partly because I keep his leash on him the entire trip now that he is past chewing on it (dogs!) and partly because he is very good at "Wait" until I have the leash in my hand and tell him it's "Ok".

Roadie Car Harness