Champion Canine Seat Belt System

This is the second seat belt we are reviewing for our series on vehicle safety restraint systems. Champion Canine Seat Belt System is comprised of a heavy-duty harness and a restraint strap to attach to the vehicle's seat belt or cargo hooks.

This is one of the better seat belt system we've tried with Elaine. However, before we go any further with the review, it is important that we address the biggest weakness or flaw with the system --- the ordering. If you do an online search for Champion Canine seat belt, www.champk-9.com tops the result list. Do NOT use that website. One of the most common complaint found in the online search is the poor customer service and slowness in receiving the product (if you receive one at all). Very few complaints were with the product itself. Apparently, there are currently 2 very similar sites online: www.usaK9outfitters.com and www.champk-9.com. The latter is the bad one. The site still takes your orders but will not process / ship the products. Fortunately, as far as we can tell, you are not charged for the products if they have not shipped them. We placed an order in March 2009 and have been monitoring for any charges.

If you are interested in the Champion Canine Seat Belt System, go to www.usak9outfitters.com for ordering and information. Please note that when we researched this system in 2009, champk-9.com was one of the "good" site to order at the time. Hence, we recommend that you call the contact number to make sure you can reach a person before ordering. That does not guarantee anything but, at least, you will know it's a current active site / business. We have called usak9outfitters (303-343-0406) a couple of times the past several months and have always been promptly assisted by a very nice lady named Susie.

Ordering / Purchasing Experience: 2/5
This was rated 0/5 due to the above ordering problems with www.champk-9.com. Initially, we received an email stating the product was on back-order. But after that, we were never able to contact them again: emails were not answered and all voicemail options were full. However, once we contacted www.usak9outfitters.com, the customer service was great and the products were delivered in less than 2 weeks. Hence, we upped the rating to 2/5. Wish the company itself can do something to get their information higher on the web search so less people are led to the bad champk-9 address.

Appearance: 4.5/5
The adjustable harness is made of 1.5 inch (about 3.7 cm) wide nylon webbing. It has a simple but sturdy look. The high rating has more to do with the color choice (black, red, and royal blue) and the reflective Moonglow colors.

Ease of Use: 4.5/5
If you can get your dog into a body (walking) harness, you can get him/her into the Champion Harness. It's just a little more tricky because of the heavy hardware. Elaine was startled by the clanking of the D-rings.
The website has instructions on how to use the restraint strap in your vehicle. We also found a very well-done guide complete with pictures and tips on how to use the strap.

A minor drawback is that the heavy double D-rings may be too big for most regular leashes. You can order a Champion Lead or a universal lead adapter to attach to the D-rings then hook your regular leash to the adapter.

Safety: to be determined
As with the Roadie, we need to use this system a little longer to determine it's safety -- hopefully, not in a real crash. We want to see how Elaine tolerates the system. The floating chest pad is designed to allow the top of the harness to rotate down the side of the chest. We will see if that feature will keep Elaine from tangling with the harness and strap when she twists and turns around in the car.

Cost / Value: to be determined
The large harness for Elaine was $45 + $7.95 for shipping. It is the most expensive of the harnesses we've tried but well worth it if it helps keep us all safe in the car.

Overall First Impression:
Other than the ordering frustration, we like the Champion Canine Seat Belt system. The weight of the D-rings and the need for an adapter to use with our regular leash is a minor trade-off for a sturdier and, hopefully, safer product.

Ruffrider Roadie Elite

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The first canine safety restraint harness to be reviewed is the Ruffrider Roadie Elite. The company is coming out with a newer model later this year so supply for this model is limited. It is still available at several online outlets. We purchased ours from Amazon.com for $24.99, shipping included.

Ordering / Purchasing Experience: 4.5/5
Some of the harnesses are not available locally, purchases are often made without being able to try them on your dogs. Ruffrider has good demonstrations and sizing chart to help with your purchase.

Elaine weighs about 54 pounds; her girth (around her chest, just behind her front legs) measured 28 inches which placed her at a Roadie Elite size 5. Size 5 fits Elaine well.

Appearance: 4/5
We like the look of the harness. The width of the straps are 1.75 inch wide (4.5 cm) and are more comfortable than the narrow straps. The harness feels sturdy. The elastic band that goes on the chest between the front legs is thick. However, we wonder if that band will stretch and be the weak point of the harness over time. There are no buckles on this harness, lending to a smooth, and slender light fit. Only color available is the black with red Neoprene lining.

Ease of Use: 3/5
We may adjust the score after we get used to the harness. But from a new user's perspective, the Roadie Elite is not an easy harness to put on your dog. As noted above, there are no buckles. This is not a "step in" harness with a buckle on the back. You have to put the harness over your dog's head then pull the front legs through the openings. Sounds simple and looks simple in the demonstration video. But here is what it looks like when I tried to put the Roadie Elite on Elaine for the second time (I did not do it right the first time, more on this later). The videos are done with a camera so the audio is not very clear but you can see how it may be difficult for some dogs and people.

As you saw, getting that second front leg in can be tricky. The degree of flexion --- bending at the elbows and carpi ("wrists") --- needed to get the legs through the openings will make it difficult for older dogs or those with joint problems. Ruffrider had a Geriatric Roadie but discontinued them a while back.

We reviewed the online demonstration and found that pulling the legs through the openings work better than pushing them through. That worked a little better and even only after wearing the harness 3-4 times this past week, Elaine seemed to be better with the twisting and pulling.

It should be mentioned that when I put this harness on Elaine for the first time, I got one of her leg into the wrong opening.

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That, in effect, hobbled her front legs to her chest/neck causing her to flip backward when she threw her head back.

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Fortunately, Elaine stayed calm after that and I was able to remove the harness. So be careful when you first try the harness on your dog. Visualize where the legs are going (as I had to do in the second video above).

Taking the harness off is also not as easy as unbuckling it. The below video was the third time taking the harness off this past week. I'm sure it will be easier as we get used to the routine (and not have to worry about blocking the camera).

The Roadie Elite had points docked for difficulty in putting on / taking off the harness. The rest of the Ease of Use test was fine. It has a short attached lead for walking to the car.


(Click on image to enlarge) The harness can be buckled in with the car seat belt, threading through the opening on the harness back. It can also be secured with a carabiner or other safety restraint system via the heavy D-ring at the end of the strap.







Safety: to be determined
No independent crash test reports are available, but compared to other harnesses, the wide straps and buckle-less (the buckles can be weak points) features of the Roadie Elite should provide for safer rides. Ultimately, the safest harness is one that you will use and your dog will tolerate in the car. We plan to use the different harnesses in the next several weeks before scoring the safety aspect.

Cost / Value: to be determined
For $24.99, the Roadie Elite is in the middle cost range of the harnesses we are reviewing. Whether it is worth the cost is dependent on the safety and use.

Overall First Impression:
Despite the misadventures of learning how to put it on, Elaine and I like the Roadie Elite and look forward to test driving it the next few weeks.

Next to be reviewed is the Champion Canine Seat Belt System.

Preview: Canine Seat Belts & Safety Restraint Systems

We are excited about our next product review, comparing some of the canine seat belts and safety restraint systems. As with the cat litter comparison, we plan to look at several systems and go over how one may be better than another for certain pets. A system that is ideal for a toy Chihuahua may not be appropriate for a 95-pounds Chocolate Lab.

Meet Elaine, my Pit Mix. She will model most of the harnesses and test them out as we cruise around town the next couple of months.

Elaine is sweet (to people she knows) but she is not exactly well-trained. That should make things interesting as we score the ease of which we can put each harness on her --- and keep her restrained in my Ford Focus hatchback.

Kobi, my mother's Poodle Mix, will help out with one of the harness system. As noted in our disclaimers and disclosures, we purchased these harnesses ourselves so we might as well get Kobi a new one. After all, how many harnesses does Elaine really need??

Elaine in her Four Paws Safety Seat Harness

Four Paws Safety Seat Harness is Elaine's current car harness. Elaine is a bit of a wiggle worm in the car and constantly gets the harness twisted as she tangles with the seat belts. Thus we started this search for another safety system --- almost a year ago. Yes, almost a year ago. We got held up waiting for the Champion Canine Seat Belt. You will have to read about it in the Champion Canine review but please note the warning about the websites below.

We plan to review the following harnesses:

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• RuffRider Roadie Elite (reviewed here)
  
• Champion Canine Seat Belt System (*** The sites look similar, but Do NOT order from champk-9.com; use usak9outfitters.com. See the review later for details) (reviewed here)
  
• BeBop Secure Fit Harness
• Easy Rider Harness
• Four Paws Harness

On first impression, the Roadie Elite and the Champion Canine Seat Belt System are the main contenders but each have its own drawbacks. We will review those two and the BeBop Secure Fit Harness in separate blog posts, followed by the Easy Rider and Four Paws Harness in one brief write-up. The conclusion will compare the different products to help readers decide which system may be a good match for their pets.