The new attitude toward our pets from companies large and small is refreshing and indeed enriching
There is far more integration of our pets into our lives with this pandemic. New pet ownership has increased dramatically, and hopefully so has the level of responsibility that should come with it. All this comes at a time when there are more products than ever designed to make life-with-pet easier and more enjoyable. Even long-time pet-owning families like mine have found that the new attitude towards our pets from companies large and small is refreshing and indeed enriching.
Car companies have jumped on the bandwagon. Audi has products specifically meant to help you bring your pet along in their vehicles. Subaru has long felt that dogs and cats and more are part of the life that their customer loves, they even support and sponsor the dog whisperer Cesar Millan.
We recently tested several items meant to allow people to bring their pets along more seamlessly in their lives and adventures. The friendly people at petwarehouse.ph supplied us with several items for testing and assessment, and we honestly were somewhat skeptical at first. Why did we, as long-time pet owners, need new stuff? It turns out though that this new breed of products produced by this new breed of pet loving companies thinks things through far more than those of the past. We were truly surprised at how well most things worked and how well thought out they were for integration into our daily lives and drives. We came away feeling that they did some serious testing in their attempts to make the end result easier for a pet-owner that was more pet-centric than anything else.
The big surprise was a simple car seat. Which I never thought I needed or wanted. Now I need more. The Outward Hound (I hope someone gets the tongue-in-cheek reference to an outdoors program from many years ago) Dog Car Seat is surprisingly easy to set up, just hook two straps around a car headrest to adjust height and angle, a strap to act as a seat belt so it won’t fly forward, and insert dog. There is a strap so you can secure the dog so they can’t jump out. And you can adjust height to fit your dog. My miniature dachshunds like it sitting pretty high so they can see out and confuse people who look in. Extremely easy to take out, transfer to another car and clean. One note, you really do need a headrest and preferably one that comes out. So do check your car. This is our pandemic pick-up star.
Car Sear Portable Dog Dish
Lift Harness Travel Carrier
The car seat usability depends on the size of your dog. They will not fit the large breeds. And if you need help, or your dog needs help, getting up and into your SUV look at the Outward Hound PureBoost Lift Harness. Basically an open-ended rug with a handle, it allows you to support your dog as they get in. Features like a padded torso band make things more comfortable.
If you want your dogs in the back seat but don’t want them roaming to the front, consider the PupShield Protective Backseat Car Hammock (shown in main photo). This hangs from front and back seats (again, check your headrests as that is where they connect) and has a couple flat pieces that slide between the seat back and bottom to help secure it. The hammock sounds quite more fun than anything else, but what it does is it allows an open area that still limits access to the front seat so they can’t disturb the driver too much. Plus, it saves your precious leather seats. Very intelligently, there is a closeable cut in the middle of the hammock where it would sit against the back seat. Why? We think it is so someone can actually wriggle in and sit back there without having to be suspended by the hammock. At least that’s what we tried to use it for. It is probably though a way to use the seat belts for support if you think you need them. As we said, these products have been well thought out.
There are other things we found far more useful than we expected. A Port-a-Bowl Portable Dog Dish, easy to slip into a pocket or hang on a bar instead of a solid cup or bowl. And no, pouring water into your hand for your dog doesn’t work too well, especially after a spirited run. Pet Tour Pet Travel Carrier can be just right for your pet and more manageable than a crate. It can usually fit easily into a floorwell or even beside you. And as we have dachshunds, we prefer harnesses over just collars. The Zee.Dog weatherproof harness is pliable and easy to clean.
As long-time pet owners, none of these things were ever really on our radar. But they are all well thought out, well produced and have already become staples of use. Our favorite is the car seat. It has a permanent place in the front seat of at least one of our cars at a time. All these were courtesy of petwarehouse.ph, itself a company started by pet lovers that carefully chooses the products they carry.
