Center for Pet Safety, in partnership with Subaru of America, completed preliminary product testing in the Summer of 2013.

CPS uses a quasi-static test for preliminary testing; we place the harness on a solid dog shaped form and pull it until it breaks. If a harness size withstands a 5 second hold period at a specific load, then we deem it acceptable to move on to the crash testing phase. We had 7 harness brands move on to the crash testing phase for the 2013 harness study.

CPS does this preliminary testing to identify those harness brands that have completed acceptable levels of due diligence on their own. We also evaluate how the product performs across sizes to ensure consistent performance.

Meeting the preliminary testing requirement is no indicator of crash protection. It simply means the harness is “strong” and the hardware used performs to reasonable levels.

It is important for pet owners to remain vigilant and understand that a strong harness is good, however, a strong harness that prevents your dog from launching off of the seat and controls the movement of the dog is going to offer substantial protection to all family members.