Dog in Sidecar

Oh! my Nikita has been bundled up for rides during winter months...now jonesing for warm weather..we are getting our dance card err invites to cruise nights requesting her presence in the sidecar!

We have several Shih tzu's. This is one of the reasons for our sidecar. I'm thinking they'll love it:o)

Dogs make a sidecar look good.

Persis started riding the day we got her

Love the helmet:o)

I think the helmet is cool too. I've looked for one for Archie but haven't found one that fits his head. Persis looks a lot like Archie from what I can see. Is Persis a Boxer?

Check out http://www.zoomergear.com for a dog helmet. They have various sizes and may be able to help you. Remember, these helmets are essentially for show and not for real protection of the pet.

Originally written by Pat Huey on 3/16/2009 4:56 PM

Check out http://www.zoomergear.com for a dog helmet. They have various sizes and may be able to help you. Remember, these helmets are essentially for show and not for real protection of the pet.

Ya, that is where we got the helmet. Persis is a Boston Terrier or Terror depending on the day. She didn't like the wind in her ears so the helmet offers some protection from that. Hopefully she will never really NEED the helmet for protection from the road. The doggles were recommended by the vet as Boston's have big buggy eyes that are easily damaged. She loves to ride.

Maddie is adapting well to riding in the sidecar as shown in the attached photo. She's OK with the doggles as long as we're moving.

We tried the Zoomer gear helmet and sent it back. I'm thinking it would serve the same purpose that you found, wind in the ears as well as help keep the doggles down on his eyes. We'll keep looking...

When I spoke to the owner of these two dogs, he had made a helmet that was adapted with the bubble ski mask. It looked neat to me, but he was only thinking of manufacturing them at the time. He guessed he'd be charging about $150 apice for the helmets. Waaaay to much money for my blood. I was thinking he just adapted a helmet for a bicycle or kid's helmet for skates or such and added the ski mask. I haven't found such a helmet so far and it is actually difficult to find a small bike helmet that is for age 3 or less. For a big dog, as larger bike helmet may be able to be cut and adapted, but my dogs are all small. The Bears that you can build yourself at the mall store (can't think of their names) sometimes have some clothes and such that can be adapted for small dogs. I have a bike helmet from one of them, but I never liked the shape of the thing. It may be able to be adapted with some ear pieces, but I have apparently hidden it pretty well in my garage somewhere and can't locate it at present.

I have looked at a site that teaches how to make molds and such at tap.com. I wanted to play about with making a mold for such and using the bubble ski mask with them, but it is a pipe dream at present. Too many other projects to contend with, so it is all on hold.

Wouldn't one of these old antique 1/3 scale helmets look cool on a small hack dog or a standard size on a big hack dog? Be interesting to adapt one to fit.
http://www.pasttimesports.biz/mini_leather_helmets.html

Hi everyone......
i just wanted to put up a page we created for "Savannah the Sidecar riding English Bulldog" ( http://sites.google.com/site/sidecarsavannahclub/ )its still under construction, but we have a page dedicated to dogs & their sidecars, lets see how many sidecar dogs we can find from all over the world

its finally riding weather
BE SAFE !

Nice website:o)

W

My pup is an 80# Boxer maned Hercules and has been riding with me for over a year. I bought a so-so dog restraint for a car. I kept the heavy elastic strap and upgraded the harness (www.dogtrainers.com). The strap comes around the left top corner of the seat back and is tied off in the trunk. Eye protection is from Doogles.com. I use a kid size, stretchy earwarmer band to protect his ears. The Doggie helmet is only good for pictures. The seat back is bolted in and I remove the seat bottom for rides with Herc. I stick a 2" foam pad under the carpet where the seat bottom was.It seems like a lot of folks start off on a leash and get a better restraint after an incident or close call. Hercules is my 3rd sidecar dog, but he is the only one I needed a harness for. The first was a 40# Lab/SharPei mix (Asia) that didn't need any restraint at all. If the motor was running, you couldn't pry her out of the sidecar! My son and I left her behind once; she escaped the house before were were out of earshot and caught up with us at a stoplight. You had to kill the motor, take your helmet and gloves off, put her on a leash and then convince her you were really walking away before she'd get out of the rig. Asia went off to college with my daughter about the same time I took in my Mom's middle-aged Shephard/Chow mix. Smokey liked to ride along and I had a leash on in case she spotted a cat. When we were underway she'd curl up in the nose area. Hercules is another story. He never lies down. Even on 300 mile rides, he stays alert with nose to the wind. According to a friend who followed me down a twisty road, he even gets set-up to lean against the turn before we get there. There are a few pictures of Herc's harness and head gear here: http://tiny.cc/sidecardog

I'm starting to get my basset, Koda, used to riding with me. I found that removing the s/c seat and laying in his bed was more comfortable and secure.
Have Doggles and chest harness anchored to floor of car. Tried facing him forward but ears would fly above 35 MPH (quite a sight). Now he rides backwards and can more easily rest his head on rear part of s/c but usually just lays down.
Looking forward to Lake Berryessa gathering May 30.
Howard Gilbert, Napa, CA
'74 Moto Guzzi Eldorado & '72 Jawa/Velorex 560