Travel Dog car seat

You’ve seen it, of course: an adorable, small dog either standing on her owner’s lap while her owner drives or with her front paws on the passenger-side door panel, nose blissfully out the open window and ears flapping in the wind. She loves it! She’s in heaven! She’s also really, really unsafe!!

If I’m describing you and your dog, believe me, I know you’re a terrific driver. Hey, I am too. But remember all those crazy drivers you shake your head at? At some point, one of them is going to hit you and when they do, your dog will suffer. In my last big accident, I was sideswiped at highway speed and spun into a concrete barrier so hard that, despite my seatbelt, the steering wheel bruised my chest. If a dog had been on my lap, she would either have been flattened between me and the steering wheel or she would have ricocheted around the car’s interior. In my current car, the airbag would have killed her (they deploy at about 200 mph!). And keep in mind you don’t have to crash at highway speed for your airbag to deploy — a frontal collision at only 20 mph may do it.

Other hazards? If your dog sees an irresistible squirrel, or another dog, she can be out of even a half-open window in a moment. A sudden swerve or bump can launch her out the window. And that open window is unsafe for reasons you may not have considered: a dog with her head out the window will get pelted in the eyes and face with grit, the wind will dry out and harm her eyes, and the joyous ear-flapping damages the blood vessels in her ears. Keep your windows closed, or just cracked, and use the A/C instead (and remember to disable your car’s electric windows with the child safety lock, so your dog doesn’t open a window, or close one on her own neck, by standing on the control).

So now you’re convinced that some kind of restraint is needed. What are your options? There are three options for small dogs: (1) a harness and strap that latches onto the car’s seatbelt structure, (2) a padded platform, strapped in with a seatbelt, with another strap that attaches to your dog’s harness, and (3) a carrier, strapped in with a seatbelt.

Please note that no matter what option you choose, your dog should ride in the back seat, not in the front passenger seat, for the same reason that parents don’t put their babies in the front seat: in an accident, your car’s airbag will injure or kill your dog. (Owners of the tiniest dogs do have the option to buy a car seat that straps to the console between the front seats.)