For a quick and easy solution to getting your pup to stay put in the car, one of the best options is a dog seat belt. These are simple straps that either clip into your existing car seat belt receivers or attach to the latch bar inside the seat and then clip your dog’s harness or collar as a normal leash would. These can be used alongside the options above for extra safety or alone to ensure your dog doesn’t roam around too much or get seriously injured in a crash.
There are a few different styles of these according to your needs and we’ve picked an example from a handful of categories to fully illustrate your options.
Keep yourself and your dog safe with the simple application of our picks for the best dog seat belt.
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1. Kurgo Dog Seat Belt Pet Safety Tether
Pros:- Carabiner attachment allows for connection options
- Adjustable from 15 to 22 inches
- Lifetime warranty
Cons:- Only available in two colors
- Not recommended for Volvo vehicles or Ford trucks
- Carabiner may possibly be too large for some harnesses and collars
Typical of Kurgo offerings, you only get a couple colorway options, but you also get a lifetime warranty.
I rely on a variety of Kurgo products with my crew of three 60-plus-pound dogs, including their zipline and their Backseat Pet Barrier, which I discussed in this post. Two of my dogs wear Kurgo collars daily, as well. I’ve had good luck with their gear.
To that end, if your dog wears a harness everywhere they go and you’re already using a leash along the lines of a Ruffwear Knot-a-Leash, you might prefer that style of attachment to the more-common lobster claw. Kurgo makes a great example of such a device, with a strong, double-stitched seat belt terminating in one of their durable carabiners. It’s designed to be used with their Kurgo Tru-Fit Crash Tested Harness, but I’ve used this to great effect with both a Ruffwear Front Range and an Embark Dog Harness.
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2. Leash Boss Dog Seat Belt Restraint
Pros:- Nylon-coated steel rope is far more resistant to dog chewing
- Available in five different sizes
- Attaches to latch bar
Cons:- Not adjustable
- Though more secure, attachment to the latch bar is less convenient
- No give in this material at all
Like Kurgo and Blueberry Pet, we’ve recommended Leash Boss before on our best dog leashes list. In this case, their dog seat belt offering provides two advantages over the others on this list. First, this doesn’t use your standard seat belt receiver and instead attaches via a threaded carabiner to the latch bar built into your car’s seat. This means that your dog can’t accidentally step on the button to release their seat belt while driving. You also needn’t worry about compatibility with your car as all cars are legally required to have latch bars.
Second, rather than being made of nylon, which dogs can chew through, this is made of coated steel rope. It’s much less likely that your dog will chew through these. As a result of their construction, you’ll definitely want to clip this to a harness rather than a collar, because there is no give whatsoever in this option. Fortunately, it’s available in five sizes from 16 to 36 inches, so you can custom-fit it to your dog.
An alternative to this might be this option from Mighty Paw which combines the latch bar idea with an easier to use standard carabiner and a traditional adjustable nylon strap which is, of course, not chewproof.
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3. Blueberry Pet Solid Color Dog Seat Belt
Pros:- Stout nylon strap
- Adjustable from 16.5 to 25.5 inches
- Variety of color options
Cons:- Not all color options available at the time of this writing
- Might be too long for the smallest dogs
- Adjustment setting may slide at times
We have heartily recommended Blueberry Pet products several times before, including their excellent embroidered collars. They also have an offering in the dog seat belt market that takes after their standard nylon leashes and collars. In fact, you can buy all three and have a set in the same color.
Aside from their sturdy construction and popularity, that would be the primary reason for opting for this particular option. At the time of this writing, their dog seat belt is available in Blazing Yellow, Dark Orchid, Emerald, Florence Orange, French Pink, Medium Turquoise, Mint Blue, Neon Green and Royal Blue. If you were looking to coordinate a whole set or if you already have one of their items in these colors, this is the one for you.
They also make a patterned, reflective version, if you prefer.
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4. Mudder Bungee Dog Seat Belt
Pros:- Adjustable from 21 to 31 inches
- Bungee section allows your dog to whether bumps without yanking them
- Durable materials
Cons:- Some dogs will chew through it
- Almost certainly too long for smaller dogs
- No color options
Speaking of bungees, if that’s a feature you’re looking for, you’ll want to have a peek at this offering from Mudder. It’s quite long, so you’ll want to use this on medium dogs or larger; with the bungee fully extended, it measures 36 inches. That’s five inches of shock absorption that can smooth out the ride when you’re in stop and go traffic.
This also upgrades the lobster clip hardware that attaches to your dog’s collar, going for a rustproof powder-coated option compared to the silver ones above. The length adjustment also stays in place better than those, though this also may be less of a problem with the bungee soaking up some of the pulling power of your pup.
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5. Vastar Adjustable Dog Set Belt Two Pack
Pros:- Inexpensive
- Adjustable from 19 to 32 inches
- Multiple color choices
Cons:- Adjustment mechanism doesn’t hold in place particularly well
- Might be too long for the smallest dogs
- No additional features
The advantage to these is that the straps are just a touch more robust and you get to choose your colors. Choose from among the following: black, blue, green, orange, pink, or red. These are longer, as well, both at the shortest length (a little over 19 inches) and the longest (a little over 32 inches). They still suffer from the same issue that the YuCool did in that they’re probably too long for smaller dogs and the adjustment mechanism doesn’t hold as well as it could. Nevertheless, they’re plenty popular and are worth your consideration.
A newer version is also available, which adds a bungee for shock absorption.
Dog containment when driving is a priority for most dog owners. The reasons are obvious and two-fold.
First and most obviously, your dog could be seriously injured or killed in the event of a collision. Of course, they can't use the seat belts built into the car without an additional apparatus to make that possible, so they're much less likely to be safely secured compared to human passengers.
Second, dogs don't realize that they could very well be the cause of the accident that injures both you. Most dogs are interested in everything, and have a deep need to sniff, bark at, or at least see everything that goes by out the window. If they aren't somehow contained to one area, this could mean trying to leap into your lap when a dog goes by in another car.
To that end, you'll probably want a multi-pronged approach to keeping them safe. For big dogs, this might mean a pet barrier that confines them either to the back seat or the cargo area. For smaller dogs, it might mean a dog car seat. Of course, you could always go the dog crate route, but that is usually best reserved for longer trips.
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