How Dog Seat Belts or Pet Car Seats Provide Pet Travel Safety

There are three major reasons why dogs should wear dog seat belts or ride in pet car seats, or why cats should be secured in a pet carrier, when they ride in the car. The first is for their safety. The second is for your safety. Ant the third is for the safety of the other passengers.

When I go to a place where I don't have to leave my dogs in the car or places where dog are allowed, Sephi and Maya must go with me – and they must wear their dog seat belts. Drive-through banks or fast food places, park, pet store, or visit to a friend's house are great places to take my best girls. And as my best girls, their safety is important to me. Pet travel safety should be important to everyone. It's not just for your dog's safety, but your own safety and the safety of others as well.

The most obvious reason dogs should wear dog seat belts or ride in pet car seats is for their own safety. Something as simple as a fast stop or swerving to avoid an accident can toss your dog around and cause him injury. If your dog is hanging out the window, the injuries could be worse.

Your dog may enjoy hanging his head out the window or he may hate wearing dog seatbelts or sitting in pet car seats, but as responsible caretakers we must make small sacrifices for pet travel safety. Dogs can get used to wearing dog seat belts or riding in pet car seats. They may even come to enjoy their pet travel safety devices like my dogs do. And with some dog seat belts, the connecting strap is longer and allows for a little more maneuverability.

If you think cell phones are a distraction, a dog can be even more so. Without their dog seat belts, Sephi and Maya would be very distracting. Sephi would have her front paws on the center console and be panting in my ear. Maya would be jumping back and forth between the front and back seats. With pet travel safety in mind for the driver, dogs wearing their dog seat belts or riding in their pet car seats are confined safety in the back seat. Some pet car seats allow dogs to ride in the front seats, but beware of the air bags. Airbags are not pet travel safety devices.

Imagine if you and a passenger were in a major wreck where your dog was sitting in the back seat without his pet travel safety device on. No matter how small or how big the dog is, the dog could fly forward with tremendous impact. And if the dog is directly behind you or the passenger, imagine what that dog could do to you. The impact could kill not only the dog, but you or the passenger as well. With pet travel safety devices such as dog seat belts or pet car seats, your dog is safety restrained and won't become a dangerous projectile.

Pet travel safety products for dogs who won't wear dog seat belts or ride in pet car seats include pet barriers and pet kennels. Pet kennels can be made even safer by being strapped in with a kennel restraint pet travel safety device. A pet in a kennel and strapped in with kennel restraints is just as safe for your pet as dog car seat belts. This is also a great pet travel safety device for a cat.

A pet barrier pet travel safety device will not keep your dog from being tossed around, but it will keep him from becoming a dangerous projectile to the driver and front passenger. It will also keep him from being a distraction to the driver. Some protection is better than none. So if your dog won't tolerate dog seat belts or pet car seats, consider other pet travel safety devices such as a pet kennel or pet barrier.

Types of pet barriers include canvas pet barriers which attach between the seats, pet nets, and metal pet barriers.

Dog seat belts and pet car seats are becoming more and more common. You can get them at pet stores or online. Even regular department stores are starting to carry great pet travel safety products. Dogs can still enjoy a car ride with their dog seat belts on. And little dogs can enjoy looking out the window if they are strapped safely in to their pet car seats. Practice pet travel safety for your beloved pets.