The Dog Seat Belt Blog

In this video, the dog Rocco voices his displeasure about wearing a dog seat belt. He looks really miserable doesn’t he?

For Rocco, I would recommend that his humans get him a dog car seat. I think that part of Rocco’s unhappiness is because just using a dog seat belt leaves him sitting too low to see out the window.

Also, I wonder how they introduced Rocco to his seat belt. Not all dogs will immediately take to wearing a dog safety belt or dog car harness. If Rocco is food or treat motivated, they should reward him for wearing the harness (without complaining!) so that he associates wearing it with a pleasurable thing. Positive reinforcement goes a long way in animal training.

Dogs and their owners frequently ride together in the owner’s car or truck. We humans buckle up for safety, but what about our dogs?

Using a dog seat belt is not something that most dog owners think about unless they’ve experienced an incident while riding with their dog. Here are many reasons why dog owners should use a dog seat belt or dog car harness to keep their dogs and themselves safe while traveling in a car or truck.

In the case of an accident, a quick turn or a sudden stop, your dog can become a missile and can kill or severely injure not only themselves, but also the people in the vehicle.

At the scene of an accident your dog may attack the very people trying to help you and your dog. Also, your dog could get out of the vehicle and run into traffic and could get hurt or killed, cause another accident, or run away.

A dog free to roam while you are driving can distract you, jump in your lap, block your vision or if small enough get under the pedals. Any of these things could cause an accident.

As I have seen, unrestrained dogs can and will jump out of a moving vehicle. A dog hurdling from a moving car or truck can be injured or killed.

A nervous or excited dog that is left in a parked car can dislodge the parking brake causing the car to roll into another car or person.

Dog seat belts protect your pet, yourself, and your passengers. So for the safety of your dog, yourself and your passengers, buckle up your dog.

PS Make sure you secure your dog placed in a seat that does not have airbags if the bags can’t be turned off as dogs can be killed or injured by deployed airbags.