Safety
“In a car collision or a hard-braking stop, an unrestrained pet can become a projectile,” says Nicole Ellis, a certified pet trainer and product expert at dog-sitting site Rover. “This can lead to them injuring themselves and people in the car.” Seat belts and human car seats prevent people from getting injured during an accident by safely restraining them in place, and the best car seats for dogs (typically harnesses or crates) do the same thing. As with human car seats, your best bet is to invest in something that has been rigorously crash-tested. “It’s imperative for pet owners to understand that there are two types of pet-travel products,” explains Lindsey A. Wolko, the founder of the Center for Pet Safety, an independent organization that does dog-equipment crash tests at 30 mph. The cheaper and more commonly purchased products are primarily designed for comfort. But the safest types of car seats, crates, and harnesses are designed with crashes in mind. To give your pooch the best possible chance of surviving an accident, should one occur, we’ve prioritized products that have passed the CPS’s crash tests and listed their specific safety standards. “If it’s not crash-tested, there’s no proof it will hold out in the event of an accident,” says Harris.
