Dog seatbelts have to contend with two big problems: The first is the movement of the dog itself. This movement includes both moving away from where the seatbelt plugs into the car, as well as turning their head and body. These movements can easily cause the dog to put far more pressure on the seatbelt than they should. For this reason, dog seatbelts always have to be conscious of how they attach to a dog.
The second problem is the movement of the car. Humans take it for granted that when a car stops, they will rock forwards a bit. And when a car goes, you will lurch back a bit. Dogs do not have the sense of balance that humans do. That means that a dog seat belt has to be able to keep a dog from moving suddenly.
The PawSafe Dog Seatbelt is our pick because it accounts for both complex movement and sudden movement by the use of four different features in its design.
Crash Tested Tether
This might surprise you to learn, but less than 1% of dog seatbelts are crash tested. The PawSafe dog seatbelt has been. The result is a tether than is stretchy and able to adapt to a dog’s movements, while still responding to sudden stops and crashes by pulling taut to keep the dog from flying forwards.
Complex Materials
Made from a combination of nylon, cotton, and carbon, the PawSafe dog seatbelt is both stretchy and durable. It always returns to its original shape and does not wear out easily, meaning that no dog is going to chew through it or break it from pulling on it.
Swivel Head Clasp
A 360 degree clasp means that no matter how your dog moves, the leash will stay in the same relative spot. This means that it will never get tangled up in them in such a way that constricts their neck.
