Dog Booster Seats

A booster seat solves two problems at once. It lifts a small dog high enough to see out of the window, which settles a great many anxious travellers, and it keeps them contained in one place instead of moving around the cabin while you are trying to drive. For a dog under about ten kilos it is usually the difference between a miserable car trip and a dog that falls asleep ten minutes in.

Why height changes the behaviour

A small dog on a flat seat sees upholstery. It has no idea where it is, where you are going, or why the world keeps moving. Raise it to window height and the motion outside starts to match what the inner ear is reporting, which is the same reason people feel better in the front seat than the back. Owners of dogs that whine or drool on every trip often find the problem largely disappears once the dog can see out.

Restraint is the part that matters

A booster is not a restraint on its own. Every model here has an internal tether, and it should clip to a properly fitted car harness rather than to a collar. A tether on a collar in a sudden stop does exactly what you would expect, and it is the single most common mistake with these seats. Check that the seat itself is anchored, usually by looping the vehicle seatbelt through the back and tightening it, and give it a firm shove before you set off.

Choosing between them

Portable folding boosters from around $53 pack down between trips and suit occasional travel. Padded and washable boosters from around $60 to $70 are the everyday choice, and washable matters more than it sounds once a dog has been carsick in one. Larger structured seats from around $91 to $125 suit two small dogs or a dog that likes to stretch out, and a couple of models double as a bed at the other end of the trip. Check the stated weight limit rather than assuming, and measure your back seat, because the bigger seats take up more of a bench than people expect.

The first few trips

Put the seat in the car and let the dog get in and out of it in the driveway with the engine off. Then do a short trip to somewhere good, not the vet. A dog whose first three experiences of the booster all ended somewhere unpleasant will fight it every time after that.

For dogs too large for a booster, a car seat cover or a hammock with a harness and seat belt tether is the safer setup.

Toy breeds get the most out of a booster, and it also spares their joints the repeated jump in and out. See Chihuahua supplies and Dachshund supplies for the rest of the breed-specific gear.