booster seat for my dog
Driving around town, we see many people with dogs loose in the front seat, poking out the window of the back seat, and even in the laps of the driver. Although our dog Max has become quite skilled at “surfing” the center console of our car, I’m concerned about safety and have researched for a booster seat for my dog.
should i get a car seat for my dog?
Consider these features and questions as you consider a booster seat for your dog:
- Cost: Prices range from about $50 – $125. Less expensive models tend to be built of lower quality materials. Seats for smaller dogs will also be less than seats for larger dogs.
- Safety Tether: Most seats offer a safety tether that can be clipped to your dog’s harness so he is attached and secure if the event of sudden car movements.
- Assembly Required: Dog booster seats are relatively simple products, not requiring much assembly. Many are “ready to be installed” when you open the box and can just be fastened to your car seat belt.
- Easy to Install & Remove: Some models loop around the car seat headrest and hang (the Skybox Dog Booster Seat). Others require passing the car seat bench seat belt through a section of the booster seat. The Skybox approach may be easier to install and remove but there is not a significant difference.
- Removable Booster Pillow: Some seats offer a booster pillow that may be removed. When the pillow is in place, the dog is elevated so as to see out the window. Removing the pillow creates a lower seating position, within the walls of the booster seat, which may help to contain your dog or make them feel more secure and comfortable.
- Quality & Durability: Look to pay more for double stitching, brass zippers, thicker materials and other features of higher quality. If your dog scratches or chews, you probably want to avoid lower quality models unless you look at it as a short-term “throwaway” item.
- Deep Bucket Seating: As noted above, some models offer an ability to remove the elevated seating pillow so that there is a deep boxy “cavern” in which your dog can sit. If your dog is nervous in the car, this may help by making him feel surrounded and sheltered.
- Available Colors: You’ve got style 🙂 You probably want this booster seat to look nice in your car. Some models only offer black/grey/brown colors. Others are available in pink/red/navy/yellow and more.
- Sized for your Dog Breed: This is very important and hopefully obvious. You don’t want to get a booster seat that is sized for a Chihuahua for your Yellow Lab. Your dog must be able to fit in the seat. The booster seat companies have sizing guidelines on their websites.
- Easy to Wash: Some models feature alot of cloth/fuzzy surfaces that attract hair, fur, dirt. Check to see that they can easily be tossed in the washer machine. Other models have slick nylon surfaces that are easy to wipe clean.
- Ratings & Reviews: In our digital age it’s very easy to see customer reviews for dog booster seats. Many of these will be very vague, saying things like “very happy with this product”. Others can provide more specific and helpful information such as “my dog was nervous riding in our car but is calm in this booster due to the deep walls”
Review this table to compare features of popular dog booster seats
review of booster seats for dogs
| Skybox Dog Booster Seat | Snoozer Lookout 2 Car Seat | Pet Gear Large Car Booster | |
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| Price (as of date of publish) | $69.99 | $89.95 | $80 - $100 (look for sales) |
| Safety Tether | Yes | Yes | Yes (has 2 tethers) |
| Assembly Required? | No | No | No |
| Easy to Install/Remove | Yes Hangs on headrests of bucket seat |
Yes Car seat belt passes through back of booster |
Yes Easy to install using car seat belt passed through bottom of seat and fastened securely |
| Removable Booster Pillow | No | Yes | Yes Can remove for cleaning or to open up deeper area for seating |
| Quality/Durability | Simple nylon shell, removable soft liner would not do well with excessive scratching or chewing |
High quality: custom fabric, cedar shavings in poly fill, strong brass zippers | There have been some complaints about the quality of the cover material and some people seeing the coloring become worn and faded. |
| Deep Bucket Protected Seating | Yes | Yes | Yes Booster pillow can be removed to open up deeper interior of seat |
| Available Colors | black shell with orange inner liner | MANY black, java,grey,navy, chocolate,pink,red,yellow, butter,olive w/ paw prints/dog bone pattern,other patterns |
black, grey, tan |
| Best Fit for this Size Dog | Small - best for less than 20 lbs | Small: up to 18lbs Medium: up to 25 lbs Large: up to 34 lbs |
less than 25 lb dog (best for medium to small dogs) |
| Easy to wash (machine vs hand wash) | Yes hand wash or remove liner and machine wash |
Yes | Yes can remove top pillow to hand wash and can also machine wash |
| Free Shipping | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unique Aspects | - Hangs from headrest instead on resting on bench seat - Zippered side pockets for storage - For ONE dog, not suitable for 2 dogs - Made in China |
- Made in USA - Family owned Biz - A "Green" company: foam not treated with chemicals, no individual plastic wrapping - recyclable cardboard instead - Hidden storage drawer in base of unit great for treats, brush, water bottle, leash etc optional fuzzy faux lamb's wool interior |
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| Amazon Ratings (as of date of publish) | 4.5 out of 5 3,033 reviews |
4.6 out of 5 1,421 reviews |
4.4 out of 5 2,310 reviews |
| Customer Reviews | POSITIVE "My dog weighs about 20lbs and has a long body but fits quite nicely" "super sturdy and does not sag on the bottom or sides" "pockets on the outside is SO handy. I can keep a leash, some toys, collapsible bowl, baggie of food or treats and a water bottle." NEGATIVE "it is almost too small for my 17 lb. mini schnauzer. So beware of your size dog" "You get what you pay for. Side panels are a thin plastic insert covered by fabric. It would be ok if your dog sits still and never wants to see out. My 7 pounder knocked the "walls" down with no problem" |
POSITIVE "I can't recommend these products enough. It seems like a lot of money for a pet product, but if you take your dogs everywhere like I do, it makes total sense" "The drawer is a good size. It fits his leash and snacks. I need to see if a bottle of water will fit in there, too" "Perfect double car seat for two little dogs. One of my dogs is 12 1/2 pounds and the other is 7 pounds" NEGATIVE "Other reviewers have complained about the floppy sides of the seat, but nothing compares to what I've observed with my dog who only weighs 14lbs. The sides do not provide any support whatsoever." "The seat-belt connector is strange, maybe even flawed. I find that he still has enough leeway to jump out of this seat onto the car seat, but not enough pull to get to the front seat" "I ordered the largest size for our 30 lb dog. It is actually too wide to work with the seat belts." |
POSITIVE "Gets the job done -- made out of styrophome" "I love that this one seats my puppy high while it sits on the seat of my carseat and not hanging suspended halfway on the chair-back with those straps like the others." "a Lhasa-tese and weighs exactly 20 pounds. The car seat is a perfect size for him. He can lay down or sit up and he feels very secure because the seat doesn't rock or wiggle" NEGATIVE "dog sits up much too high on this Pet Gear seat it looks like more of a platform than a seat they sit deeper in the K&H booster and can't fall off" "The cushion dye comes off easily on your hands" "The clasp that hooks on to the tethered portion of the car seat got stuck in my Maltese's foot" |
This is a helpful study that looked at the crash performance of popular dog car seats