Pet Auto Safety

Imagine your best little friend riding at your side without being a distraction. The window is down, the breeze is flowing in, and your dog’s nose is to the wind. If you have a pet 30 pounds or less, then he can greatly benefit from a pet carseat. Safety is an obvious benefit and there are two aspects of safety to consider. Plus, there are two other benefits of dog car seats.

SAFETY
The first safety aspect of a pet carseat is that your dog is tethered in and can’t distract the driver. The second aspect is that since your dog is tethered in, he won’t fly forward into the dash or onto the floor in a sudden stop.

Most dog car seats come with a tether. The tether is to be attached to your pet’s harness, not his collar. For ultimate safety, use a dog car harness in conjunction with the safety seat instead of a regular walking harness.

The Sleepypods do not have tethers but this is because your dog (or even your cat) is enclosed inside of it. This pet carseat is then secured in the vehicle with the safety belt of the vehicle. Sleepypods have also had crash testing.

Important note regarding pets riding in the front:  Front passenger side airbags are not safe for dogs. Some airbags are designed to always deploy in the event of a front or rear end car accident while others will not deploy if there is not enough weight in the seat. So be sure to check your vehicle specifications regarding how the airbags work.

COMFORT
With all the turning and stopping you have to do, wouldn’t it be a more comfortable ride for your little dog if he didn’t have to continuously brace himself? Imagine making a quick stop, and instead of your pet sliding off onto the floor, he slides forward into the partition of his safety seat instead. The Snoozer and Lookouts have the most cushioning.

GIVE A BOOST
Some pet safety booster seats allow your furry friend to look out the car window. Sometimes, being able to see out the window can help with car sickness. Looking out the window is also a fun activity. Keep your pal entertained so that he doesn’t pester you.

Most dog car seats are for small dogs, 30 pounds and under. But there is at least one for larger dogs and that is the Full Bench Lookout Perch from Snoozer. Snoozer has a number of other different styles for smaller dogs, including the Lookout series and console seats. Sleepypods are for smaller dogs and even cats. There is also the Skybox and other booster seats from Kurgo. Check them all out and keep your best friend safe in the car.

This is Emma, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, in her Lookout pet car seat from Snoozer. The Lookout line from Snoozer includes several sized car seats for dogs. Emma is in the medium sized Lookout but there are also really small sizes such as the console pet car seats, and a larger size, the My Buddy. There are also the bench seats which are designed for larger dogs. Besides the various sizes and styles, here are more reasons to love Snoozer:

Fashionable
These car seats for dogs come in various designer fabrics. There are five vinyl colors. Some people really like the vinyl because they are easy to wipe clean and do not absorb dirt like the fabric colors do. But some people like the fabric ones because the covers can be removed and are easier to wash in a washing machine. Plus the fabric ones come in seven designer colors.

Safety
All the Lookouts, My Buddy, bench seats, and console seats can be strapped into your car and they come with a tether so that you can clip it onto your dog’s harness for security (do not clip onto your dog’s collar as this could cause choking in a sudden stop).

Comfortable
The Snoozer pet car seats are the most comfortable pet seats available. They have a 2.5 inch foam padding. This padding is on the bottom and the sides. The interior of the Snoozer car seats for dogs have lamb wool lining. This is great for both comfort and warmth. So if you are traveling with your dog this winter, help him be comfortable, safe, and warm with one of these fashionable pet car seats.

We have a couple of My Buddys in vinyl design on sale. Plus, you can use discount code petfriend to get an additional 10% off! The discount code is all one word and all lowercase.

Have a safe and happy 2013 with your pet!

Click on this image to get to our website. Then click on the image of the website to choose from various fashionable colors.

We are proud to introduce the new Sleepypod pet car seats. This car seat for dogs is perfect for your small furry friend, including cats. It comes in two styles and a variety of colors. But the best part is that it has been crash tested!

The Sleepypod can be used in the car, used in the home as a pet bed, or carried on your shoulder. The Sleepypod air can even be used on an airline (check airline for regulations). The Sleepypod can be safely used with or without a bedliner. Purchase the bedliner separately, or feel free to save a few bucks and just put your dog’s blanket inside.

This product is so well-made and pretty that it makes me wish I had a small dog to use it for. Do you have a small dog? Do you think he or she would like the comfortable and safe Sleepypod pet car seat?

Also choose various colors of the Sleepypod Air.

You can keep your dog safe in the car while at the same time making him/her look like a King or Queen with the Queenstown pet car booster seat from Kurgo. Your dog can relax like royalty while you act as his chauffeur!

The blue and brown Queenstown pet car booster seat is the same design as the orange and brown Skybox dog car seat and they are both from Kurgo. Since both these pet car booster seat styles are made by Kurgo, they both have the same safety features and the same lifetime guarantee.

Safety Features:
- Allows your dog to see out the window without allowing him to put his head out the window.
- Allows your dog to be close by without being a distraction to the driver.
- No weight in the seat means airbags will not harm your dog.
- Strong tether included with the dog car booster seat will keep your pet in the seat.
* Do not attach the tether to your dog’s collar. Attach to a vehicle-safe harness such as the Kurgo Tru-Fit dog car harness (also has a lifetime guarantee).

Lifetime Guarantee:
If your dog chews the dog car seat, soils it, or just wears down the material from excessive use, you can get the Queenstown pet car booster seat repaired or replaced for just $10 plus shipping.

This great dog car seat has additional quality features. It is machine washable, collapses for easy storage, and is secured to the seat of your car with relative ease. You know your dog is the real ruler of the house. Protect him while making him feels special at the same!

Emma in her Lookout Deluxe Car Seat for Dogs

Taking your dog on a road trip this spring? Help make their long car travel more comfortable with fashionable and comfortable car seats for dogs from Lookout. The company which makes the Lookout pet car seat has been around for 25 years. Their pet seats have been safety tested and the company is continuously working to improve the design for safety and customer satisfaction.

Fashion
We have five sizes to fit your needs and each of these sizes comes in 1 of 15 colors. Perhaps choose the small console pet car seat in baby pink or hot pink vinyl for 7lb or under dogs, the larger console pet seat in grey quilt for 12lb or under dogs, the small Lookout in azure plaid for dogs 18lbs and under, the medium Lookout in denim for dogs 25lbs and under, or the My Buddy car seat for dogs 30lbs and under. Other colors include black quilt or black vinyl, khaki quilt or khaki vinyl, grey quilt or grey vinyl, leopard quilt, and other plaid colors such as colonial, highland, blackwatch, and O’Donnell plaid.

Available Lookout Pet Car Seat Colors

Comfort
These car seats for dogs are very well padded for comfort. However, be aware that the added comfort may also add unnecessary warmth for warm weather. If you use a Lookout pet car seat, be sure your dog has plenty of cool air. You can even consider wrapping an ice pack and putting it in the seat to help your dog keep cool.

Safety
Dogs are protected in the Lookout car seats for dogs with an included tether. Clip the tether onto your dog’s harness, not on his collar. The console car seats are secured in your car with straps which wrap around the center console while the Lookouts and My Buddy are secured with the seat belt of your car. Be aware of airbags in the car. Airbags are not designed to protect dogs. If you are putting your pet car seat in front of an airbag, either disable the airbag or push the seat as far away from the airbag as possible.

My Buddy pet seats are on sale. A couple of them are discounted even more. Check out Pet Auto Safety for the various Lookout pet car seat colors and sizes as well as other car seats for dogs. Then feel free to email us with your opinion and pictures of your dog enjoying his.

In case of a car accident, airbags are a great safety device. Most cars nowadays have airbags for both the driver and the front passenger. But remember, airbags are made for adult people, not children or dogs. So if your dog rides in the car, be sure they are in an area that does not have airbags.

Most cars with passenger side airbags in the front seat only go off during a high impact car accident if there is someone sitting in that seat. Check with your car manufacturer to verify whether the passenger side airbags trigger automatically or only if there is a certain amount of weight in the seat. If your dog is a small dog, you may not need to worry about the airbag because the airbag sensor might not register anyone sitting in that seat. This is a safety feature that was set up to protect a child sitting in the front seat since you do not want the airbags to deploy for small children.

However, to be certain that the airbag does not deploy when your dog is in the front seat, check your car manual to see if the front passenger airbag can be disabled. If not, have your large dog ride in the back seat or have your small dog sit in a pet booster seat which hangs from the headrest of the seat rather than sits on the seat itself. With the pet booster seat hanging from the headrest, the airbag may not trigger since there is no weight in the seat. You can also push the seat as far back from the airbag as possible.

Visit ASPCA.org for some great pet car travel tips.  They advise several safety features for your dog including securing them in a well-ventilated pet carrier, not letting your dog stick his head out the window, and not leaving your dog unattended in the car.  These are lots of great tips for pet car travel, many of which we have also stressed.  Two differences:

1) The pet carrier should be secured in the car.  Kennel straps from Pet Buckle are a great way to do this.  The kennel straps from Pet Buckle have been crash tested.

2) If your dog doesn’t like to ride in a pet carrier, have him wear a dog car harness or ride in a pet car seat.  A dog car harness or pet car seat can provide as much safety for your dog as a pet carrier that has been secured in the car.

Visit the ASPCA.org for great pet car travel tips and other great advise on pet care.  Feel free to make a donation to help this non-profit organization fight animal cruelty.

The biggest and best pet car seat we have seen thus far is the My Buddy pet car seat from Snoozer.  Snoozer makes many great pet travel products including the Lookout pet car seat.  The My Buddy pet car seat is different from the Lookout pet car seat in that it is much bigger and it can hold two or more small pets.

As one of the biggest pet car seat brands, the My Buddy pet car seat can hold up to 30 pounds and it is about 30 inches by 17 inches on the outside and about 25 inches by 12 inches on the inside.  It gives pets a boost of about 7 inches and is a total of 19 inches tall.  Compare this to the Kyjen pet car seat which is about 15 x 15 inches square.  This is great for dogs who want to sit or lay down in a curled ball.  For multiple small dogs or a small dog who wants to stretch out, the My Buddy pet car seat may be best.

The My Buddy pet car seat is easily secured with the seat belt of the car.  And it comes with two connector straps so that two dogs can be secured in the pet car seat.  So the My Buddy pet car seat is not just for quality comfort, it is great for superior safety as well.

Perhaps you have heard of the pet brand, Outward Hound.  They make lots of great outdoor gear for dogs including dog backpacks, pet strollers, portable water bowls, and, of course, pet automobile gear.  Our favorite Outward Hound products are the pet car seats.  There are the standard small pet car seats and the larger and padded Kyjen pet car seats (Kyjen is the company who owns the Outward Hound brand).

The Outward Hound pet car seats provide three points of safety for your dog.  First, the pet car seats are secured with strong nylon straps.  The top straps hang from the headrest of the seat while the bottom straps wrap around the body of the seat.  These straps can be adjusted so that the pet car seats are secure.

Second, the Outward Hound pet car seats have a strap on the inside which can clip onto the back of your dog’s harness.  This strap will keep your dog from jumping or flying out of the pet car seats.

Third, since the Outward Hound pet car seats are hanging from the headrest of the car rather than sitting on the seat itself, the airbags will not deploy in that seat should you and your pet be involved in a car accident.  This is a good thing since you do not want the airbags where your dog is sitting to deploy.  Airbags are designed for adult humans, not children or pets.

As with all Outward Hound brands, the pet car seats are of quality make and design.  If your dog loves to ride in the car, they will enjoy the Outward Hound pet car seats and be safe at the same time.

The Hyper Dog
The hyper dog generally loves to ride in the car.  He wants to be everywhere at once.  This is how my dog Maya is in the car.  For her, I have her wear a dog seatbelt.  Her dog seatbelt has the strap extended so that she has some mobility.  The strap isn’t long enough to allow her to get in the front seat, but it is long enough for her to reach one of the windows.  I also have the Extend-A-Seat to cover the floor so that she has more room to move around and there is no danger of her getting thrown onto the floor in a sudden stop.

For the hyper dog you can also try a pet car barrier.  As stressed in the previous post, be careful because a determined dog may be able to circumvent a pet car barrier.

You may also be able to help a hyper dog by not just taking him to fun places like the dog park, but also taking him to boring places like the bank drive through.  Or just drive around the block and come back home.  Perhaps if your dog isn’t always going somewhere fun when he is in the car, he may become desensitized by car rides.  A good example of how desensitization works would be if you got out your dog’s leash often throughout the day but didn’t take him for a walk.  He would eventually realize that the leash does not mean getting to go for a walk.

Pet travel safety is important.  But so is your dog’s comfort.  Working with your dog by helping him be desensitized to car rides or helping him not be so anxious in the car can provide him with both comfort and safety.  Pet travel safety is provided by your dog not being a distraction to the driver.  A dog seatbelt, a car seat for dogs, or a pet car barrier can also help with both comfort and safety.