Dog car travel: seat covers, restraints and the law

Most people buy a dog seat cover to protect the upholstery. It is the wrong reason, and it leads to the wrong purchase. The upholstery is the least important thing in the car.

An unrestrained dog in a 30mph collision is thrown forward with a force of roughly thirty times its own body weight. A 20kg spaniel becomes a 600kg projectile. It will not survive, and neither, quite possibly, will the person in the seat in front of it.

This guide covers how to carry a dog in a car in the UK safely, legally, and without your insurer having anything to say about it.

What the law actually says

Rule 57 of the Highway Code: when in a vehicle, make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves, if you stop quickly.

Two things follow from that, and most owners know neither.

Breaking Rule 57 is not directly a criminal offence, but it gets you prosecuted anyway

Rule 57 uses the word "should", so it is advisory rather than a standalone offence. What happens in practice is that an unrestrained dog becomes the evidence for a careless driving charge, which carries a fine of up to £5,000, up to nine penalty points, and in serious cases a driving ban. The police do not need Rule 57 to be an offence in itself. They only need to show you were not in proper control.

Your insurer may refuse the claim

This is the part that catches people. A great many motor policies require you to comply with the Highway Code. If you have an accident with an unrestrained dog in the car, an insurer has a plausible route to reducing or refusing the payout, on the basis that you were not driving with due care.

The four ways to restrain a dog

1. A crate in the boot

The safest option, comfortably. A properly secured crate contains the dog in a collision, prevents them escaping into traffic afterwards, and stops them distracting you en route. It is also the calmest option for most dogs, because an enclosed space in a moving vehicle is reassuring rather than alarming.

Look for: a crash-tested car crate if the budget allows. Many boot crates are not tested at all. The distinction matters far more than the price.
Weakness: takes up the whole boot, and does not fit every car.

2. A boot guard or dog guard

A barrier between the boot and the cabin. Stops your dog climbing into the back seats and stops them being thrown into the passengers.

Important: a boot guard is not a restraint. It keeps the dog out of the cabin. It does not stop them being thrown against the guard itself at thirty times their body weight. Use it in combination with something else, not instead of.

Look for: a model made for your specific car, not a universal one. Universal guards flex, and a flexing guard is a guard a dog goes through.

3. A car harness and seatbelt tether

The most practical option for most people and most cars. A harness designed for the car, clipped into the seatbelt buckle or looped through the belt.

This is also where the market is at its worst. Most car harnesses sold in the UK have never been crash tested. They are walking harnesses with a metal loop sewn on and a picture of a car on the packaging.

Look for: an explicit statement that the harness has been crash tested, ideally to a recognised standard. If the listing does not mention testing anywhere, assume it has not been tested.
Never: attach a tether to a collar. In a collision it will break your dog's neck. Harness only, always.

4. A booster seat or carrier for small dogs

For dogs under about 10kg. A raised, contained seat that clips into the seatbelt, with an internal tether that clips to the harness.

Weakness: the tether is only as good as the harness on the other end of it, and many booster seats are not tested as a system.

Seat covers, and what they are actually for

Now the upholstery. A seat cover protects the car from hair, mud, drool and claw marks. It is a convenience product, not a safety product, and it should never be bought as an alternative to a restraint.

Two designs dominate:

Hammock covers

Slung between the front and rear headrests, forming a hammock across the rear footwell. The dog sits in a fabric bathtub and cannot fall into the footwell in a heavy brake.

Best for: most dogs, most cars. This is what we would buy.
Check: that it has openings for the seatbelt buckles, so you can still clip a harness tether through. A hammock with no belt openings forces you to choose between the cover and the restraint, which is a design failure and there are plenty without it.

Bench covers

A flat cover over the seat only, no hammock sides.

Best for: small dogs, or where passengers still need to use the rear seats regularly.
Weakness: a dog can slide into the footwell.

Boot liners

A fitted waterproof tray liner with raised bumper flaps. If your dog travels in the boot, this is what you want, and the bumper flap is the bit people forget. It protects the paintwork from claws when they jump in and out, which is where the real damage happens.

What to look for in any cover

• Genuinely waterproof, not water resistant. A wet dog after a beach walk will find the difference.
• Non-slip backing. A cover that slides around is a cover your dog will not settle on.
• Anchors and straps. Headrest straps plus seat anchors. Straps alone will not hold it.
• Machine washable. It will need it more than you think.
• Seatbelt openings. Non-negotiable, for the reason above.

Car sickness and anxiety

Roughly one in five dogs experiences some travel sickness, and it is far more common in puppies than adults. Most grow out of it.

• Do not feed for two to three hours before travelling. The single most effective thing you can do.
• Face them forwards. Sideways travel makes nausea worse, for the same reason it does in humans.
• Ventilate. Fresh air, and keep the cabin cool.
• Build up slowly. If your dog panics, the answer is not a longer journey. Start with sitting in a stationary car with the engine off, then the engine on, then a two-minute drive. Rushing this cements the fear.
• Give them something to do. A lick mat or a stuffed chew during short practice sessions changes the car from a threat into a place good things happen.
• Speak to your vet if it persists. There are effective prescription medications for genuine motion sickness, and it is not something a dog should simply have to endure.

Common questions

Is it illegal to drive with a dog on my lap?

You will not be charged under Rule 57 as such, but a dog on your lap is close to an open invitation to a careless driving charge, and would be very hard to defend. Do not do it.

Can I leave my dog in the car?

Not in warm weather. A car at 22 degrees outside reaches over 47 degrees inside within an hour, and dogs cool themselves far less efficiently than people. A cracked window makes almost no difference. If it is warm, the dog comes with you or stays at home.

Do I need a crash-tested harness, or is any harness fine?

Any restraint is better than none. But an untested harness may fail at exactly the moment it matters, and the failure mode is your dog leaving the seat at speed. If you are going to spend money on one thing in this article, spend it here.

Boot or back seat?

The boot, with a crate or a guard plus restraint, is safer for the dog and for you. The back seat with a crash-tested harness is a good second. The front seat is last, and only with the airbag off.

What we would do

Restrain first, protect the seats second. A crash-tested harness clipped to the seatbelt on the rear bench, or a secured crate in the boot. Then a waterproof hammock cover with seatbelt openings and a non-slip backing over the top. Do not feed before a journey. Build up long trips gradually.

The seats are replaceable. Nothing else in the car is.