Unrestrained dogs in vehicles are at serious risk of injury in accidents and pose dangers to other passengers, with welfare and legal implications.
Car safety for dogs encompasses both acute injury risk and travel anxiety welfare. Unrestrained dogs face severe injury in even minor collisions, with internal injuries and broken bones common. Dogs who experience car travel as stressful suffer for every journey throughout their lives. Combining crash-tested restraint with positive conditioning training from puppyhood addresses both safety and welfare simultaneously. Dogs that associate car travel with positive experiences tolerate journeys without distress, receiving the veterinary and social opportunities that car travel enables.