Unrestrained dogs in vehicles face severe injury risk in crashes and cause driver distraction, while poorly designed restraints create false security.
Dog car safety is a welfare issue with two dimensions: crash protection and journey comfort. Most dog owners believe their dog is adequately restrained when wearing a harness attached to a seatbelt — but independent crash testing shows that the majority of commercially available harnesses fail to prevent injurious forward movement in realistic crash conditions. Crates bolted to the vehicle floor or secured in cargo areas offer substantially better protection but are impractical for smaller vehicles. Motion sickness and travel anxiety compound the welfare picture — dogs who become nauseated or fearful on journeys can be progressively desensitised through careful habituation starting with very short trips in early life. Medication from a vet can manage motion sickness during this process.