Best Dog Car Harness & Safety Belts
We recently, got a little puppy from a rescue and as we use our car a lot, one of the thirst things we bought was a dog car harness. But being a puppy he is growing a lot and fast and also loves to chew on things, we can’t stop him growing but we are working on nibbling on things we don’t want him to. One of the best things after getting a dog car harness was to get an unchewable chain seat belt. Just like a chain lead which he can’t chew through either, we thought it would be great to get him a seat belt made of metal chain so that he can’t chew through that either.
With that, we’ve looked at some of the best dog car harnesses available online and on Amazon to see what we could get to keep our little guy safe whilst sat on the back seat of our car. We have tested harnesses that can be used whilst out walking as well as in the car and dog car harness that have been made specifically for transporting your dog around as safely as you can whilst strapped on to your rear seats.
Before we realised that we could get a chain belt clip, we bought extra seat belt clips which were made of nylon because we didn’t know we could get an unchewable belt clip. If you have an older dog or a puppy that doesn’t chew on things (lucky you), you can also buy a few dog seat belt clips just to have backups.
So, Why Should You Harness Your Dog In The Car?
In the United Kingdom, rule 58 states the following:
“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. A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars.”
This makes complete sense to us as a dog owner, keeping both your dog safe and you must be your priority. There are plenty of other options and alternatives to keeping them safe and restrained.
As mentioned above, there are alternatives to dog car harnesses, dog guards can keep your dog or pet in the boot space of your car. A dog cage means you can keep the dog on the front seat, rear seats or even in the boot of your car, just make sure it’s not too small for them.
How Do We Get A Dog Car Harness On Our Dog?
The best we have found, since he is a pup and new to all of this, is by using his favourite treats. It has to be their favourite! Showing our little dog the treat and making him stand up on all fours (which we have also taught him), means that we can place the harness around his head or underneath him (depending on type of harness). Once we have the first step done, we give him the treat and then show him another and continue with this process until the full dog car harness is on their body and set up to fit them well.
It’s better if they already know a few tricks or commands as you can tell them to stay still, stand up, lift up their paws one at a time if you’ve taught them this. The best trick is to teach them to not eat or chew their dog car harness.
What Is the Best Dog Car Harness?
We have reviewed 4 of the best we have seen online and tested them thoroughly with our little pup whilst driving around. Below you will find a summary of the best dog car harness reviews, how they compare and rank to each other and then their full reviews below that, starting with the best first.
Surprisingly, with the dog car harnesses, the cheapest and most affordable two are also the best car harnesses we tested.
The Clix is a well thought out security harness which has been made specifically for in car journeys. It’s a close call between this one and the no choke dog car harness by Ondoing because they both wrap and protect the dog very well. The Ondoing is cheaper and can also be used as a harness on walks which is an added bonus.
If you have more to spend, the FiE and Bergan are two decent options.
Rank | Buy | Title | Rating | Reflective | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Check price @ Amazon | Review of CLIX Car Safe Dog Harness | 4.4/5 | No | ££ | |
2 | Check price @ Amazon | Review of No Choke Ondoing Dog Car Harness | 4.4/5 | No | £ | |
3 | Check price @ Amazon | Review of FIE Adjustable Dog Car Harness | 4.6/5 | Yes | £££ | |
4 | Check price @ Amazon | Review of Bergan Complete Dog Car Harness System | 4.1/5 | No | ££££ |
Review of CLIX Car Safe Dog Harness
This is a review of the Clix Car Safe Harness, a multipurpose quick fit harness read on for our experience with this harness.
Technical DetailsWaterproofYesStretchyYesReflectiveNoRating4.4/5Price££WarrantyNoVehiclecarsuvtruckvanMaterialneoprenepaddedBrandClixCategorydogNumber of seats0 seatsDimensions30.5 x 5.1 x 16.5 cmWeight209 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryYesStar rating
Fit
The front padded chest guard and under straps allow for a comfortable yet secure fit for your travelling companion. My favourite part to this harness is the design as it does not require your dog to step into it, with its double sided buckles it goes over your dogs head and is clipped either side with the buckles. Therefore whether your dog is a chilled, nervous, hyperactive or crazy little pup, this harness should work for many personalities. The harness also comes with two methods of securing the harness in the car, either straight into the seat belt buckle or around the seat belt strap, personally I feel securing your dog into the seat belt buckle provides extra security and will make sure your dog has restricted movement if an accident were to occur. This should also stop it from chewing on the car seat belt if it’s still biting and chewing things around the house.
Harness strength
You can really feel the robust nature to the material of the harness it is a strong soft neoprene fabric that also has some give to it,allowing some stretch. The harness straps are wide and not appear to be easily torn, nibbled at or frayed. There is little adjustment to the straps of the harness so I would recommending measuring your dog first but there is a choice of size options available. Pros
- Criss cross design that provides secure fitting for your dog
- Comes in 4 different sizes
- Made from safety standard approved seat belt material
- Your dog doesn’t need to put their legs into it making it easier to put on
- Allows dog to sit and lie down as well as being securely fastened
- Increased safety as your dog can be fastened to the seat belt buckle
- Spaniel and escape artist dog breed proof
- Strong sturdy but stretchy material
Cons
- Lack of size adjustment, worth measuring your dog prior to purchase
- Not suitable for Volvo or Saab cars
Verdict
Your dog is in safe hands with this car harness you can tell it has been lovingly designed by a dog owner wanting both safety and a comfortable car ride for his dogs, not only strong but easy to use. Make sure you measure your pup before purchasing!
Review of No Choke Ondoing Dog Car Harness
A cheaper dog car harness that we have tested with our little cocker spaniel/cross pup. We were after something that wasn’t too expensive as he is still growing as we will have to buy him a bigger one in a few months.
Technical DetailsWaterproofYesStretchyNoReflectiveNoClips4Rating4.4/5Price£WarrantyNoMaterialnylonpolyesterBrandOndoingNumber of seats0 seatsDimensions24 x 20 x 2.4 cmWeight141 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryNoStar rating
This test is based on a medium size dog car harness by Ondoing. Our little pup is approx 12kg in weight and 6 months old. So we’re testing the medium as this fits him the best, it’s actually in the small to medium setting of this medium sized harness (if that makes any sense), so hopefully it should last a couple of months at least and he can grow a bit more and get some good use out of it.
First impressions are that this is a strong and well made product. It is made of a thick durable 600D oxford fabric and looks comfortable. We want it to be comfortable for him when we’re travelling as we do frequent and long journeys visiting family, friends and going on adventures with him.
If you have a smaller dog than ours, the harness may be a bit bulky on your dog and it may not find it that comfortable. It is because there is a lot of material on it and 4 harness points where you clip in the buckles.
It comes with a thick metal D ring on the back of the harness which you can attach any dog seat belt to and even use it out of the the car when on walks and hiking too. Just swap out the dog seat belt and attach your dog lead, voila.
We struggle every now and then to fit his harness as he gets excited and having 4 buckles is slightly harder than 2. It’s not the harnesses problem, it’s just that our little pup moves around and gets excited when he knows he’s off on a big walk. The saving grace with this is that the clips are all at the top of the harness, on the back of the dog so aren’t out of the way and we can see at least, where we are clipping them in to.
There is a random little velcro slogan on the back, saying ‘I <3 Boss’, we have just taken that off as it will only get lost out on a walk anyway and we don’t want to litter.
What we really like about this dog car harness is that it has a full front, stomach protective fabric. It isn’t just webbing or straps that wrap around the dogs body, this is much safer in our opinion as it holds the full weight of the dog across it’s body rather than just at a couple of small points, in turn, spreading the energy of a crash, if it were to happen.Pros
- Solid, sturdy design, definitely protect your dog in the car when attached with a seat belt clip
- Looks good
- Waterproof, so when out and about on adventures and walks, he can run through puddles and it won’t soak the water up, it sort of splashes off
- Cheap dog harness
- Can be used in the car as a security feature to protect your dog when driving about or out on walks too
Cons
- Can be bulky and uncomfortable for smaller dogs as it has thick material and there is a lot to it (loads of plastic and 4 buckles)
- Sizing can be a bit off, we got a medium for our cocker spaniel cross puppy and he has room to grow in it
Verdict
A great cheap dog car harness which looks like it will definitely keep your dog secure and safe in the vehicle. Also can be used out and about too, not just for in the car, we really like it.
Review of FIE Adjustable Dog Car Harness
This is the review of the FIE (Fits Into Everyway) adjustable dog car harness, which we have tested on our little cocker spaniel cross pup (coming on to 7 months now) for use in the car and out hiking.
Technical DetailsWaterproofYesStretchyNoReflectiveYesClips2Rating4.6/5Price£££WarrantyNoVehiclecarsuvtruckvanMaterialnylonBrandFIENumber of seats0 seatsDimensions23.8 x 22 x 2.8 cmWeight259 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryYesStar rating
We were after something we could use in the car and put him on the back seat if we had our boot full and that could also be used out of the car as well, so a multi functional dog harness.
When we received the item, the first thing we would like to mention is that the product advertises a metal d-ring on the top and o-ring on the bottom. Our harness came with a plastic d-ring on top and a metal o-ring on the bottom. We weren’t too happy with this but thought we’d test it out first to see how well it does and to see if it doesn’t snap, as it would be absolutely useless without a working lead attachment.
To fix this issue though, we used a carabiner, they don’t cost much and you can use them for a number of things around the home, including replacing your dogs d-ring on their harness. Just attach the carabiner through the webbing/nylon on the top of the harness and you’ll be good to go.
As you can see above, the d-ring attached to the harness if where you can attach your dog to the seat belt clip or to your lead as you are walking it. This needs to be extra strong, no matter the size or strength of your dog so that it can protect it in case you have an accident whilst your dog is on the seats. Ours actually held up really well, even though it is plastic, it definitely holds strong and our 12kg 7 month old cocker cross hasn’t snapped it yet.
If you don’t wish to use this, you do have a back up, the hand hold grip which sits behind the d-ring can also be used on the lead or seat belt clip and is just as strong, if not stronger than the plastic d-ring. We tested both and both held up fine, we don’t know what it would be like with a bigger dog though, as ours is on the small scale.
Extra Reflective Safety
Although it doesn’t help inside the car when strapped in on a seat, the reflective tape around the seams is a nice bonus. If we walk him out on the hills after sunset and when it’s dark, we usually have headlamps and torches on us, so this way we can see him as his harness (as well as his eyes) will reflect the light we’re using to help us see. We usually have either a glow in the dark cord or a light for his back, but if we forgot either of these then the reflective tape definitely helps. This is also a nice safety feature for when we are walking him on or next to a road and its dark too.
Feel and Sizing
The harness definitely feels very strong and durable, we are super impressed with how it looks, it probably wins on styling out of the others we have tested and also feels comfortable to touch as well. It is pretty light and has a nice spongey area on the front for the dogs chest and belly.
One thing we are worried about is how well it will hold a dog comfortably and safely whilst in the car. Although it is a solid and great fitting dog harness, I’m not sure it is the best dog car harness, why? Well, the front chest, belly area does not cover that much of the dog. It’s been made as a slimline, lightweight and durable dog harness and it does that job great, if you imagine your dog moving forward though in a car accident, you want as much material as possible holding your dog on the seat, which this harness, does not have.
Because this is a pull over the head harness, which you then strap around his chest/belly area, you may find it safer if once pulled over their head, to tighten the front loop of the harness which goes around their neck. This will stop your dog from reversing or walking backwards out of the harness if they are on their lead and you are walking forwards.Pros
- Harness can be used in a car and outside whilst hiking
- Looks great, one of the most styling we have tested and used with our pup
- Very sturdy, has a grab handle on the back and also a reflective strips for extra visibility
- Great in and out of water, dries off quickly
- Seems like it will last a very long time, hopefully our dog doesn’t continue growing so much and so fast
Cons
- D-ring is plastic and not metal like advertised, we fixed this by buying some carabiners
- Dog can get out of it by walking backwards if we don’t make the front of the harness fit properly once its on
Verdict
A great looking and very solidly built dog harness, not perfect for a dog car harness unless you upgrade the d-ring to a metal one, but once that is done or if you have a smaller dog, it is perfect for inside and outside a car.
Review of Bergan Complete Dog Car Harness System
This is a review of the Bergan Dog Car Harness System that comes in four different sizes and aims to provide you with the knowledge your dog is travelling safely and comfortably.
Technical DetailsWaterproofNoStretchyYesReflectiveNoRating4.1/5Price££££WarrantyNoVehiclecarsuvtruckvanBrandBerganCategorydogNumber of seats0 seatsDimensions7.6 x 14 x 22.2 cmWeight204 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryYesStar rating
Fit
Fitting the Bergan dog car harness does require some obedience from your dog to put on. Your dog will need to step into the front and back sections to secure it which is best done with the harness laid flat on the floor. This could be quite tricky with a wiggly wriggly puppy or active dog. However once into the harness and tightened to fit your dog correctly this particular harness is great for such dogs as they will find it hard to be able to wriggle out of. At the front of the harness is a large amount of padding providing extra comfort for your dog, if you were to stop suddenly the extra padding would provide more security for your travelling companion.
Strength
We tried this with our 7 month old cocker spaniel pup and it worked well in terms of fit and appeared reasonably comfortable.The harness system is provided with two strong aluminium carabiners to attach to the tether.
The tether is adjustable however it is quite short in length and for larger dogs this may prove a problem to reach to fit to the seat belt fastener. For our pup the main trouble was as he is going through his mouthy stage after a number of trips in the car he had nibbled through part of the tether. Pros
- Made of a durable material
- Lightweight
- A large amount of padding at the front helps with safety as well as comfort
- Allows for movement as well as keeping them secure
- Comes in four size options
- Easy to put on
Cons
- Works best with a well behaved dog
- Requires you to have a loop under the seat belt fasten which some cars do not have
- The length of the tether is quite short
Verdict
The Bergan car harness system is a lightweight comfortable harness perfect for active wriggly dogs, giving you peace of mind they are secure in the car. Due to the length and material of the tether would not recommend this car harness for puppies during the teething stage and extra large dogs.