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Many areas have dog friendly places–dog parks, trails, stores, and patios of certain restaurants. With all the options, enrichment for your dog can be fun for you too. But taking your dog in the car can be frustrating, confusing, or even dangerous without the right tools. 

A carrier isn’t a comfortable or exciting way to start a trip, and for some dogs, it might not even be an option. Instead, here are our three must-have products that make car rides safer and comfortable.

Tether

While some dogs do well in booster seats, our favorite method has been this buckle tether from Kurgo. The tether allows your dog enough freedom to sit or lie down, but not enough they can crawl on you and interrupt driving. Also, in the event of hard braking or a collision, the dog is more likely to be safer than if they had been allowed to roam free in the car, or had a less secure restraint. However, before using the tether, please check the next item that goes with it.

Harness

The above tether should never be used with a standard collar. This could severely injure your dog. Instead, use the tether with a harness to prevent pulling or yanking on their throat, especially during hard stops.

The carabiner on the tether is versatile enough to be used with a variety of harnesses, so even if you have a specialty harness such as the one below, the tether can still work.

Seat Cover

No matter how clean your dog might be, fur, paw prints, and strange smudges are inevitable. A standard cleaning at the car wash is unlikely to get out any or all of that, and the costs of detailing can quickly add up. Instead, invest in a seat cover to protect your seats and reduce fur trapped in the seats and floorboards. One of our favorites is this one found on Amazon.

Conclusion

These three simple products are worthwhile investments for anyone who plans to take their dog on car rides, whether simply to the vet or on to great adventures. Either way, these will help you safely get to where you are going.