Why A Dog Seat Belt Is So Essential

Virtually every dog needs to travel by car at some point in their lives - and whether it's to visit the vet for their latest check-up or be driven down to the dog park for some fun and games, dogs need to be kept safe and sound just like humans do. A dog seat belt - also called a dog car harness - is one of the more popular accessories that will allow you to do just that.

If you've ever tried driving without buckling your dog up with a dog seat belt - or any other restraining device, for that matter - then you will know exactly how unsafe it is. It's so unsafe, in fact, that it's actually illegal in many countries! Dogs just seem to have a habit of climbing all over the car to check things out - until eventually they decide to settle in your lap, and you're unable to see anything while you're driving!

The distraction aspect of having your dog wander all around the car is bad enough, but that's not even taking into account how unprotected your dog is in the event you actually do become involved in an accident. A dog seat belt - or any alternative means of restraining your precious dog - should therefore be considered an essential purchase, even if you don't plan to drive them around all that often.

Once you've found the dog seat belt that's just right for your dog, then the first thing you'll do is likely adjust it so it fits them snugly. After that, you'll want to have them trained to love wearing it - fortunately this process is nothing like crate training!

All you really have to do is take them to the car as soon as you can after putting it on and go for a quick drive. This gives you an idea of how well their dog seat belt fits them and whether you need to adjust it, plus it also allows your dog to quickly form an association between this strange new object and the car.

At this point your dog may decide they love it or hate it - depending on how much they enjoy going for trips in the car. The good news is that 99 % of dogs love traveling, so you shouldn't be surprised if they start to get excited the next time you need to put it on them.

HeartMyDog.com is an online magazine written by dog lovers for dog lovers that covers a wide variety of topics including dog seat belt information.