Reviewed: The 3 Best Dog Seat Belts

Taking your dog on a road trip is a great way to spend more time with your furry friend. It is also a chance for your dog to explore new sights, sounds and smells. Dogs have 300 million olfactory receptacles in their noses, compared to only six million in humans. It is easy to see why dogs love the intense sensory experience of a car ride.  

While driving with your pet is fun, it puts both of you at a higher risk of getting in a car accident. According to a collaborative survey by AAA and Kurgo, more than 65% of dog owners engage in distracting activities while driving with their dog in the car.

This is exactly why you should use a dog seat belt harness to safely restrain your pet in the car. A dog seat belt harness also helps minimize the impact of a car crash on your furry friend by distributing the pressure across their body. Without a seat belt, your dog can even jump out of the car window.

However, choosing the right seat belt could be overwhelming. With so many options out there, you can easily get confused between the must-have and nice-to-have features. To make the job easier for you, we have selected three products worth checking out. So without further ado, here’s a rundown of our top picks for dog seat belt products.

The Top Picks for Dog Seat Belt Harnesses: Ranked

#1 Best Overall: SlowTon Harness Plus Connector Strap

Our selection as the best overall seat belt harness for dogs is the SlowTon Dog Car Harness Plus Connector Strap.

While you’ve many factors to consider when choosing a dog seat belt, we believe safety and comfort should be your main concerns. The SlowTon harness and seat belt combo wins our trust on both counts.

One of the best features is that SlowTon’s bungee straps are sturdy and stretchy enough to absorb the impact of emergency braking. In addition, the harness comes with a wide, padded chest piece, which helps distribute the pressure from sudden braking evenly across the chest area of your pet while maintaining the utmost comfort.

The harness is designed to keep your furbaby comfortable for a long time, thanks to its double mesh fabric and flannelette edges that help absorb your pet’s sweat. We are also impressed with the fact that the harness can be easily put on a dog or pup. It comes with two quick-release buckles on the chest plate. All you have to do is to slide the neckpiece over your pet’s head, loop the straps around its legs and click them to the back piece. You don’t need to make your pooch step into the harness, which makes it super easy and quick to get the harness on and off your dog. You can also adjust the harness to fit it perfectly to your dog’s body, using the four adjustable buckles on the harness.

The straps come with reflective stitching, which makes the SlowTon harness seat belt safe for use at night. The connector strap is also adjustable, allowing you to control how much freedom you want to give your furry friend inside the car.

SlowTon also allows you to flaunt your fashion sense by choosing the right seat belt color for your furry friend as it is available in 19 different colors.

Please also note that the SlowTon harness seat belt is available in six different sizes. So make sure you measure your dog’s neck size and chest size before making a purchase. Here are the available sizes.

• XXX-Small – Chest girth (11-13 inch), neck girth (8.6-10 inch)
• XX- Small – Chest girth (13.5-16 inch), neck girth (10.5-12 inch)
• X-Small – Chest girth (16.5-18 inch), neck girth (12.5-14 inch)
• Small – Chest girth (18.5-21 inch), neck girth (14.5-17 inch)
• Medium – Chest girth (21.5-27 inch), neck girth (17.5-25 inch)
• Large – Chest girth (27.5-37 inch), neck girth (25.5-31 inch)

You can also use the SlowTon car harness as an everyday walking dog harness. Simply connect it to a retractable dog leash and you are good to go.

However, there are some drawbacks and this harness and seat belt combo is not compatible with all vehicles. SlowTon does not specify which vehicles it doesn’t work with. However, users have reported that it doesn’t fit into several Honda, Kia and Volvo vehicles. Also, some consumers have reported that the stitches and seams come apart after a few uses.

The Pros and Cons of the SlowTon Harness Plus Connector Strap

Best Overall

SlowTon Car Safety Dog Harness with Seat Belt

•Combination harness for comfortability & seat belt for safety

•Sturdy material, easy use

•Reflective stitching for nighttime

•Multiple colors and sizes

Check Chewy Check Amazon

Best Chew-Proof: Leash Boss Dog Car Seat Belt Restraint

The best chew-proof dog seat belt is the Leash Boss Dog Car Seat Belt Restraint.

This dog car seat belt restraint comes with a steel-made lead, making it practically impossible for your dog to chew through it. The steel rope comes coated with heavy duty nylon and is made out of the same material used in dog tie-outs. These great features mean that you never need to worry about your pup chewing through the lead and releasing themselves.

The Leash Boss restraint comes with a metal clip on one end that attaches to your dog’s car harness. The swivel function is a great touch as it allows the pup to move around without twisting the lead.

Another feature that makes this product suitable for fidgety puppies is that it attaches to your car’s back seat latch bar system rather than to a seat belt buckle. Dogs can accidentally step on the seat belt buckle and release the clip. With the Leash Boss restraint, you don’t have any such worries. Plus, all newer vehicles have latch bars in their back seat creases. This means that this product is compatible with almost all vehicles.

Finally, the Leash Boss dog seat belt is assembled in the USA and backed by a five year manufacturer’s warranty. This gives you the peace of mind that a defective product can be easily replaced after purchase.

There are very few negative customer reviews but some customers reported that they had to replace the “flimsy” latch connector clip with a stronger lockable clamp in order to safely restrain their dog in the car. Additionally, users reported that dogs can still chew the outer nylon layer of the lead.

Please note that the Leash Boss seat belt does NOT come with an adjustable strap. Instead, you’ll find them in five different sizes – small (16 inches), medium (21 inches), large (26 inches), X-large (31 inches) and XX-large (36 inches). So make sure you choose the right size for your dog. Use a tape to measure the distance from your dog’s harness connection to the floor at 45-degree angle to determine best size.

The Pros and Cons of the Leash Boss Dog Car Seat Belt Restraint

Best Chew-Proof

Leash Boss Dog Car Seat Belt Restraint

•No-Chew - Coated Steel Rope to Prevent Chewing

•Heavy Duty Car Seatbelt for Pets

•5 Sizes

Check Amazon

Most Budget-Friendly: Vastar 2 Pack Adjustable Pet Car Seat Belt Harness

The Vastar Adjustable Dog Seat Belt is our top pick among budget-friendly options.

If you own multiple dogs, this two pack adjustable seatbelt offers a good deal. You get two for nearly the price of one. Even if you choose to buy a single unit, the price is still quite affordable.

Pricing aside, the Vastar Adjustable Dog Seat Belt is durable, effective and easy to use. Simply plug its clip end into your car’s seat belt buckle, and attach the other end to the D-ring of your dog’s harness and you are good to go. The strap is made of premium-quality nylon, meaning it won’t break in the event of a car accident. The buckle and snap are made of heavy-duty metal to ensure extra durability.

A great feature is the swivel snap which keeps the tether from tangling as your dog moves around. The length of the strap is adjustable from 16 to 27 inches. The strap is ideal for large and medium-size dogs. However, its shortest length is 16 inches, which is still too long to restrain a smaller dog in your car.

The adjustable buckle does not easily slide or adjust on its own. This helps keep the dog secure and restrained in the vehicle for a long time. The dog can still easily stand up, lie down and move around with the seat belt attached to them.

The Vastar Adjustable Dog Seat Belt is available in six different colors. The color options include;

1. Black
2. Blue
3. Fluorescence Green
4. Fluorescence Orange
5. Pink
6. Red

The Vastar Dog Seat Belt is compatible with most cars. However, its seat belt clip does not fit into every car’s seat belt buckle, so make sure you measure your seat belt buckle before ordering this product.

The Pros and Cons of the Vastar Adjustable Pet Car Seat Belt Harness

Most Affordable

Vastar 2 Pack Adjustable Car Seat Belt

•2 for the price of one

•Buckle-in seat belt

•Sturdy material

•Multiple colors

Check Amazon

Our Criteria: What to Look for in Dog Seat Belts

For those in our team with dogs that love to ride in the car, their safety is our top priority during these fun times. As we know, dogs love to stick their heads out the window and enjoy the fresh air whipping their fur. However, dogs are susceptible to the dangers of car rides just as humans are – meaning it’s important to strap them in similarly.

Personally, my dog is a harness dog as he loves to try and roam the vehicle mid-movement. So, he gets strapped in by the trusty, adjustable seatbelt that buckles strongly into the normal seat belt buckle. A chew-proof material is also needed because he loves to chew for fun, when bored, and out of spite. In the end, he can still stick his long snout out of the window and then lie down when he’s tuckered out.

Therefore, the factors to consider include whether you need a really tough, chew-proof material and the length of the strap in relation to the size of your dog. Also, if your dog moves around a lot then you might want to consider a restraint that clips onto the latch bar system, rather the seat belt buckle itself for added safety.

The Best Dog Seat Belts: Summary

We know that the safety of your best friend is paramount, and that the last thing you need to be worrying about in the unfortunate event of an accident is whether they’ve ran off or not. Additionally, it’s important to make sure that you comply with state laws. However, you need to make sure that you select a dog seat belt that is going to meet the specific needs of your dog. This product review will help you make that perfect choice.

Up Next…

Our team hopes this article has helped you find the perfect seat belt for your dog friend to safely ride along with you! Check out these other articles we think might be helpful.

• The Best Dog Seat Covers — The best way to cover your car seat to protect from dog fur and dander.
• The Best Dog Car Seats: Reviewed — Looking for a safe spot for your pup to sit in during a drive?
• Our Top Choices for the 6 Best Dog Crates — Traveling with a dog and needing an easy, safe place for them? Look no further!