Does Your Dog Love Going for Car Rides?
But, its Making a Mess of Your Seats…
Tired of your dog getting mud and fur all over your beautiful car seats…
Or, even worse ripping the seats with their claws?
I know most dogs love going for a ride in the car with their best buddy…mine sure do!
But, the thing is as much as we love our dogs…
They make a mess in the car!
Or, at least most of them do…especially if they’re bigger than 5 pounds!
The bigger the dog, usually the bigger the mess…but, they all tend to make a bit of a mess no matter what…no matter how good they are, they can’t help it if they get their paws a little dirty or shed some fur while they’re in the car.
But, an easy way to keep your car seats clean and intact is to use a durable and heavy duty seat cover. I know I’d rather not have my car seats torn by their sharp claws and it sure is nice to not have to sit on a furry seat either!
We have four dogs, two of them shed a lot especially in the fall and spring it seems…fur everywhere! Thankfully, our two smaller dogs don’t really shed at all…our Mocha is a Teddy Bear and the other, Daisy, is a Shih Tzu breed of dog, which don’t actually shed. Instead their hair mats up and is a nightmare to keep up on, but that’s another story for another day on these breeds of small dogs that don’t shed.
Anyways, it’s the two bigger dogs, Jade and Argon, of ours that weigh in at 60 and 80 pounds or so that I worry about making more of a mess in the car when it comes to the seats getting torn or dirty. They have much bigger claws and they shed fur like crazy!
Every time they shake themselves it looks like a fur downpour…or, would it be a furstorm?
Anyways, wanting to find something that would help keep the car seats clean, dry, and safe I thought I’d look around to see what others are saying about these dog seat covers…
And found that there are some that actually do work to keep our car seats dry, clean, and the fur off of the actual seat…
So, we won’t have to sit on furry car seats ever again!
Hammock Style Car Seat Cover for Dogs
One style that seems to work really well is the hammock style of seat cover that hooks to the front seat headrests and covers the whole back seat including the back of the seats by hooking to the back headrests too.
Plus, these car seat covers keep your dog more comfortable in the car too…
Think about it…your dog often slides around on the seat and ends up sometimes falling off the seat altogether.
Right?
No matter how careful we drive it happens sometimes…our dog ends up landing on the floor!
Unless of course they actually already stay on the floor…
But, most dogs don’t…I know mine won’t do it either, they can’t seem to help it.They want to see what’s going on, so they gotta sit on the seat of course! Most dogs love looking out the window and getting fresh air. I’ve really never seen one that didn’t.
After all, they think they’re humans too, lol!
So, thinking of that problem, I think a hammock style car seat cover would be an awesome investment. Not only will it protect your car seat from looking like a furry, muddy, torn up mess, but it’ll keep your dog a bit safer too. No, it won’t protect them from flying out the window should you get in an accident, but at least they won’t end up tossed about as much as they are without one.
Will it Help Keep Your Dog From Climbing Into the Front Seat?
Although the Hammock Style Seat Covers for Dogs won’t keep the most determined dog from venturing into the front seat with you, it’ll definitely make it much harder to do so.
Since it’s design is like a hammock in the back seat, the part that connects to the front seats goes up, which make it harder for your dog to get the leverage it needs to climb up the seats. If you’ve ever been in a hammock, you know how hard it is to get much leverage to pull yourself up and out…same goes for these type of car seat covers.
They’d make it much harder to get up and out of the back seat for your dog to climb into the front seat…
And, if you’ve ever had your dog trying to sit in your lap when you’re at the wheel, you know how it can make driving a very risky business!
Another good idea is to use the pet seat belt that comes with some of the hammock design car seat covers…some not all, provide an actual seat belt to keep your dog in the back seat. It should allow your dog to sit or lay down comfortably though.
You can also purchase a pet barrier that will fit most cars, trucks, and SUVs to further keep a more determined dog in the back seat. I know the pet barrier we bought years ago has come in handy when it came to traveling with our dogs for longer distances and the whole family in our Dodge Durango.
It would have been a crazy, not to mention, frustrating time if we didn’t have some way of keeping the bigger dogs in the cargo area and out of the back seat with the kids who were really young back then…geez, one is all grown up already and moved out on her own! She was around the age our son is now…10 or 11 years old at that time and a baby brother…
My, how time flies when you’re having fun!
Not all seat covers are made the same, so make sure to look at the details when choosing one:
7 Things I’d suggest looking for when choosing a car seat cover for dogs
- Durability
- Easy to Clean
- Nonslip
- Lifetime Guarantee
- Seat belts/harness for dogs or at least an ability to add one
- Side panels/flaps for protecting side of seat
- Size – make sure you measure your actual car’s seats correctly according to the seat cover manufacturer’s directions.
I did a bit of research on the different seat covers using this criteria myself and found ones you might want to consider are the NAC & ZAC Waterproof Hammock Pet Seat Cover and the Plush Paws Waterproof Pet Seat Cover which are both meant for a regular sized car, but it does depend on your car’s actual seat size. They’re also available in other sizes meant for larger vehicles such as trucks and SUVs and smaller compact cars too.
(*You can also find other car seat covers sold at Amazon by checking out My Amazon Picks a little bit further down the page here…)
Both had all the things I’d look for in a car seat cover except the NAC & ZAC didn’t have the seat belt/harness for dogs that I’d really like to have on ours. However, it seemed to do well for others with keeping their seats clean and their dogs comfy.
Another one that may be worth checking out is the one by 4Knines, which makes a hammock style seat cover *
(*Please note: * these are affiliate links, please see affiliate disclosure at bottom of this page.)
Here are some that you might want to check out!I’ll be adding my reviews here shortly of these car seat covers for dogs and I’ll include the link to it once it’s done…in the meantime please check these out…
Hope this helps shed some light on the subject and keeps the shedding fur off your car seats!
Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think…
Have you ever used a car seat cover for dogs? Do you have any suggestions you’d like to recommend? Let me know in the comments below…
I’d love to hear from you!
And, one more little thing… if you found this helpful and think someone else may like it too, please share it. I’d appreciate it and our little doggies would too!
Drive safe…
And, have fun while you’re at it!
I really need a car seat cover as I bring my dog along with me frequently when I drive around. He tends to slobber drool all over and then that dog hair….takes forever to clean them out! A car seat cover is the best solution at this point as there’s no way I am banning him from riding with me. 🙂
The waterproof hammock may just be the answer. Totally going to get that. Thanks for the information~
Hi Lily,
I’m glad to hear that these hammock-style car seat covers may be just the solution for you and your dog. I definitely agree…no way would I want to ban my dogs from riding in the car just because of fur and slobber either!They just love it too much and it sounds like your dog does too.
These waterproof car seat covers should keep your seats much cleaner, so you won’t have to worry about cleaning off all that dog hair and slobber from the seats. It’s a lot of work trying to keep car seats clean…vacuuming a car out and spot cleaning is pretty time consuming!
Definitely much easier to have covers since they can be removed and washed. Plus, I think it keeps the car smelling nicer too…gets rid of any doggy odors that would have ended up in the actual car’s seats.
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting! I’d love to hear how these seat covers work out for you and your dog once you get a chance to try them out, so please do stop by again, Lily.
Happy car rides with your furry friend!
Best wishes 🙂 ~Sherry
Thanks for writing this article Sherry. Our pet dog, especially those over 10 kg deserve a proper seat while traveling in our cars.
I chose the model that I am driving right now for the sake of my dog. The backseats are collapsible which creates more room for lying down. If my judgement is correct, it will create a comfortable space even with a large breed. My Lady loves it.
I am not too bothered with them drooling around. I usually pack with a lot of towels and that solves the problem.
Hi Cathy,
Great to see you again! I’m happy to hear you were able to find a model of car that has collapsible back seats to make your dog more comfortable…that is awesome of you to think of your dog like that! I’m sure Lady appreciates it!
Quite a few years ago, when we adopted Nikki, a Malamute, we had a vehicle that had back seats that folded down too, a Dodge Durango. So, he was able to fit in the back comfortably and still move around a bit, lol.
At almost 150 pounds and looking very fluffy, he took up a lot of space and occasionally we heard people exclaiming in astonishment, “What the…is that a dog back there? It’s as big as a horse!”
So, having a vehicle that you can fold the back seats down is a great idea as you’ve mentioned, especially for really large dogs like your Lady and our Nikki. I know we never minded the drooling too much, but none of our dogs drooled much anyways.
The fur issues were a bit frustrating though, since it gets everywhere and no matter how much vacuuming, it just clings to the seats. So, it’d be nice to have some sort of washable seat covers even in the front seats at least in our case…especially since our dogs love riding shotgun.
But, of course, that fur would cling to our pants like glue once we sat down in the car. There’s been more than once that I didn’t realize it either til getting to work and seen I had fur all over my pants…so, I ended up leaving a lint roller at work just in case.
I definitely agree, that if you own a larger dog, it would be even more comfortable if the back seats fold down. Plus, packing some towels along is definitely a good idea for any dog owner. It could be used to wipe up any dirt on their paws or grass stuck in their fur as well as any drool.
Great suggestions, Cathy! Thank you so much and stop in again sometime. 🙂
Interesting!
Yes! My dog absolutely LOVES to ride in the car.
He loves to go on trips and he’s usually the first one at the car, ready to go. I can see where this would be a very helpful product to, not keep the him safe, but also keep the back seats clean. I think I’ll try it.
Hi SanShar,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting! I agree, these hammock-style car seat covers would be helpful in keeping your dog safer since he wouldn’t end up falling off the back seat and onto the floor.
Plus, it’s a great way to keep the back seats much cleaner and protected from sharp claws.
I’m happy to hear you’re thinking of trying these car seat covers out. Let me know how these work for you and your dog if you do get some of these…I’d love to hear about it!
Thanks again for reading and stop by again sometime!
Best wishes 🙂
wow! This would make my car happy and more willing to give often rides to my dogs. I suffer with those hairs on the seats it’s so difficult to take them out, even with vacuum.
My dog loves car rides and I will be happier, thank you so much for this review!
Marcelo
Hi Marcelochelo,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting! It’s great to hear what you think about these car seat covers for dogs.
Yes, I do agree on those dog hairs…they are so difficult, if not impossible, to get out even with a vacuum. I often have the same problem of struggling with getting rid of these pesky dog hairs…they just cling and work their way into everything it seems!
These car seat covers definitely should help to keep the seats cleaner and the fur from getting stuck in them…and that should make everyone happy, including the car!
Thanks again for stopping by and I do hope this will help you and your dog in the future!
Your article was a joy to read. I can’t tell you the number of time I have had to tell my pets to lay down so they wouldn’t keep sliding across the seat or slipping to the floor. The Seat cover hammock would have been a great thing to have when I still had my dogs. It would have helped to train my second dog to stay in the back seat. He loved to ride shotgun but when I could no longer do the driving it was not a good fit with him trying to be up front with me and the driver.
Hi Kristine,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it. I’ve had the same problem with my dogs, lol. I’m sure this would have helped with your dogs not sliding and slipping all over the place too!
Oh my, yes, the dog trying to ride shotgun along with you and someone else driving…now, that would be quite difficult for everyone involved! What kind of dog did you have, if you don’t mind my asking?
Using a seat cover hammock would more than likely help to keep your second dog in the back seat. Although it might not work for the most determined of dogs, but for most, I believe it’d be a great way to keep them out of the front seats. Most dogs, in my experience, always want to ride shotgun, which is no fun for the driver wanting to be able to focus on the road!
Anyways, if you decide to bring another dog into your family someday, maybe give one of the hammock style seat covers a try…definitely safer than having your pooch climbing into the front seat with you or sliding off the back seat.
Thank you for reading and I loved hearing from you!
Best wishes 🙂