Product Review: Car Seats for Dogs (Small, Toy Poodle)

Huxtable, Toy Poodle in car seat

These photos are from months ago (taken on my phone), but here's Huxtable in his car seat. People always get a kick out of it, I can't get through a drive-through without someone commenting on how cute it is or how they've never seen one before. :)

I used to keep it in the front seat, since I take Huxtable with me to most places, but it became inconvenient when I'd have other passengers... they didn't like the idea of sitting in the back all because my dog's carseat was up front, lol... understandable. So now it's in the back passenger seat, which is actually much more safe for a dog, just like it is a baby. 

When initially shopping around for a dog seat I was able to narrow it down to about two or three brands/types, but ended up going with Kyjen Outward Hound Car Booster Seat. There were a few things that made me choose this brand: 

- Material-- seemed like it would be okay with growth b/c it has a soft nylon type material (mesh on side), unlike some others that are more box and bucket like. 

- Pricing-- $25/$30, great price point vs the $50-$100 of most other dog seats. 

- Design-- has a safety feature that attaches to the harness (or collar), has pocket up front to store things if needed, black (blends perfectly in my car's interior), and folds for easy storage in case you needed to store it in the trunk.

I keep a fleece blanket in it, as well as one of his soft toys (usually his sail ship) and his nylabone. 

Lately Huxtable has been riding up front with me, but he still fits in the small dog car seat well (he's almost 8 months and about 5.5lbs). All in all I think a carseat/booster seat is a must for any dog parent that often drives with their dog. A car seat is probably appropriate for toy and miniature sized dogs, larger dogs should choose a safety harness, bench/carseat cover, or waterproof hammock. You can check out car seat cover options for larger dogs here.

The small Outward Hound is nice car seat for a toy poodle, check it out here. And view other types of car seats for dogs of all sizes, here. 

(The two below are with the flash)

 The dog car seat is on the front passenger side, it straps around the seat and on the headrest. There's a harness attachment in the middle, zippered pocket on front.

(without flash)

In these photos Huxtable is about 4.5 months old, about 3.8 lbs.

Huxtable at about 6 months, about 4.5 lbs

The dog car seat is in the back seat, passenger side. My back seat has headrest so I strap it around the there. If you don't have headrests in the back you will only be able to use the dog car seat in the front. Luckily, most cars except for maybe some coupes and sport cars have headrest in the back. This is definitely the safest place in the car for your dog, though he may want to ride up front with you.  I'm actually thinking about moving my dog car seat back up front since Huxtable has been riding shot gun most of the summer. 

See a Review Update (with photos), HERE.