Including your dog in your travels is a lot more fun, so what is the best dog crate for car travel to keep your dog safe while on the road.
Having a dog in the car without a crate is dangerous, no matter how well trained your dog is it still is an animal with unpredictable behavior. So for everyone’s safety, including the dog, you need a good crate.
So let us move to our top picks for the best dog crate for car travel that we have tested and recommend.
What is the best dog crate for car travel?
After testing a bunch of crates for car travel and wasting money on some really useless ones. I can positively recommend one I am very satisfied by.
The one I recommend is the Mid-west specific model for car travel; the Side-by-Side Double Door SUV Crate( click here to check the current price on Amazon).
I am a big fan of mid-west crates I use them for most of my dogs, I personally find the wire crate to be the best for crate training and the easiest to use.
This crate works fine with SUVs and sedans and has plenty of positive customer reviews. It is made of steel so it is a bit heavier than the regular crate however it does a great job keeping your dog safe in the back.
It comes with a waterproof panel which is great for little incidents on the road and a year warranty.
what’s great is that it has size options to fit every dog you can think of ever the very large ones like the great dane and mastiffs.
I have tried some plastic crates of lower quality thinking sturdiness was not very important; I found out the hard way it does not work, I had my dog break through it on a two hours ride.
So for safety purposes, I strongly recommend buying one that is strong enough to hold even the largest dogs.
What is the safest dog crate for a car?
If you are willing to invest in some super safe crate for car travel there is a good option. In this case, you will need a crash-proof heavy-duty crate.
For this option, I can recommend the 4×4 North America Variocage Compact Crash Tested Dog crate(click here to check the current price on Amazon).
This is the best car travel crate and the only one that has been crash-tested in multiple situations.
This is a bit pricy but it is worth every dollar, it comes with some great features:
It has 14 adjustable size options to fit most dog breeds and cars. It has a hydraulic motion lock that secures it even in crashes. The escape hatch is also a great addition.
All in all, this is a crate that has been built for one reason and it is to be the safest dog crate for car travel.
Should I crate my dog in the car?
I have seen some dog owners just place their dogs in the back seat of the vehicle with no protection what so ever, and I really want to address that.
Dogs are not humans and can’t be trusted even the best-trained dogs. It still is an animal that could react to things you wouldn’t think of.
being on the road is a responsibility not only your safety is at stake but also the safety of other people on the road.
You want your dog secured in a crate or a dog-proofed area in the bac; where he can not directly with the driver.
If you are not considering your safety at least be a responsible dog owner and think of your dog if god forbid there is a crash.
So should you crate your dog in the car? Absolutely, and not doing it is irresponsible behavior. Even for short outdoor drives think about safety first.
We all love the sight of a dog with his head out of the window and the wind messing up his face; however, better it is always better to put safety first.
Can two dogs travel in one crate?
Using one crate for two dogs is often not a good idea; dogs, when confined, can be aggressive if they can’t escape a stressful situation.
However, in travel, you have the dogs under your supervision at all times and you can actually react if needed. So using one crate for two dogs should be ok unless you have aggressive dogs that don’t get along.
Also if you have two dogs with considerable difference in size it would probably be a bad idea.
If you choose a wire crate for car travel they come with a divider that could be a great solution to this situation.
What I would not recommend is using one of the dog’s actual home crate; then making him share it with another dog. The crate is the dog’s den and if you have done a good job crate training most dogs will be very protective and territorial about their crate.
So what I would recommend is using a wire crate, it’s the best crate for car travel and the divider with end this dilemma. You can also read this article about using a crate for two dogs for more information.
How do you secure a dog crate in a car?
Dog travel crates are very different and come with different options. Securing a crate in the car could depend on the size of the crate as well as where you place it.
Some crates can be secured like a baby car-seat with the seat-belt; while others can be placed in the trunk.
Personally, I place my dog crate in the trunk so I use strings to attach it anchor it from each corner. I move around a lot with cars in the bac so I ve placed bolts to anchor it. But you don’t need that with most crates that are placed in the trunk.
They usually are heavy enough to stand still in the back however you can secure it with blocks.
Make sure when choosing a plastic crate for the back seat that it has the option for seat-belt fixation.
Where do you put a dog crate in a car?
As I mentioned I use the trunk of the car for my dogs’ crates. since I usually have more than one dog. It is also the safest option, and the easiest to set up.
But where you are going to put your dog crate is entirely relative to what type of car crates you have; how big your dog is and finally how large is your car.
Large wire and metal crates often fit only in the trunk depending on what car you drive. Plastic crates for smaller dogs could fit in the back seat.
There is also the car barrier that just confines your dog to the back seat; It is also a great option for large dogs that don’t fit in a regular car crate.
Legal information about dogs in cars
For now, there is no law against driving with a dog unsecured in the car. However many state laws consider having a dog in your lap a distraction.
In Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin driving with the dog in your lap is a violation that could result in a fine.
There is also the possibility of insurance claim denial if an unrestrained dog is the cause of an accident.
Other car travel crate options
Other than the wire crate and the heavy-duty car travel crates that I consider to be the best. there are some other options to consider.
And here are our top three picks for the best alternative dog car travel crate crates:
Plastic crate
The Orion Kennels crate(click here to check the current price on Amazon) is really a great option. It is very durable one of the best crates for car travel.
This crate is available in many sizes you have to look for AD1 to AD4 as the 1 is the smallest and 4 the largest.
It costs a bit more than the wire crate but it is very well built, the only thing I wouldn’t like is that there is no crate for very large dogs.
But all in all, it does a great job keeping your dog safe while on the road.
Dog Car Barrier
The car barrier is a nice alternative to crates, it helps you secure the dog in the back; while still giving him more open space to enjoy the ride.
I really like the fact that it’s really good quality and the size is adjustable to all cars. Most car barriers are destined to SUVs so this is great for regular cars.
It is also really easy to install and doesn’t need any tools or special technical knowledge.
And the thing I like with the barrier is the dog can still enjoy sticking his head from the window which is a great sight for us pet dog lovers.
