Dog Car Seats
Walled car seat pods for small and medium dogs, and a hard-base back seat deck for the big ones. Each gives your dog a spot of their own in the back and keeps the mud off your seats.
Why dogs don't stay put on the back seat
You brake for a roundabout and hear it. Claws scrabbling on leather, a thump on the floor mat, then a spoodle looking up at you from the footwell.
We sell two dog car seats in Australia, and each one fixes a different version of that moment. A bare back seat gives a dog nothing to lean on. Leather and vinyl are slippery, and every corner or hard stop shifts them a little closer to the edge. Small dogs end up on the floor. Big dogs perch half on the seat and half in the footwell. Some give up on the back altogether and climb through to sit next to you.
Then there's the mess. The wet, sandy dog after the beach who walks the full width of the seat before lying down. Muddy paws after the park. Fur worked into every seam, and the one nervous accident on the way to the vet that soaks into the cushion.
A towel or a flat seat cover deals with some of the mess. It doesn't give your dog anything to lean on, and it does nothing about the gap in front of the seat. If the footwell is already your dog's second home, our guide on why dogs slide into the footwell and how to stop it goes into more detail.
Dog car seats in Australia: which one for your dog
Go by your dog's weight rather than the breed. Two cavoodles can be very different sizes, and the kg figure is what counts.
| Your dog | Weight | Breeds that usually suit | Our pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toy and small | Up to about 9 kg | Maltese, Shih Tzu, toy poodle, Jack Russell | Small Dog Car Seat Pod (56 × 56 cm base) |
| Small to medium | Up to about 18 kg | Cavoodle, spoodle, beagle, French bulldog | Large Dog Car Seat Pod (73 × 56 cm base) |
| Medium and large | Over about 18 kg | Labrador, kelpie, staffy, golden retriever, shepherd | Back Seat Deck for Big Dogs (about 132 cm wide) |
Both pods have 40 cm front and side walls and a 55 cm back wall. If your dog sits right on 9 kg, or is a pup who'll still fill out, the Large gives them room to grow into. Cavoodle owners can find toy, mini and standard sizing in our cavoodle car seat guide.
There's no extra-large pod. Once your dog is over about 18 kg, the deck does the job a large dog car seat would, and gives them the whole back seat to stretch out on.
The pod sits on the cushion. It isn't a booster.
Many small-dog car seats are raised boosters that hang from a headrest strap and sit up in the air so the dog can see out the window. The pod isn't one of those.
It's a walled box. The base rests on the rear seat cushion, the tall back wall stands against the backrest, and two buckle straps loop around the rear headrest. Nothing attaches to the front seats. Your dog sits at seat level with walls to lean on when you swing through a corner. The mesh band on the front and side walls lets them see out and lets air move through, but they won't be up at window height.
That's worth knowing before you choose. If your dog mostly wants a window view, a pod won't give them that. If the trouble is sliding, climbing into the front and mess on the seats, that's the job it does.
The deck works differently again. It covers the whole back seat and bridges the rear seat and footwell into one flat platform about 132 cm wide, so a big dog isn't perched on the edge of a bench with a drop in front of it. It has a hard base, a quilted waterproof cover, side flaps that cover the doors and a mesh window so your dog can see you. If you're weighing it up against a soft hammock, here's how a hard-bottom deck compares with a soft dog hammock.
Which cars they fit
Both need headrests, so check your back seat first.
- Dog Car Seat Pod: hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs and dual-cab utes with rear headrests. It takes one side of the back seat and leaves the other half free for a passenger or a child seat.
- Back Seat Deck: most sedans, SUVs and dual-cab utes with front and rear headrests. It takes the whole back seat, but one side folds back when you need room for a passenger.
If your back seat has no headrests, neither one will fit properly.
A few common set-ups:
- Small hatch, small dog. The Small pod takes about 56 cm of seat width, so the Jack Russell gets its own corner and the other side of the back seat stays usable.
- The school run. Child seat on one side, the pod on the other. The beagle has its own spot and the wet paws stay on its side of the car. We've written up how to fit a dog and a child seat in the same back seat, including how to measure.
- Dual-cab ute. For a terrier or a cavoodle, the pod straps to the rear headrest the same way it does in a sedan. For a kelpie or a lab, the deck covers the footwell so there's no gap for them to fall into.
Quick answers
Can someone still sit in the back?
With the pod, yes. It sits on one side, so the other side stays free. The deck covers the whole back seat, but one side folds back for a passenger.
How does the pod go in?
Loop the two buckle straps around the rear headrest, drop the base board in and tighten. It takes about a minute and needs no tools.
How do I clean it?
Most mess wipes straight off the pod. For a proper clean, unclip it, lift out the base board, fold it flat and hand-wash the cover. The deck has a quilted waterproof cover, so the wet sand and muddy paws land on it instead of your upholstery.
Is it a crash-tested restraint?
No. Neither the pod nor the deck has been crash-tested. They give your dog a spot of their own and stop the sliding. Always clip your dog's harness to the pod's inside leash clip or a seatbelt tether. The deck comes with two tethers in the box.
How long does delivery take?
We offer free tracked shipping within Australia, and it usually takes 3 to 8 business days. If it doesn't suit your car or your dog, you've got 30 days to send it back.
More on sizing by kg, headrests, utes and returns is in our dog car seat FAQ.