Don’t get us wrong – we love our dogs and we miss them whenever we have to leave them behind for a few hours. However, we also take pride in our cars and how they look on the inside.
Have you ever put your dog in the back of your car without thinking about it, only to be left with the horror after they got out? Muddy pawprints stamped into the seats, dog hair sticking out from all areas, and don’t even get us started on the dog smell.
Trust us when we say that you won’t be able to get this out for the foreseeable future. To make matters worse, once the effects of your dog are just beginning to subside from your car, it will be time to have them back as a passenger again.
The cycle is vicious – until you find out about car hammocks for dogs. Dog car hammocks are covers for the back seats of your car. They are called hammocks as they cover the entire backrest, the whole seat, and the back of the front seats as well.
Three sides are protected from your dog to avoid and mud, hair, or saliva from hitting the interior of your car. We’re going to be looking at five of the best dog car hammocks on the market to ensure that you, your dog, and your car can all live in perfect harmony.
In a hurry? Here are the top picks!
Dog Car Hammocks Reviewed
Don’t have the time to read our full article and just want to know which is the best dog car hammock for you? Well, look no further than our top pick. This back seat cover hammock will keep your seats nice and protected while your dog rides in the car with you.
Our favorite has to be the URPOWER Dog Seat Cover, although it was a tough choice to make. Here are a few reasons why we love it:
- Every angle of your car is protected from mud, hair, and dog odor.
- Installation and removal could not be simpler.
- Choose between five colors to match your current interior.
- It is completely safe for your dog and durable for your car.
- Pros
- Complete protection at all angles.
- Very durable and safe material.
- Easy to install and remove.
- Comes in five colors to coincide with popular interior themes.
- Cons
- No Cons
First on our list is the URPOWER Dog Seat Cover, which offers 360 degrees of protection for the back seats of your car. The backrest, seat bench, back of the front seats, and the interior of the back doors will be protected from your lovable dog.
The hammock is waterproof and incredibly durable, so it will protect your car from muddy paws and regular chews. The size will fit along with the majority of car backbenches, with non-slip material to keep your dog safe throughout the journey.
To install the hammock into your car, all you need to do is attach the straps with quick-release clips around the headrests and place the seat anchors – it couldn’t be easier!
Cleaning is also easy, either vacuum the cover or wipe it down with a damp cloth. Choose between five stylish colors that are sure to fit well into any car interior. This is one of the best back seat dog cover hammocks on the market today.
- Pros
- Very comfortable for your dog.
- Quick installation within only 60 seconds.
- Two size options.
- Lovely styles to choose from.
- Cons
- Doesn’t protect the interiors of the doors.
Next up, the Active Pets dog car hammock covers the backrests, seat bench, and back of the front seats. This acts like a dog sling for your car. What’s more, the fabric reaches down the sides of the seat to hold it safely in place and prevent hair from reaching here as well.
Just because this product is protecting your seat doesn’t mean it can’t be comfortable, with premium technology to ensure that the seat hammock feels as comfortable as your dog’s favorite bed.
Installation takes less than 60 seconds, so you won’t have to tack on any more time to your journey. You can convert the hammock to a simple seat cover if you have guest passengers or want to protect the floor of the car from hair.
Again, this hammock is easy to clean with a damp cloth or vacuum and it keeps your pup safe and protected throughout the journey. This hammock comes in black with a choice of four fashionable trim colors. It’s really everything you would want in a rear seat dog hammock at an affordable price point.
- Pros
- Four ways to use your car hammock.
- Easy to clean.
- Free dog seat belts with your purchase.
- Cons
- Only comes in black.
OKMEE has gone above and beyond with their dog car hammock, allowing you to use it in four different ways rather than only one. The first is the traditional hammock-style with side flaps. You can also use it as a car bench cover, a front seat cover, and a liner for your trunk.
No matter where your dog likes sitting, OKMEE is here to save your car interior from mud, hair, and odor. The maximum size is impressive at 53 x 59 inches and is one of the largest dog car hammocks we’ve seen on our list.
The fabric is not only premium in quality and feel, but it is also weatherproof, scratchproof, and very durable. You’ll also receive two dog car seats for free with your purchase to keep your pup safe throughout the car ride. In terms of durable, we really like this dog hammock car seat cover.
- Pros
- Can be used in lots of different vehicles.
- Durable enough for any dog.
- The dye won’t stain your lighter seats.
- Cons
- The material doesn’t look as stylish as the others we have looked at.
With an impressive size of 58 x 54 inches, this luxury dog car hammock is designed to protect SUVs, trucks, and standard cars from your dog’s shenanigans.
The 7-inch extensions can be used for either longer benches or to protect down the sides of your seats. The material is waterproof and heavy-duty, ensuring that even the most rambunctious dogs won’t wear down this hammock.
There are Velcro seat belt openings and anchors to help you keep the hammock in place. Installation is very easy and won’t take you much time at all, and you can wash the hammock in a machine on a gentle cycle.
The dye is run-proof to protect lighter interiors from becoming stained. If you’re looking for a dog hammock for an SUV or truck, this is the best option.
- Pros
- Largest dog car hammock on our list.
- Mesh windows to help reduce anxiety.
- Protects 360 all-around your dog.
- Cons
- The mesh might not be as durable as the rest of the material.
The last dog car hammock that we’re going to be looking at today is from Vailge, with a large size of 56 x 60 inches for the standard option. You can convert it quickly between a traditional hammock and a bench-style cover.
There are mesh windows on the hammock which provide your pup with better circulation in summer and winter, and also allows them to see you through the hammock.
This can help ease their car anxiety and keep them calm. The hammock also protects the interiors of the doors so you have all-rounded protection. The material is waterproof and durable, ensuring both your dog and car’s protection at all times. You will receive one dog seat belt at no additional charge. This is currently one of the best-rated dog car hammocks.
Best Dog Car Hammock Buying Guide
We want to make sure that you’re getting the best product for your lifestyle, which is why we’ve collated the most important factors to consider when purchasing a dog car hammock.
Taking the time to research can help you save time and money by choosing the perfect product the first time around.
Read the below points to make sure that you choose the right dog car hammock for your vehicle and dog. Otherwise, you might be left with a useless hammock and a dirty and smelly car after all.
Protection
First, you need to ask yourself what you are purchasing a car dog hammock for. Are you looking to protect your seats from dog hair that is tricky to pick out of the fabric, or is it to prevent the dog smell from seeping into the foam?
Alternatively, do you need the hammock to protect the leather seats from scratches? If so, you should choose one that is durable and unlikely to break from dog claws.
One of the main reasons why people purchase dog hammocks is when they take their pooches on muddy or wet walks before driving back home. The hammock will protect the seats from mud and water, not to mention the wet dog smell. If this sounds like a beneficial feature for you, choose a car dog hammock that is waterproof as well as durable.
Style
Just because you need to protect the seats in your car, doesn’t mean that you want them to be covered up with an unflattering sheet of fabric. To avoid hiding your car interior, make sure that you choose a car hammock with a style that you enjoy.
If you have cream seats, look for a cream car hammock for your dog. Most car hammocks will be made of a neutral material so that they match most car interiors, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find one that is ideal for your car.
Size
You should decide whether you want a hammock to cover the entire back seat or only one section. Most hammocks will cover the entire bench, but some are designed to take up less space.
If you wanted to give your car the most protection possible, we would recommend a hammock that covered the entire length of the bench. This protects all of the seats in case your pooch decided that they wanted to spread out or walk around.
Having said that, if your dog is well-trained and will stick to one spot, you might prefer a hammock that only covers one seat so that the other seats could be used by other passengers.
Compatibility
Whether you need to think about compatibility will depend on whether or not your car has any special features, such as fold-out armrests. Seat covers often won’t take this into consideration and therefore won’t allow you to use them while in use.
However, if you desperately want the armrests available you could look for a dog car hammock with a hole for the armrest. Bear in mind that this most likely will not be covered.
Another factor to consider is whether your car has headrests or not. The majority of dog car hammocks require headrests to anchor them in place, which can be an issue if you don’t have any.
If your car is designed to have no headrests, you will need to seek a car hammock that has a different way of remaining on the seat.
Durability
The durability of a dog car hammock is very important, as there is no point in having a protective cover over the seats that are simply going to break within the first few uses.
A durable dog car hammock will be thick so that claws cannot penetrate and tear it. It should also be teeth-proof for dogs that like to chew anything around them.
Straps are a particularly chewable material in a dog’s eyes, so make sure that every part of the dog car hammock is durable and long-lasting.
Ease of Installation
Car hammocks often come with lots of fiddly straps that can be difficult to install when you have places to be and a dog staring at you expectantly.
For this reason, we think that it’s best to choose a dog car hammock that doesn’t take too long to install. This could mean that there are fewer straps, which isn’t always the best thing for the security of the hammock.
You need to find a happy medium between easy to install and secure to the seat. How often are you going to be removing the hammock? If the answer is quite often, ease of installation is important.
However, if you’re not going to be removing it often at all, this doesn’t really matter as much as you’ll only have to struggle with it once every couple of weeks.
Security
Although we’ve just said that too many straps are a no go, not enough straps can also be an issue. You want the hammock to be as secure as possible so that your dog’s hair or mud cannot get underneath the hammock.
To keep it as secure as possible, there needs to be more than one strap holding it down. Again, you need to find a happy medium between too many and not enough straps.
Another thing to look for is hammocks that also cover the doors of your car, as well as the seat and back of the front seat. This keeps your dog in a little bubble where they can’t damage or dirty any of the car interiors.
Ease of cleaning
If your dog is a regular mucky pup, you’ll need to clean the hammock every now and then to prevent hair buildup and remove the smell.
For this reason, make sure that you check how you can clean it before purchasing.
Otherwise, you might be left with a hammock that is dry clean only!
Most can be wiped down with a cloth, but others require a little more care to keep them effective. Make sure to follow the cleaning instructions to prevent your hammock from becoming less durable.
Conclusion for Best Dog Car Hammock
Purchasing a dog car hammock for your backseat will be one of the best decisions that you ever made. It will end up keeping your car clean, scratch-free, and less smelly. Additionally, car hammock seat covers are great for dogs because they won’t fall off onto the floor of your car or try to jump to the front seats. We hope that you found some great options for car seat hammocks for dogs!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can a dog sit in the front seat?
Ideally, a dog should be sitting in the back of the car as it is the safest place for all of you. They won’t be distracting you as you drive and they’ll have more space to spread out and be comfortable.
Your dog might also be in a more dangerous position if they’re in the front of the car and you have an accident.
However, some people do allow their dogs to sit in the front of the car. If you want to do this, make sure that the passenger side airbag is switched off to avoid harming your dog in an accident.
How do you clean a dog car hammock?
You should always check the cleaning instructions of your specific dog car hammock before cleaning.
That being said, the majority of them are washable in a machine. Laundry detergent will clean the material, but add ¼ cup vinegar to remove some of the doggy smell.
If you didn’t want to put the cover in the washing machine; however, you could hand wash it in the bathtub instead. Fill it with water, detergent, and vinegar, and leave to soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Massage it together before rinsing thoroughly.
Leave to dry properly before installing back into your car. You can dry most dog car hammocks in a dryer, but you could also hang it up to airdry.
Drying in a machine will take less time, although it could leave your clothes with an unpleasant smell or leftover hair attached.
Garrett loves animals and is a huge advocate for all Doodle dog breeds. He owns his own Goldendoodle named Kona. In addition, he volunteers at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, where he fosters dogs and helps animals. Garrett enjoys writing about Doodles and believes that dogs can teach humans more about how to live than humans can teach a dog.
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