Seat covers, hammocks and boot liners for a dog

A seat cover is a piece of fabric that keeps hair, mud, sand and claw marks off your upholstery. That is what it is for and it does it well.

It is not a restraint. A hammock that stops a dog sliding into the footwell is not a crash-tested restraint system, and no cover sold as a cover should be relied on as one.

How a dog should be restrained in a car is a separate question with real legal and safety weight. It is governed by state road rules and animal welfare law, the crash-test claims made in that market need careful reading, and it is not what this article covers. Check your state road authority and the manufacturer’s own documentation for that decision.

This guide compares published specifications and Australian retailer listings. Nothing here was fitted to a car or used by us.

The three formats

Bench seat cover. Lies across the rear seat like a fitted sheet. Protects the seat surface. The dog can still move around the cabin, and mud still reaches the footwell and the seat backs.

Kazoo’s Australian range listed a Dog Car Seat Cover at $125.95 on 13 September 2026, and EzyDog’s Drive Seat Cover Rear at $115.49.

Hammock. Covers the rear seat and slings up to the back of the front headrests, so the footwell is enclosed. It protects far more of the car, stops a dog dropping into the footwell on braking, and it is the format most people actually want. It also means the rear seat cannot carry people at the same time.

EzyDog’s Drive Hammock Rear was $149.99 and Ruffwear’s Dirtbag Dog Car Seat Cover $184.95 on 13 September 2026.

Boot liner or cargo liner. For a wagon, SUV or hatch where the dog travels in the back. Usually covers the floor, the sides and the back of the rear seats, which is where the claw damage actually happens. Kazoo’s Car Boot Liner was $104.95 on 13 September 2026.

Which to buy: if the dog travels on the back seat, a hammock. If it travels in the boot, a liner. A plain bench cover suits a car that also carries passengers in the back regularly.

The fitting details that decide it

This is where cheap covers fail and where listings say least.

• Anchor points. Headrest straps front and rear, and ideally seat anchor straps or buckles that pass into the seat crease. A cover held on by friction migrates within a week
• Seat belt access. If anyone else uses that seat, check the cover has openings for the buckles. Many do not
• Seat belt and anchorage openings must not be obstructed if a person will use that seat
• Side flaps. The gap between the seat and the door trim is where the mud and hair actually collect
• Non-slip backing. Stops the cover sliding under a dog that moves around
• Bucket seats and 60/40 splits. Measure. A cover sized for a flat bench fits a split rear seat poorly
• Middle armrest and ISOFIX access, if a child seat shares that row

Material, and what you are trading

• Waterproof or water-resistant backing is the feature that matters most for a wet dog after the beach. Without it, water reaches the seat foam and the smell stays
• Quilted polyester is the common upper surface: durable, sheds hair reasonably, and warm
• Mesh panels help airflow in an Australian summer, which is a real comfort consideration for the dog
• Claw resistance is claimed by many and published as a rating by none
• Machine washable or hose-off. Check which, because a large quilted cover that needs a commercial machine is a problem

Heat, which is the serious part

A car cover does nothing about the actual danger of a dog in a car.

Never leave a dog in a parked car. Temperatures inside a parked vehicle rise very quickly and reach levels that kill dogs, and leaving a window ajar does not solve it. In Australia this is both an animal welfare offence in the relevant jurisdictions and a genuine risk on a mild day, not only a hot one.

If you see a dog in distress in a locked car, contact the RSPCA or the police in your state.

Practical use

• Fit it before the dog is muddy, not after
• Shake it out after every beach trip, because sand in a quilted cover is permanent otherwise
• A towel over the cover for a wet dog saves washing the cover every time
• Rinse the dog before it gets in after salt water. Bathing a dog that hates baths covers making that routine bearable
• Keep a separate old towel in the boot rather than using a house towel that will be complained about

Road trips with a dog: the realistic version covers the rest of the trip, what to pack for a weekend away with a dog covers the kit, and taking a dog to the beach or the park covers the sand and salt this product exists for.

What no listing tells you

• Claw or tear resistance as a rating, claimed by many and measured by none
• Actual coverage dimensions on many listings, which is why fit is the common complaint
• Wash cycle tolerance, so nothing here is ranked on durability
• Whether the fabric holds smell, which is the thing owners notice at six months

Before you buy

• Decide where the dog actually travels: back seat or boot
• Measure the seat, and check whether it is a flat bench or a split
• Check seat belt access if a person ever uses that row
• Prioritise a waterproof backing and real anchor straps over fabric weight
• Buy a restraint separately and on its own merits, because a cover is not one