We all enjoy going on a ride with our dogs especially that brief moment at the red light at which time we get to pet our dog’s head for cool 1-2 minutes. We don’t only enjoy such jolly ride as it’s a lot of fun for the dog(s) as well. Such exciting times shouldn’t be be curtailed by the mess you’re afraid your dog is going to create on your car leather seats.
So why not dog proof your car leather seats so that the fun with your dog lingers throughout your ride. So in this article, I’m going to show you 7 awesome ways to protect your leather car seats from your dog(s).
So how do you protect leather car seats from dogs? You can protect your leather car seats from dogs by:
- Fixing a leather seat cover on the leather car seat
- Using a suitable dog water bottle dispenser
- Using dog a seat belt
- Applying leather protectants
- Applying a dog anti-chew spray
- Using a dog travel crate
- Exercise
Having to fix leather car seats can be very expensive to repair, to replace, and having a messed up leather totally brings down the look of your whole car. Let’s go ahead to the details on how to protect leather car seats from dogs.
1. Leather Car Seat Cover
Using a leather car seat cover is a great way to protect the leather car seat from dogs. Leather car seat covers can simply be bought and fixed. All it takes it to attach it’s ends to each car seat headrests and you’re good to go.
They come in different forms but the most functional one I have found is the hammock style seat covers that protects the entire back of your car while giving you enough view and access to your dog when you want to pet him or her.
There are also leather car seat covers that are made for the front seat. This is awesome if you prefer having your do to your side rather than your back seat.
Your dog can slobber all over as it wants, scratch away, shed it’s fur as much as possible, and throw all of its weight all in excitement for your road trips to family houses, daycare, vets, etc and your car leather seat won’t be affected the slightest.
Leather car seat covers gives leather car seats the optimum protection from all kinds of mess your dog might inflict on your leather car seats.
Related Article: Do Mice Like Leather? The Surprising Answer
2. Dog Water Bottle Dispenser
There are many countless times I have tried to serve my dog with some water and it did not go so well on my car interior. Your dog will definitely get thirsty especially on those long road trips and getting your dog his or her own water bottle dispenser will help keep your doggy friend properly hydrated in a timely and a non-messy way.
Most of the time, what you might want to consider is to make a quick pitstop to quench your dogs thirst. But getting a good water bottle dispenser like this one from Amazon can make a whole world of difference.
These water dispenser bottles are specially designed for easy carry so that you will be able to give your dog water without spilling the water on your leather car seats. They are very easy to refill, and can be dispensed to the dog anywhere including inside of the car.
3. Dog Seat Belt
The next thing you can use to protect your leather car seat from your dog is a dog seat belt. The dog seat belt is particularly great if you have a seat cover for on only one or a small section of your car (like the front seat), or you use a quilt, or heavy blanket for the portion of the car your dog always sits when you hit the road.
The dog seat belt helps to restrain the dog to the seat where he’s meant to stay during the travel. This helps to also keep him safe inside of the car. The dog seat belt is very easy to use. A dog seat belt is a strip with 2 ends. You simply fasten one end of it like you would a regular seat belt and then attach the other end to your dog’s collar and you’re all set.
4. Use Leather Protectant
Using a leather protectant is another way to protect your leather car seat from your dog. It’s important to put on a really good leather protectant on your leather car seats. Basically, a leather protectant is going to give your leather car seats an extra layer of protection from oils that’s found in their fur and paws of dogs.
Also, a great leather protectants will also help prevent mud and water from the dogs feet from getting massaged into the pores of the leather car seat. Leather as a material has tiny little pores that allows the leather to breath, thus, allowing it to have the luxurious feel and look.
But when substances like mud, water, oils, and dirt get into the leather, it clogs the leather pores and it’s a total hassle to clean. So the leather protectant will ensure whatever mess the dog creates stays only on the surface of the leather so that you can easily wipe it off.
The leather protectants often come in spray forms and other easy-to-apply forms and they’re actually easy to use. A simple rule of thumb is, don’t spray or put the leather protectants directly onto the leather. Instead, put some squirts of it on a microfiber cloth and then apply using the cloth.
Another important thing you need to do is to first do a spot test of the protectant on an inconspicuous area of the leather car seat, before putting it all over. This is to ensure your leather protectants do what you expect it to do and not get surprised by any adverse damage to your leather car seats (such as darkening it or leaving behind a sticky residue).
5. Apply Dog Anti-Chew To The Leather Car Seats
While some dogs are going to put mud, water, oils, and slob all over your leather car seats, other dogs will lick and bite your leather car seats for various reasons.
You can check out an article I wrote earlier on Why Do Dogs Lick Leather?. It’s a detailed post on why our doggy friends lick and bite leather items, and how to safely prevent them from doing so.
For what it’s worth, this is can be easily prevented by applying a harmless dog anti-chew spray to your leather car seats to avert the need to lick and bite into your seats.
An anti-chew spray are indeed made to be harmless. They only contain bad-tasting but harmless liquid substances. This is a great way to discourage your dog from licking or biting into your leather car seats.
The anti-chew spray are marketed and sold under different names such as bitter apply spray, no- bite spray, or dog deterrent — they all do the same thing.
While the exact formula or ingredients used for an anti-chew spray will differ from one brand to another, they will all usually contain a bitter ingredient such as lemon, grapefruit skins, etc.
6. Dog Travel Crates
A dog travel crate is a safe way of transporting your pet in the car. This on the other hand, is also a great way of protecting your leather car seats if and only if your dog is properly trained and used the crate.
If your dog is properly introduced to a travel crate s/he’ll think of it as a safe place and will be extremely happy to spend time there when needed. You can check out this portable dog travel crate on Amazon! It’s extremely convenient and will not take up any storage space in your car.
7. Exercise!!! Equals Less Destruction
This is a method that works pretty well but it’s going to take some time prior to your dog getting into your car. This is how it works! The more exercise your dog gets right before your trip in the car, the calmer s/he’s going to be during the trip. This will also mean the less destructive your pooch will be.
Getting set for your road trip can be hectic, but making time to take your dog out for a walk or run before hopping in the car will definitely make the whole ride a pretty relaxed car ride for you, everyone else in the car and of course, no destruction to your leather car seats.
For high-energy dogs such as spaniels, retrievers, herding dogs, wearing them out right before the trip might just not cut it. So you would want to consider wearing s/he out the day before, as well.