The gap between the back seat and the front seats is where dogs lose their footing. Every time the car slows, a dog standing in the rear footwell has to scrabble, and a dog lying across the bench slides forward into the void. Filling that gap turns two levels into one flat platform, and most dogs settle within a journey or two once the floor stops moving underneath them.

The base is deeply padded, so it carries a dog over potholes instead of passing every bump straight through, and the underside is non-slip to stop the whole thing creeping forward under braking. The top surface is quilted and wipes clean, which is the part that earns its keep after a wet field walk: mud, hair and drool stay on the cover rather than grinding into the upholstery underneath. Raised sides give an anxious dog an edge to press against, which is usually what settles them faster than any amount of reassurance from the front.

• Fills the rear footwell to make one flat, level platform
• Deep padded base for long drives and rough roads
• Non-slip backing so it does not creep forward
• Quilted, wipe-clean top surface
• Raised sides for dogs who lean into something
• One size, one colourway

On fit: rear footwells differ enormously between a supermini and an estate, and no measurements are published for this platform. Worth saying too: a full platform blocks the footwell entirely, so it suits a car where the back seats belong to the dog rather than to passengers.

Who it's for: Drivers whose back seat is already the dog's seat, and who want a flat, stable surface instead of a bed that shifts around.