A small dog in a car spends the whole trip looking at the back of a seat. That is where a good deal of whining and car sickness comes from: no horizon, no idea where they are going and nothing to settle their balance against. Raising them to window height gives them something to look at, and it is often the difference between a dog who fusses the entire way and one who lies down and sleeps.

The base is padded and structured rather than floppy, so it holds its shape under a dog instead of collapsing into the seat cushion, and a triple safety buckle anchors the whole thing in place. A carry handle means it lifts out in one piece, and at the other end it works as an ordinary bed, which is worth more than it sounds, because a dog who arrives to their own familiar bedding settles into a strange house far faster.

• 55cm wide x 50cm deep x 35cm high
• Recommended for dogs under 7kg
• Padded, structured base that holds its shape
• Triple safety buckle to anchor it to the seat
• Carry handle for lifting in and out
• Doubles as a bed at your destination
• Weighs 1.62kg

Two things worth knowing. The 7kg limit is the real one. This is a seat for a small dog rather than a medium one, and a heavier dog flattens the base and defeats the point of it. And a booster seat is a comfort and containment aid, not a crash-tested restraint: the strap must clip to a harness and never to a collar, and nothing in this class is certified to hold a dog in an impact.

Who it's for: Owners of dogs under 7kg who drive often and have a passenger who would rather see out than sit in a footwell.