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Barking mad: Skoda creates seatbelt for dogs

Some motorists love their pets as much as fellow humans (sometimes more so), which is why Skoda is doing anything but barking up the wrong tree with a seatbelt for canines.

The Dog Safety Belt has been added to the Skoda Genuine Accessories catalogue, which means your furry quadruped can soon travel in safety, regardless of how fast you corner, accelerate or brake. It attaches to the standard seatbelt and can be used as a lead.

There’s more method to the madness than it first seems. Apart from keeping your dog from being thrown through the windscreen in the event of a crash, it stops he or she from trying to get on your lap and keeps the boot free for other things.

A choice of small, medium, large and XL means the Dog Safety Belt will work for anything from a Jack Russell to a Great Dane and you could, in theory, have two in the back if you prefer the company of animals to humans. Prices start from £50 including VAT rising to £85 for the XL.

If that hasn’t given dog owners paws for thought, you can also spec waterproof backseat protection to keep soggy mutts from ruining the boot and, on Fabia, Octavia and Superb estate models, a boot divider so you can keep your shopping separate (priced from £105.50). There’s also a £30 Backseat protector.

Rounding off the canine-based upgrades are rubber and plastic boot mats and a double-sided carpet in case they decide to use the boot as a toilet on a long journey or go for an unauthorised swim. These are available on the Rapid, Rapid Spaceback, Yeti, Octavia and Octavia Estate.

Check out our Superb and Superb Estate reviews before deciding what doggy upgrades to go for.

Update: Added prices and availability details.

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