Curious about dog travel safety — do small dogs really need a car seat or carrier?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I’m trying to find a safe and comfortable way for my friend’s small dog to travel in the car，his name is potato loll，very cute and naughty. I’ve checked out a bunch of products — seat belts, harnesses, bags, and crates — but none of them feel quite right.

The harness type doesn’t seem ideal because the dog is tiny, and for short city trips it feels a bit unnecessary. But at the same time, just putting the dog in an open-topped bag or box on the back seat feels unsafe too.

So I wanted to ask — what do you all think about travel safety for small dogs?

Do you actually use any kind of restraint or seat setup? Have you noticed any safety risks or behavior issues when the dog is unrestrained? And if she drives alone，she will worry about her Potato，i mean，there should consider maybe material or color of product？

I’m a product design student, so I’m also curious from a design perspective — what kind of product would actually make sense for small dogs in urban settings? If anyone has thoughts, experiences, or suggestions for improvement, I’d really love to hear them.

Thanks in advance!