The Baseline: AVMA Rules Out Loose Pets, We Rule Out Shared Crates
What AVMA says
AVMA’s policy on safe non-commercial transport of pets in motor vehicles is three short paragraphs. On the inside of a vehicle it says: “It is unsafe for pets to be loose inside motor vehicles.” The preferred means is “securing them in a species-appropriate enclosure of appropriate size, or fitting them with a properly designed, species-appropriate safety harness.”
Its separate paragraph on open cargo areas says transport of pets there, loose or tethered, is not safe, and that properly secured, size-appropriate enclosures designed for open cargo areas need to be used instead, ventilated and able to maintain climatic conditions suitable for the pet’s species, breed, size, age and conditioning. AVMA’s policy does not define “open cargo area.” We read it as a pickup bed or similar open-backed load space, not an SUV cargo area with the hatch closed. AVMA’s consumer page addresses pickup beds directly: if you must transport your dog in the bed of a pickup truck, use “a secured and appropriately sized and ventilated dog kennel.”
That consumer page is also where AVMA’s sizing and placement instruction lives. Choose a crate or carrier “big enough to allow your pet to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably”, then “Position the crate/carrier as near to the center of the vehicle as possible, and secure it in place to prevent movement.”
What AVMA does not say
AVMA’s policy does not address two animals sharing one enclosure, so the one-animal-per-enclosure rule is our recommendation, not AVMA policy. It rests on this site’s own reasoning:
- No sharing crates. A crate rated for one dog was not crash-tested with two dogs inside it. A CPS rating describes one exact configuration, down to the weight of the single dummy dog used, so it says nothing about how the same shell behaves with two animals in it. A shared enclosure also lets both animals collide with each other on impact, which no rating on the box accounts for.
- No tethering pets together as a substitute for individual restraint. AVMA addresses tethering only for open cargo areas, where it says loose or tethered transport is not safe. Inside the cabin, treating a shared tether as a restraint is our call, not a cited rule.
- No loose pets “keeping each other company” in the back seat or cargo area, even if they are calm together at home. This one is AVMA’s, and it does not depend on how many animals are aboard: loose inside a motor vehicle is unsafe.
For the same question worked through for cats, our can two cats share a carrier guide reaches the same one-animal-per-container recommendation and is equally explicit that no authority publishes a two-per-box figure.
Talk to your veterinarian if a pet has a health condition that makes crate confinement stressful (severe anxiety, certain orthopedic issues, brachycephalic breathing difficulty in a snug enclosure) before an emergency forces the decision. This page covers general transport safety, not condition-specific medical guidance.
What “Crash-Tested” Actually Means, and What It Doesn’t
There is no federal standard or mandatory industry crash test for pet carriers, crates or harnesses in the US. AVMA’s news article on pets and vehicles, published September 11, 2023, says that of the kennels, carriers, harnesses and seatbelts sold to restrain pets in cars, “unlike restraints for humans, there are no standards or industry tests for them”. It names the Center for Pet Safety (CPS) as “the only nonprofit organization with testing and performance requirements for these products”.
CPS’s original crate and carrier studies, run with Subaru in 2015, used specially designed crash-test dogs that approximate the size and weight of real dogs, at MGA Research Corporation, an independent lab contracted by NHTSA. CPS says it references Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards in setting its criteria. AVMA’s current policy is equally direct about the limits: it says limited scientific information exists to determine the safety of individual animal transport products, and it encourages evidence-based crash testing of enclosures and safety harnesses. That is an organization asking for more testing, not one treating CPS’s catalog as a finished standard.
Two things follow for a multi-pet household:
- “Crash-tested” on a product page is not the same as a published CPS result. Check the actual CPS-certified list before trusting the phrase.
- A rating only covers the exact tested configuration: a specific size, a specific test-dog weight and, for some products, a specific set of anchor hardware.
What’s on CPS’s Certified List
As of October 10, 2026, CPS’s certified directory showed these products among its listings:
The Diggs Passenger Carrier is not on that list. Its CPS product page shows a 5-star result from an October 2021 test with an 18 lb dummy dog, but as of October 10, 2026 it is not on CPS’s current certified list, so treat the 2021 result as history, not current certification.
CPS’s directory also lists three certified harnesses as of October 10, 2026: the Sleepypod Clickit Sport, the Sleepypod Clickit Range and the Saker Bomber Harness. Each rating covers its own tested size and test-dog weight, and a maker’s “crash-tested” claim for any other harness is not CPS certification. Our crash-tested dog harness guide covers all three and how to fit one.
A Rating Doesn’t Transfer Across Sizes or Setups
The Gunner G1 Kennel shows how narrow a certification is. The Small, Medium and Intermediate sizes carry a 5-star CPS rating, but the Large does not, despite the same brand and construction. The rating also applies only when the crate is anchored with Gunner’s own strength-rated tie-down straps and built-in anchor pins. The crate alone, secured some other way, is not the tested configuration.
The same logic applies broadly. A 5-star rating on a carrier tested with an 18 lb dummy dog says nothing about how a 40 lb dog crammed into it would fare, and a rating earned with one anchoring method does not carry over to a strap, buckle or seatbelt-latch setup you improvise.
Single-Dog SUV Owners: Which Crash-Tested Crate Fits the Cargo Area
Many people searching for a crash-tested dog crate for an SUV have one dog and one question: which CPS-certified crate should ride in the back, and will it fit? The same logic is your starting point if you add a second dog. The rules still hold: no two dogs sharing one crate, and a crate performs as tested only when anchored with the manufacturer’s own straps.
The CPS-Certified Crate Shortlist (and the Popular Crate That Isn’t On It)
Three hard-sided kennel lines carry a current CPS 5-star rating in sizes that suit a single medium-to-large dog (CPS’s crate list also includes the Rock Creek Crates Aluminum Kennel in Medium, which this page has not reviewed):
- For a large dog, the Gunner G1 is the wrong size to reach for. Only the G1 Small, Medium and Intermediate are on CPS’s certified list. The CPS-certified large-dog options are the Cabela’s GunDog Large (tested at 90 lb) and the Lucky Duck Lucky Kennel Large, the only crate on this page CPS-tested at a full 110 lb.
- No Diggs crate is on CPS’s certified directory. The only Diggs product CPS has published a result for is the soft Passenger Carrier (see above), not a hard crate. Check the certified list before assuming a well-known crate is crash-tested.
How the Crate Fits: A Worked SUV Cargo-Area Example
“Will it fit” is a footprint question, and the number that decides it is usually the width between the rear wheel wells, which intrude and leave less usable width than the load floor’s widest measurement. Measure that, plus the cargo length from the closed liftgate to the folded rear seatback, and leave a few inches of slack for the anchor straps and the door swing.
Exterior footprints of the certified sizes, smallest to largest:
| Crate and size |
Exterior footprint (L x W) |
Empty weight |
| Gunner G1 Small |
24.5” x 18.625” |
27 lb |
| Gunner G1 Medium |
29.5” x 20.5” |
38 lb |
| Lucky Duck Intermediate |
32.5” x 22.5” |
38 lb |
| Gunner G1 Intermediate |
34” x 23” |
48 lb |
| Lucky Duck Large |
38” x 24” |
45 lb |
One dog. Lucky Duck recommends its Intermediate for labs and retrievers under 70 lb. A Lucky Duck Intermediate (32.5 by 22.5 inches) or a Gunner G1 Intermediate (34 by 23) sits centered on the cargo floor, anchored with the maker’s straps. Measure your own cargo area to confirm. Lucky Duck recommends its Large for dogs from 70 to 110 lb. For a dog heavier than 90 lb, only the Lucky Duck Large (tested at 110 lb) has a CPS test weight above the dog’s weight; the Cabela’s GunDog Large was tested at 90 lb. Re-measure at that size: a Large footprint like the Lucky Duck’s 38 by 24 inches takes up most of a mid-size cargo floor on its own.
How many crates fit. Two Intermediate crates side by side need at least about 45 inches of clear width (two 22.5-inch shells touching, before any strap clearance), which is more than sits between the rear wheel wells of most SUVs short of full-size. If you are planning for a second dog, the realistic layouts are one crate anchored in the cargo area plus a second smaller carrier belted on a folded or rear seat, or two Small-to-Medium crates if both dogs are small enough. One big crate shared between two dogs is off the table, for the crash-configuration and collision reasons above. The practical loading order below covers the sequence. Past two animals the question is capacity, and a tape measure answers it: how many pets fit in one car runs cargo dimensions against crate footprints by vehicle type, including the stacking and anchor-point limits that cap the count well before floor space does.
How to Anchor a Carrier or Crate Correctly
AVMA’s positioning guidance comes from its consumer page on pet safety in vehicles, and it is written for one animal: “Position the crate/carrier as near to the center of the vehicle as possible, and secure it in place to prevent movement.” The enclosure should be big enough for the pet to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably. Nothing changes when a second animal is in the car; the guidance has to be met once per enclosure, which is where the layout problem starts.
In a multi-pet load you likely cannot put two or three crates all at true center. Prioritize:
- The heaviest or largest crate goes in the most stable position (typically flat cargo-area floor, low and centered), since a heavier enclosure that shifts does more damage on impact.
- Smaller carriers can go on a securely belted back seat if a seatbelt latch or strap system is part of that carrier’s design. Check the manufacturer’s own instructions for how the attachment is meant to be used.
- Every enclosure gets secured against movement, full stop. An unsecured carrier, even a highly rated one, is nowhere near its tested configuration if it can slide across the cargo area.
Cargo-Area Heat and Airflow: A Multi-Pet-Specific Risk
Loading multiple pets often means using the cargo area, not just the back seats.
Heat builds fast, everywhere in the vehicle. AVMA’s pet safety in vehicles page says the temperature inside your vehicle can rise about 20 degrees Fahrenheit in 10 minutes and almost 30 degrees in 20 minutes, and that at one hour the interior can be more than 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature. AVMA credits those figures to research on vehicle safety for children, and adds that “cracking the windows makes no difference.” That applies to the whole vehicle, not just the front seats. The page’s instruction is unqualified: “Never leave your pet alone in a parked vehicle, no matter what the outdoor temperature or how long you think you’ll be gone.”
Watch for heatstroke signs during the drive, not just when parked. The ASPCA lists the warning signs: excessive panting or difficulty breathing, increased heart or respiratory rate, drooling, weakness, or collapse. The ASPCA adds that symptoms can also include seizures, bloody diarrhea, vomiting and a body temperature above 104°F. If you see any of these signs, stop and get the animal to a veterinarian immediately. Do not monitor and wait it out.
A cargo-area reference point, used carefully. The USDA’s Animal Welfare Act regulations set a commercial-transport threshold worth knowing as a reference point. 9 CFR § 3.16(e) requires that during surface transportation, auxiliary ventilation such as fans, blowers or air conditioning be used in any animal cargo space containing live dogs or cats when the ambient temperature there reaches 85 °F. It also says the ambient temperature may not exceed 85 °F (29.5 °C) for more than 4 hours, nor fall below 45 °F (7.2 °C) for more than 4 hours. That section is a USDA standard for regulated animal transport. We are not offering a legal reading of how far it reaches, and it is not a rule we are applying to your own SUV. Treat it as a sense check for how seriously the regulated side of the industry takes sustained heat in an enclosed space.
Open tailgates are a carbon monoxide concern, not just a heat one. Sensorcon’s carbon monoxide guidance lists driving with the trunk lid or rear tailgate open among the practices to avoid. Keep the tailgate closed while the vehicle is moving with a pet aboard.
A Practical Loading Order for Multiple Pets
None of the sources cited on this page publishes a specific loading sequence for multi-pet vehicles. What follows is our own practical logic, not an authority citation:
- Secure and anchor the largest or heaviest enclosure first, in its planned position, before adding anything else. It is harder to anchor a big crate correctly around smaller carriers already in place.
- Load calmer, more crate-experienced animals next. An animal already comfortable in its carrier settles faster and won’t destabilize a neighboring enclosure by thrashing against it.
- Separate predator/prey-type pairings and any animals with tension between them. A cat carrier and a dog crate shouldn’t be pressed against each other if the pets stress each other out.
- Load the most anxious or reactive animal last, in a position where you can see or reach it quickly, since that pet is most likely to need a mid-drive check.
- Do a final walk-around: every enclosure anchored, every latch checked, nothing loose that could shift under braking.
Safety Reminders Before You Drive
- Never leave any pet unattended in a parked vehicle, in the cabin or the cargo area, at any temperature. That is AVMA’s own instruction and it carries no exception.
- A wrong-configuration “crash-tested” claim is worse than no claim. Confirm the exact size, weight rating and anchor hardware match what CPS actually tested before trusting a 5-star label.
- If a pet shows heatstroke signs during transport (heavy panting, drooling, weakness, collapse, seizures), stop and get to a veterinarian immediately. Don’t try to manage it in the vehicle.
- For suspected poisoning or toxic exposure during a stop, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is available 24/7 at (888) 426-4435. The ASPCA’s own page notes a consultation fee may apply.
How We Chose
These picks are built from the Center for Pet Safety’s published crash-test results, cross-referenced against manufacturer spec pages for dimensions and anchoring hardware. We did not test any of these carriers or crates ourselves. Where an Amazon listing could not be confirmed as live, we give a search link instead of a direct link. More at our review methodology.
Once your loading plan is set, the harder multi-pet question is often triage: our which pet evacuates first guide walks through prioritizing animals when time is short, and multi-pet go-bag math covers scaling food, water and supplies per animal rather than per household. If cats are part of your load, evacuating multiple cats covers carrier and handling considerations specific to cat behavior under stress.
This page owns the restraint mechanics: crash-test evidence, anchoring, and cargo-area heat and carbon monoxide risk, for any drive from an afternoon evacuation to a multi-day relocation. For a long-distance move rather than a short evacuation, our moving long distance with pets guide covers what this page doesn’t: CVI and interstate paperwork timing, microchip-address updates, hotel-stay logistics, per-species transport rules for fish, reptiles and birds, and the sedation question, and points back here for the restraint setup.