Do you leave your dogs in the car?

[noludoru]

I've sat in car with the dog in the summertime and neither of us were dying.

In the wintertime... they can shut it. Yes if your dog is 10 lbs and it's -20 C you may not want to leave them in the car for 2 hours while you go to the mall.

I've sat in the car with Middie or sat in the car alone to nap and never had a problem. I SLEPT in my truck for a few hours in 85-90 degree weather with the windows cracked, and I was fine. I've left Middie in the truck for hours, I've left him in the car for less than an hour quite frequently, and I've left him in the Miata with the top down in the summer. He's fine with it. I've never come back to more than drool.

 

[GingerKid]

We don't make a habit of it, but yes, I do sometimes leave Snowball in the car. Usually its on the way to/from the dog park/pet store/somewhere else. We live in a climate that doesn't pose much of a danger to most dogs left in the car for a reasonable amount of time. Even in the summer time... it seems like temps in the mid-20s (celsius) are getting rarer by the year! :lol-sign:

Snowball doesn't seem to mind being left in the car; he's quiet, mostly just watches people or takes a nap.

 

[Julee]

No, only because I get paranoid about someone trying to steal them, or feed them, or something. Copper also bays incessantly, but Dad takes her places anyways lol

 

[Gypsydals]

I typically don't go shopping with the dogs in the car. If I am on my way home from somewhere and I have one of them with me. I will run in and usually be back out.
Ivan is always in a covered crate and sounds like someone is killing him. He has issues with me leaving him.
Not sure how Phoebe is yet.

 

[meepitsmeagan]

Sure! My dogs spend quite a bit of time in the car. They are both good as long as there is no food in there (ahem, Harlow).

I try not to leave them for more than a half hour or so consecutively, but meh. We ain't picky! As long as it's comfortable and not June-September or Dec-February here, they are just fine.

 

[Whisper]

No. If I lived in a more temperate climate, I wouldn't be so paranoid, but there's often a story on the news about how someone left their dog in the car, "just for a few minutes," took longer than they thought they would, and came back to an extremely sick or dead dog. Same story with babies.
You just don't mess around with stuff like that when it's 110 degrees F and up.

 

[Elrohwen]

Occasionally for short periods of time if I have to run into a store quickly, pick up takeout, etc. Theoretically I don't have a problem with leaving him in nice weather, but he used to be a horrible car barker so I avoided it. Now that he's finally learned to STFU in the car, I can take him more places, though now I worry that he'll get bored and chew threw his car tether (for the second time). He does stay in the car for nosework and at doggy events without an issue.

I always roll down the windows a bit, even if it's cold. If it's sunny out it can get warm in there even if the outside temp is 30deg, and he doesn't seem to get cold. In the summer when he has to stay in the car for nosework I either roll the windows down completely, or leave it running with the A/C on.

 

[Dagwall]

I've left him in the car a handful of times while I run in to grab carry out.

All the time for our travel nosework classes. We started the travel classes back in August with high temps. I'd have him outside to walk around often, lots of chances to drink some water, and turn the AC on occasionally to cool the car down if it started to get hot. During the fall and winter he has zero issues staying in the car. We are rarely there for more than about an hour, the car starts heated up from the drive there.

I froze my butt off at our first barn hunt in December. It was snowing and in the mid 20s. I had the heat running in the car most of the day for me, Jubel really didn't seem to be cold in the car. I had a blanket for him but he didn't seem interested. When I covered him he usually removed it himself shortly after.

With the prospect of long hours in the heat/sun for nosework trials/classes and barn hunts this spring/summer I'm planning on buying one of these covers for my car soon.

Jubel is fine being left in the car. He much prefers it to the prospect of being left in a strange motel room. On our first trip for a barn hunt he pitched a fit when I tried to leave him in the motel room and get the rest of my stuff from the car. So when I needed to run to target later that evening and grab some dinner he stayed in the car. Much less stressful for him and he was quite and well behaved.

 

[SpringerLover]

Yes. When Bailey lived with me in the city, she would have to come to work with me on occasion due to her anxiety. I felt comfortable bringing her with anywhere from 40-75 degrees F if I could park in the shade. The car is her safe place. She went with to my evening job frequently and to my day job infrequently. I worked for about 4 hours in the evening with a 15 minute break where I'd check on her and take her out to pee. During the day it was 8 hours and I'd generally bring her if I was going to be driving for work that day. With Bailey, it was often easier to just bring her along, so I did.

I can leave Buzz & Gabby in the car, but Buzz doesn't like having to stay in one position for a long time these days, so if I can leave him home, I do.

 

[stardogs]

Generally if the weather is between 30 and 70 I have no problem leaving my dogs in the car for varying lengths of time; my dogs often end up running errands with me after classes or other dog-needed activities.

They are crated out of the car at events and IPO practice when it's even warmer because I can leave the hatch open and lock their crates. I'm back and forth to the car frequently when crating out of it, and they have fans and water.

I don't get the comment about the car being a fridge in the article - my dogs heat the car up easily, especially if more than one is crated inside. If it's over 40 I usually crack a window to release some of the humidity they produce.

I will sometimes put a note in the window if it's close to 70 or close to 30 with "I'm just going to be a few minutes, and the dogs are acclimated to these temperatures. If you have any concerns, call _____" I do this much less now that I have a vehicle with tinted back windows and a Variocage that sits low enough you can't really tell that I have dogs inside.

 

[Emily]

Yup, if weather allows, all the time. If it's just because I'm stopping somewhere quick headed to/from work, then they're loose. If it's going to be for any real length of time, I crate them because they car guard. In their crates they are very comfortable, and sleep the whole time. They have overnighted in their car crates before too.

When it's nice out I also might take them to forest preserves etc and work them one at a time. If I can see the car, I will crate and leave windows down, and put up a sun shade, so that can be done in almost any temps. If I can't see the car, obviously I can't leave the windows thrown down, so that's different.

Keeva could get stolen, I guess. She barks but wouldn't bite. Blossom probably not. lol. Big bark, lots of teeth. People tend not to mess with shepherd-type dogs who act like that IME.

Keeping them in my car is honestly vital for many reasons, mostly work. I'm expanding training services and doing in home stuff for my work now, so they will very often need to be kenneled in my car and then pulled out for demos. Plus we often get our exercise in before appointments, and stuff.

 

[maxfox426]

I don't leave Morgan alone in the car, generally speaking, but that is mostly because he's not very good at it. To tell the truth, he's the first dog I've ever lived with that doesn't really enjoy the car. Yes, he likes to be WITH us and go places, but the car is something he simply tolerates in order to be with us.

If we are on our way back from the vet/pet store/etc. and I need to stop for gas or run in for one item at the drugstore, sometimes I will leave him. Nothing any longer than that, though. Really, I can count on one hand how many times I've even done that. LOL

 

[FG167]

All. the. time.

Mine used to come to work with me every single day. All year around. That means that in the winter it was cold, in the summer it was hot. I was careful, watchful, and they got loads of exercise and attention that way.

Now I have a new job and I will probably only bring them to work if the temps are reasonable since my car isn't directly outside the door to where I work (or right next to me when I worked outside).

Mine are always crated. They're in varikennels so mostly no one can tell when they're in there and they boys are quiet.

 

[Laurelin]

I'm glad I'm not the only one. It is not uncommon for my dogs to spend a couple hours in the car. They much prefer going with me on errands if possible vs staying home. Like I said, Mia loves her back of the head rest lookout spot.

My only worry is people breaking in to steal the dogs or to 'save them' but I've never heard of that happening. Hopefully someone else would notice if my car was being broken into regardless of dogs or no dogs in the car.

 

[Elrohwen]

Hopefully someone else would notice if my car was being broken into regardless of dogs or no dogs in the car.

My friend's car was broken into at a crowded Ikea parking lot. Somebody smashed the window right in and went through her stuff looking for valuables. As far as she knows nobody said anything or called the police and she came out of the store and found it that way. It was the middle of winter and she said the 1.5 hour drive home wasn't fun.

 

[MrsBoats]

I do unless it is above 85 degrees. My day job...I'm a landscape designer and in the spring and early summer, I run from 8 in the morning until 7 - 8 at night sometimes. Because I have big crates in my SUV, I bring them with me. When I'm at someone's house, I completely open up the vehicle...all the windows/sun roof/back window are completely open. I park in the shade or in a way the sun isn't totally on the dogs...and they are fine. I would rather have them with me because I am not stressing about getting home to let them out. They have food, water, and potty breaks when they are on the road with me. If I have to pop into a store or something...I have an automatic start. I just leave the car running with either the AC or the heat running depending on the weather.

I'm not too worried about people stealing them...Ocean won't go with anyone he doesn't know. He would go down fighting if someone attempted to take him...and I'm sure that wouldn't be pretty. Someone would notice the rottweiler trying to battle someone prying him from a car.

 

[OhHappyDogs]

Yes and no. If it's really hot or cold, she stays at home. She's only 10 pounds and can go hypothermic easily. Otherwise I might take her for a long walk with a friend and then leave her in the car while we grab a bite to eat. While she's in her car seat she's highly visible, so I put those sunscreens on the front and side windows to give her privacy. Also I never leave her in the car if we're in a dodgy neighborhood. Otherwise it's nice to have her with me.

 

[Beanie]

My only worry is people breaking in to steal the dogs or to 'save them' but I've never heard of that happening. Hopefully someone else would notice if my car was being broken into regardless of dogs or no dogs in the car.

The stealing is the thing I really worry about. I don't put them in situations where the temps are going to be a problem, but I do worry about somebody wanting to break into the car and swipe the flashy, handsome dog. People break into cars here even when there's nothing of value in sight so they can go through the console and glove box to look for a GPS or MP3 player... I definitely don't like to leave something "of value" where people can see him. A GPS can be replaced, a broken window repaired. Payton can't be replaced.

 

[Fran101]

The stealing is the thing I really worry about. I don't put them in situations where the temps are going to be a problem, but I do worry about somebody wanting to break into the car and swipe the flashy, handsome dog. People break into cars here even when there's nothing of value in sight so they can go through the console and glove box to look for a GPS or MP3 player... I definitely don't like to leave something "of value" where people can see him. A GPS can be replaced, a broken window repaired. Payton can't be replaced.

The stealing this is what gets me too.

Someone stole a dog the other day that was tied up for a few minutes outside of starbucks. I can't imagine.

 

[DJEtzel]

I leave mine in the car frequently. They have double coats, they are healthy. If it's pretty cold I just leave the car running most of the time.

They're in there between classes, during trials, if I have to stop at the store, etc. Everyone is crated, except for Frag. I don't do it much during warmer months, I'll just crate them outside/inside the training facility. But all winter I do it as necessary. No one has come close to being harmed, yet.

eta; There isn't much (any) incidence of dog theft around here and I only do it for extended periods of time at dog places.