Leaving dogs in the car.

That's considerate of you.

This is a tangent, but I work in a very dog-friendly park with a devout muslim gardener. He cannot tolerate dogs, and it's as if he is in some sort of purgatory working in this park. Anyway, while I still take my dog to work (figuring that he's like the 99th dog in this man's way every day...) I have been quite vigilant about making sure my dog gives the gardener space.

I live in a big city where people are getting irritated and put out all day long... people here tend to either get over it or get what they need. I would not feel like this is OK though if my dog wasn't well behaved.

I have no problem leaving my dog in the car - weather permitting! I have lots of days that I am running around here and there and can be out and about all morning or afternoon. My dog likes to ride with me. We talk, we sing, we check out the dogs on the street. It's fun! My dog loves being stopped at a light. He gets lots of attention from the drivers beside us and if we're really lucky, we get stopped along side a bus. Kobi gets all wiggley and excited when the passengers acknowledge him.

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Denise, sounds almost exactly like me and sparky...he cries if i go out without him.

ORIGINAL: Auburn

I don't get the concept of taking your dog in a car in the first place.  The only time April goes in car is to the groomer, or once in a blue moon to the dog store where she can get out and walk around.  But to just take them to sit in the car while you go to the store? what is the point?

We drive to different parks, to other areas of the city, to visit people, go on trips, etc.   We go somewhere almost every day and Louise really loves riding in the car; we have street parking, but she knows which car is ours and runs right up to it.   It's nice that she is so used to the car that we can take long car rides - like the 5 hours drive to Montreal - and she's completely happy.

Anyway, I leave Louise in the car for a few minutes while I pay for gas or run into Starbucks sometimes.

I leave Ace in the car sometimes.  I am careful about the hot-car issue but since I live in Alaska, there are not too many days when it's too hot.  Usually he is just waiting while I run into the store or something.   But sometimes I take him somewhere and he is having trouble settling down or being pesty or for some other reason he ends up "kenneled" in the car and might stay there for an hour or so. 
 
In fact he has even stayed in the car overnight:  once we were car camping and it was cold and pouring rain and he was whiny and cold in the tent.  He usually likes to sleep in the tent with me, but not that time.  He would not settle on his camping bed, and was just pacing around whining and nosing at the corners of the tent.  It wasn't a potty problem, he just wasn't happy in there.  He was keeping us both up all night and he seemed so miserable.  Finally I decided to try putting him in the car and he settled down and went right to sleep.  Honestly I was jealous -- the car was warmer and drier and overall probably a lot more comfy than the tent that night! 

With gas prices, I *have* to combine trips. So frequently, Mal waits in the car while I do the grocery shopping (after dark, only if the temp's below 70- the sun is what causes the car to heat up, they don't do it without that) or run other errands on our way home from the dog park, which is all the way across town. Part of this is to get him accustomed to travelling and practice loading and unloading, but he's not ready for serious public access. (At that point, it won't be a problem- he's a SDIT.) I *do* always leave water for him, and I wouldn't leave him there longer than it takes to get gas if it's over 70, and not at ALL over 80, but a few minutes alone in the car isn't the end of the world. It just takes care. 

I don't get the concept of taking your dog in a car in the first place.  The only time April goes in car is to the groomer, or once in a blue moon to the dog store where she can get out and walk around.  But to just take them to sit in the car while you go to the store? what is the point?

 
I can't imagine walking out the door too often and not taking her with me.  If it's not a danger for her to be in the car with me then she is.  If I've got errands to do I do drive-up's like at the bank or getting coffee if I can.  If  I can't she will just lie down on the back seat and wait for me to return. I don't rush back in twenty minutes but she's not out there for hours either.  I don't think she really knows if it's 20 minutes or 45 nor does she care. 
 
You can't even tell she's in the car unless you get right up to the window.  She loves going for rides and according to my husband is very down when she gets left home.  But, I won't hesitate to leave her home if I feel she won't be safe due to heat or any other reason. 
 
I can't imagine her life being so limited that she gets in the car just once a month or something like that. 
 
My brother and uncle also take their dogs all over.  My brother's dog has traveled across country and down the coast with them.  They never leave him home.

I can't imagine not taking my fur kids with me when I go somewhere. It's just a given that unless I am going to work, most times the dogs are with me. If I go somewhere and I don't bring them, the first question out of other people's mouths is to ask me where they are. I have always joked that Boss wouldn't care if I drove to the city dump and back as long as he got to go.
 
It's been easier to deal with them since getting a van after my car's engine fell out. Boss discovered quite quickly how to get his nose into the crack of the side window and blow air out at us as we walk away from him. All the windows are dark tinted and they love to just lay down and wait for me or do some sight seeing. I was so proud of them the other night. I ran into the store for some groceries. On my way out I saw some area rugs on clearance. I took the groceries to the van to check on the dogs and went back after the rugs. Even with meat packages in the bags, they didn't touch them and I was surprised since some of it was liver for their treats.
 
I won't leave them if it's extremely hot out, but with the weather like it's been lately around here I do feel comfortable enough to leave them. Like the other night, we left them and went into Walmart and did some shopping for personal care items and a movie. We weren't gone maybe 20 minutes at the most and the biggest problem was one of them had such bad gas we thought they pooped while we were in the store. They do have a water dish and I always have bottled water, and they have a couple chew toys. But they really enjoy sitting in the front seats watching things go by since it's a better view from the van than it was in the car.  

My husband and I went to TN for 10 days this past August. We took the dogs, we were there for a dock jumping competition. Every morning we would stop at the grocery store and get beverages and ice for the cooler. When my husband ran into the store, I purposely stayed in the car with the dogs. It was a minimum of 100 degrees when we were there, I did not want people to think we were leaving our dogs for long. I was there to protect them. The windows were down, and I would have the keys so I could run the air conditioner if I needed.

On a sad note, while we were there some friends from NY came down to the event with 4 labs. They had a pick up truck with the crates in the back of the truck which had a cap on it. On their trip down they had the cab window to the back open so the air conditiioner would reach, and they had fans blowing in the back of the truck to. The first morning in TN, they went to a friends place and let the dogs out to play. It topped out at 105 that day. The dogs played and when they were done they loaded them back in the truck, and went to their hotel 10 minutes down the road. When they got to the hotel, one dog was dead, the other near death (later died) the other 2 were fine. They say the vet ruled out heat exposure, but no necropsy was done. I think either they got into something (snake bite or poison) or it had to be the heat. I don't think they realized how hot the back of that truck really was. I have a Ford Explorer and it would take FOREVER to cool down while we were there. My car I can blow the air conditioning directly with controls in the back of the car. It was so sad. One dog was a Dock Dog record holder, the other a promising young dog. Who knows what happend but it was very sad.

Ann

ORIGINAL: Auburn

DPU and what would happen if your motor to your car would shut off?  Sorry, I do not leave my dog in my car or take her when it isn't necessary.

Good point Auburn, though in all the time I've left my dogs inside my truck with the engine running and the A/C on full blast, that's never happened.
I take Xerxes to dog shows and now with Gaia as well I will leave them in the car with the engine running and the A/C running.  I have left them for extended time periods of up to an hour.  I don't worry about the dogs getting stoled because I lock the vehicle and always carry two keys.  I go back and check up on them and they are usually sleeping peacefully.  Since all the windows and sunroof are tinted I don't worry about anyone seeing them and trying to steal them...besides if you knocked on the window and they don't know you the noise level would be enough to cause concern.

I've even left the dogs in the car for 5 minutes while I went in to get a cup of coffee-no problems.  They view the Element as their second home (as they should since the only reason I got it was for them.)

If I am going to a non-doggie place I will leave my guys at home.  If I go to the office (dogs are allowed) but I have to make a quick stop, I will take Dasher with me and he will sit in the car for a couple of minutes (weather premitting of course).
 
I go to a lot of agility trials and I agree with mudpuppy for the most part.  I do not leave Dasher in the car during a trial, I have a tent that I set up and Dasher hangs out in the tent.  However, this past weekend the weather was horrible on Saturday, cold and rainy, so I left Dasher in the car.  He was much happier, it would have been too cold for him to hang out in a tent all day.  Sunday was much better it was about a high of 65 and sunny.  I opted to not set up the tent just for the day so he was in the car and in my lap for most of the day.  I have sun shades, etc so he was nice and cool when he had to sit in the car for course walking, etc.  This was the first weekend he spent in the car at a trial, I normally don't do it, but in this case it made sense.  

I don't generally take my dogs unless we're going on a dog related errand. But they really like riding in the car, so every now and then they'll hop in with me while I'm going to the store or something. I am very cautious about temperature and will park in the shade, leave the windows cracked and not leave them for more than 15-20 minutes if it's too warm outside. Sometimes they will bark, sometimes they will sleep or just look out the window. But I've got to say that I am very responsible about it and if someone where to call the police on me, I would be extremely upset.
 
My parents have a truck with a camper shell and they take their dogs everywhere. The dogs love it. They will sleep in the back of the truck for hours without any trouble. Of course my parents don't leave them back there if it's too hot or too cold.

Xerxes yep...I'm thinking these folks here might be shocked by the parking lot at a show lmao!
 
Personally I think more dogs likely die from not being in CRATES while their owners travel with them...than being left in the car while their owners run errands.

I could certenly understand leaving them in a car if the air is going and maybe a solar blaket or something similar. As long as the owner has it all undercontorl with the dog's health in mind first the that sounds fine. But when it's 80 to 100 degrees outside and the dog if left alone with nothing then I can get a little upset about that.

Also a big concer is the laws that are in place for leaving a dog in a car, like in my state it's illegal to do that when the sun is out any time of the year. Even if I trusted myself to leave my dog in the car I'de rather not to avoid the fine.

I use a doggy seat belt when I drive with her. I would love to have her in a crate but my car is too small to fit the right size crate for her.

I'm thinking these folks here might be shocked by the parking lot at a show  

Exactly!  If there are people calling the cops because you left your dog in the car for 10 minutes to get ice cream, then they'd better get their cell phones on speed dial on dog show grounds.  Imagine the audacity of a breeder that cares about their dogs but leaves them in a crate inside the car with only a *gasp* crate fan to keep them cool.

These are also the same people that bring cooling jackets ring-side to prevent their dogs from overheating, they have spritzer bottles passed to them while they are in the group ring, and ice packs at the standby.

And we're not talking 10 or 15 people...we're talking dozens.  But in the dog-show business you can't leave your dogs in an unlocked vehicle or out in the open for fear of poisonings, theft, or other tom-foolery from shady competitors and ne'er do wells.

I have left Ash in the care before, but only to run in somewhere quickly. I have never left her in the car during the day (no matter what season it is). The longest she has waited is 25 minutes. If I have to leave her in there, it's always in the night, cool outside, windows rolled down enough, parked in shade and away from other cars. I'm usually in and out. My concern is not whether or not she's o.k. in there because I know she is. I would never leave her in there if I thought otherwise. My concern is someone calling Animal Control on me because they don't know that I just ran in and out.
 
When she was a puppy, I tried to never ever leave her in the car, even for 5 minutes, because I was paranoid about someone taking her. That actually happened here before. Someone had left there 6 month old puppy in their car while they went into a Home Depot I think. They left the windows completely rolled down, but it was in the middle of the summer and very hot outside. Someone came and took the puppy out of the car and took off with it, leaving a note about how they didn't deserve to own a dog if they would leave it in a car unattended during a hot day.