Dogs Being Left In Hot Cars

[Danois]

I just had a good example of what was meant to be a quick trip to the small local IGA which, I've I'd taken my dog for the trip, would have caused problems.

- Parked and ran into someone I knew when I was getting my parking ticket and had a quick chat

- Got the few items I needed - usual brand was not in stock so had to look at alternatives

- Went to checkouts and 15 people in the line to be served.

- Paid then realised I had forgotten toilet paper which I needed so went back - only 5 people this time

- Leaving ran into another person and had a chat

- Back to the car and I had been away 32 mins - this was supposed to be a quick trip.

SMH says its 28 degrees here at the moment.

But I guess this scenario also depends on how you respond to the events. If my dog was in the car and I ran in to someone I knew I'd say I couldn't stop to talk because my dog was in the car and I needed to get back to him and would suggest giving them a call later. If there were 15 people waiting to be served I would leave my basket of goods, take my dog home and come back and get my shopping (unless of course it was the evening and there was no way the car could heat up). If I'd been gone that long and then realised I forgot something I wouldn't go back and get it without first checking on my dog and if it was something I could do without for another day I'd just leave it. There's no way I would leave my dog in the car for that long in 28 degrees, shade or not, no matter how much it inconvenienced me to leave what I was doing.

You missed the point of the post. I was illustrating the point that it is easy for a 'quick' trip into the shops can easily get derailed by things out of your control and time slips away quickly.

[raz]

KTB if the dogs are only with you when both of you are iin the car, why doesn't someone just stay with the dogs?

I'm trying to figure out why it takes 2 people to carry a Domino pizza box and why they think the dog needs a trip in the car to collect his owner's dinner...

Back to the OP -If I saw a dog locked in a hot car for 20 minutes or more I'd call the police. If they were busy I'd ask permission to smash the window and get the dog out. Havent people learnt anything? Babies and animals locked in bloody hot cars DIE. Stupid idiots.

[koalathebear]

No, I very much got the point of your post. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. What I was trying to say in response was that whilst many things can happen that would extend how long someone intended to be on a shopping trip a responsible dog owner would also respond appropriately to those things that crop up, with the dog being the focus of your attention. If that means that you're going to be much longer than expected because of unforseen events then you need to be prepared to walk away and inconvenience yourself so that your dog doesn't suffer. That's partly why I don't leave my dog in the car at large supermarkets or shopping centres - too much can go wrong. At a little IGA where you're parked in the shade and close to the door, it's very easy to get in and out quickly and if something unforseen does crop up it's also easy to leave and be back at the car within 30 seconds.

Snook - I know you were responding to someone else but thank you so much for your post because it says what I have been trying to say in a very inept manner. We do not like leaving our dogs in a hot car and we definitely don't and I agree that the situation described by the OP seemed very reprehensible.

When we do stop by the local shops, the window is down and we are a few metres away. While one of us could stay with the dogs, it's part of us training Elbie not to whinge and complain just because he's left behind. We would never want to tether either dog at the shops although it's something a lot of people do.

We like to bring our dogs with us where we can because we were told from the start that Kelpies like to be with their people - even if it's just a quick visit to the shops or hanging out in the car with us. If anything arose, we can always see our dogs so if one of us was delayed, the other would be able to see to the dogs. I know it's always possible that something awful could happen that killed us both but it's as likely/unlikely as both of us dying in our sleep and Hoover being trapped in his crate at night as a result ... If someone's a genuinely responsible dog owner who cares about his/her dogs, you don't automatically become an irresponsible/bad owner whose windows deserve to be smashed in just because you occasionally leave your dogs alone in the car under controlled conditions.

As I've mentioned, for longer shopping trips, the dogs are at home or one of us will actually take the dogs out of the car and hang out on a nearby bench. I realise that in some people's books, the above makes me a bad dog owner but I guess I am just trying to explain why we do the things we do and why we think it's fine and why it isn't quite the same as someone who leaves their dog in the car for ages unattended in the heat ...

I appreciate that some people do not agree with what we do and would not themselves do it but I think that that should be a different matter from assessing conduct as cruel/irresponsible/illegal etc ... We all love our dogs here so I think we're all a little sensitive to allegations that we're not doing the right thing by them ... In any case, I will drop the issue now because I now regret posting in the first place

[Clyde]

I tend to take my dogs everywhere in winter - usually below about 16degrees. If it's about 16-20 I still take them but not if Im going to be somewhere for a while, I will run in and out of my local shop which is always quiet and I make sure I don't get distracted. I don't take them with me if it's above about 21 and I have to stop anywhere. They come with me for school runs etc when I know they will be with me in air con and not left at all.

[poodlefan]

KTB I don't think anyone in their right mind would label you a 'bad' dog owner

The issue with dogs, heat and cars is the "things that can go wrong" factor. I think from memory, 10 minutes is long enough to see a car temperature rise dramatically. Dogs overheat faster than we do, dark coated dogs heat faster again and without an available source of water they have little capacity to cool themselves. There's a lot of factors to juggle and I have opted for the easiest solution to me - I just don't do it in hot weater.

Of course you could always just buy a station wagon, have rear metal gates installed and leave the rear door up. :p

[rose of tralee]

Re OP's case...the dog being relaxed would give it some buffer v. an animal which is stressed straightaway at being left.

Last visit to My Locksmith for a key copy, I was pleased (but not all that surprised as he is a very nice bloke) to see a notice on his front desk stating he was available for no charge call outs for animals needing release from cars and providing his phone number. Which I put in my mobile along with local police and animal rescue numbers.

I absolutely take my girl on selected trips, planning ahead for availability of quality shade, and having water in a secure Coolman type thing and windows down generously. Also only to places where I could hear the car alarm or a bark...she will bark once or twice loudly if eyeballed by a stranger. She's always sitting/lying quietly when I return.

Fewer/no car trips = more backyard time (in her case, more lounge chair waiting for an outing )

An option I have used on occasion (and seen in other cars) is to leave a mobile number in clear view. Just in case...

[Greytmate]

If someone's a genuinely responsible dog owner who cares about his/her dogs, you don't automatically become an irresponsible/bad owner whose windows deserve to be smashed in just because you occasionally leave your dogs alone in the car under controlled conditions.

Nobody deserves to have windows broken, it is what sometimes has to happen to release a dog from a car.

I am not sure why you keep posting. You asked what other people do with their dogs, we told you, and you seem to take it as a personal insult. We don't do what we do with our own dogs with your needs in mind.

We are talking about days, not evening or night time. Nobody really cares what you do with your dog when you go out for a Pizza, and if it's dark, nobody will notice your dog anyway, unless it is barking its head off.

As long as people know how hot it can get in a stationary car with no ventilation, they will probably choose to avoid doing that to their dog. Nothing you said has made any difference to that. I hope people have taken away something useful from this topic.

[Adza]

The rule for me is never leave dog in the car, only winter time maybe. If we have to make a stop, I stay with the dog or vice versa and let her out.

I just don't like the idea of them being in the car on humid or hot days at all. Not even when the car is parked in the shade.

That's me though, if I have things to do I will leave her at home. I don't need to worry and I can take my time. I just don't see the point in dogs being taken when people go to bunnings or something. Fair enough if two of you are there and one can take the dog for a small walk or something but not being left alone.

[koalathebear]

I am not sure why you keep posting.

Probably dropped on my head as a child

[kelpiekaye]

Of course you could always just buy a station wagon, have rear metal gates installed and leave the rear door up.

Thats the set up I had and it was great for dog shows, shopping etc. I could padlock it shut and my dogs didnt bark or carry-on at passerbys.

[poodlefan]

Thats the set up I had and it was great for dog shows, shopping etc. I could padlock it shut and my dogs didnt bark or carry-on at passerbys.

I will get them in my next car

[wuffles]

I leave mine in the car sometimes when going into shops for 5 minutes. Of course I don't do it when it's hot, but they are always calm and happy when I get back.

Then they go and fall asleep in full sunlight in the middle of the yard in summer

[raz]

If someone's a genuinely responsible dog owner who cares about his/her dogs, you don't automatically become an irresponsible/bad owner whose windows deserve to be smashed in just because you occasionally leave your dogs alone in the car under controlled conditions.

Nobody deserves to have windows broken.

Yes they do. If someone leaves a baby or dog baking in a car in the middle of summer I think they do deserve to have their windows broken. I'm not talking about koala here but the OP's obvious angst at what to do after witnessing a dog in a car on a hot day for 20 minutes and trying to do something about it.

To the OP - good for you for being concerned.

[Greytmate]

I leave mine in the car sometimes when going into shops for 5 minutes. Of course I don't do it when it's hot, but they are always calm and happy when I get back.

Then they go and fall asleep in full sunlight in the middle of the yard in summer

The type of heat in an unventilated space is different from radiant heat from the sun.

Outside in the sun, a dog's coat can deflect a lot of radiant heat (or absorb it), and its mouth is always keeping the dog adequately cooled with a powerful and efficient evaporative cooling system.

In an unventilated space such as a car, the dog's own cooling system is useless, and the dog can very quickly overheat.

Full cross-flow ventilation is required to keep a dog cool enough.

[wuffles]

I leave mine in the car sometimes when going into shops for 5 minutes. Of course I don't do it when it's hot, but they are always calm and happy when I get back.

Then they go and fall asleep in full sunlight in the middle of the yard in summer

The type of heat in an unventilated space is different from radiant heat from the sun.

Outside in the sun, a dog's coat can deflect a lot of radiant heat (or absorb it), and its mouth is always keeping the dog adequately cooled with a powerful and efficient evaporative cooling system.

In an unventilated space such as a car, the dog's own cooling system is useless, and the dog can very quickly overheat.

Full cross-flow ventilation is required to keep a dog cool enough.

I understand that, but my dogs have come in from outside way hotter than they have ever gotten being left in my car for 5 minutes (both my dogs have significant amounts of black on their coats). As I say though, I don't do it when it's hot. I hate seeing dogs in unattended cars when it's hot too.

[Greytmate]

I leave mine in the car sometimes when going into shops for 5 minutes. Of course I don't do it when it's hot, but they are always calm and happy when I get back.

Then they go and fall asleep in full sunlight in the middle of the yard in summer ;)

The type of heat in an unventilated space is different from radiant heat from the sun.

Outside in the sun, a dog's coat can deflect a lot of radiant heat (or absorb it), and its mouth is always keeping the dog adequately cooled with a powerful and efficient evaporative cooling system.

In an unventilated space such as a car, the dog's own cooling system is useless, and the dog can very quickly overheat.

Full cross-flow ventilation is required to keep a dog cool enough.

I understand that, but my dogs have come in from outside way hotter than they have ever gotten being left in my car for 5 minutes (both my dogs have significant amounts of black on their coats). As I say though, I don't do it when it's hot. I hate seeing dogs in unattended cars when it's hot too.

How do you know their core body temperature? How do you judge how hot they are? Feeling the coat will not tell you. The amount of panting won't tell you either, because a panting dog is running its internal cooling system.

A dog's core temperature has to remain within a certain range or its muscles and organs start to melt down, very quickly. The damage is irreversible.

Let's not confuse the issue here.

DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS.

[gwenneth1]

I pulled up at the back of Coles carpark one day, a woman departed with three kids and Gran in tow and left her Golden Retriever in the car with the top of the windows down about four inches. I elected to wait, because it was 10am and already 30 degrees and straight away I was concerned. After twelve minutes or so, the dog, it had started become very heat distressed so I called the Police with location and number plate to be greeted with "A dog?! Well what do you want to do about it, we're very busy you know?" I'm sure they are, but I basically asked for the Policeman's name and gave him mine and said "Well, I'm going to smash the windows in in five minutes and when you get a call about vanadalism and my description, I want your name to verify I called for help and NOTHING happened. Either that or this dog die a pretty horrible death" . Suffice to say he would send a car as soon as one returned from a call (busy holiday period). Five slow minutes ticked by and I was walking back with a tyre lever in hand to start smashing windows, the dog had started crying in distress by this stage and out floats this woman, kids and grandma. All looking at me standing next to the window, with a couple of lookers on, tyre lever in hand.

I told her I was about to smash her windows in and had called the police with her vehicle details because of her dog, which she had hurriedly got out at this stage and I helped get this lovely GR to a shady bit under some shrubs.This woman was a well dressed and articulate woman, I may add ,and she said angily "All right, I was only gone five minutes,you didn't haveto call the Police". I told her the exact time she left and the exact time she got back and that it was actually twenty minutes. I told her to ,get the bottled water they just bought and start cooling the dog down and get it to a vet asap because it needed attention. The thing is, I really do think that woman honestly thought it was five minutes and even five minutes given the right circumstances will seriously effect a dog or kill it.

The last view I had was the dog laid out on its side under the shade of a shrub with water being poured on it, panting furiously , it was too distressed to drink and I hope it didn't end up with any long term internal damage. As I was driving away from the Supermarket, I saw a Policewagon headed towards coles and I like to think it was to investigate my complaint in the record time of fifteen minutes after notification.

Sorry, I'm not trying to lecture but aside from five minutes in Summerheat being potentially deadly, it is sooooo easy to lose track of time.

[Crisovar]

I have smashed a car window and I will do it again if I have to.

Dogs will continue to die, as will children because it is quite obvious that some people just don't get it.

I really have no idea why it is that some people simply cannot go anywhere without their dog no matter what the weather conditions are.

Our dogs go out for dog outings that are planned around their needs and the weather, on hot days they are much more comfortable and safe at home in the cool.

[Clyde]

You can take dogs in to Bunnings. ;)

I

Are you sure? Most Bunnings have cafes now.

[minxy]

The rule for me is never leave dog in the car, only winter time maybe. If we have to make a stop, I stay with the dog or vice versa and let her out.

I just don't like the idea of them being in the car on humid or hot days at all. Not even when the car is parked in the shade.

That's me though, if I have things to do I will leave her at home. I don't need to worry and I can take my time. I just don't see the point in dogs being taken when people go to bunnings or something. Fair enough if two of you are there and one can take the dog for a small walk or something but not being left alone.

You can take dogs in to Bunnings. ;)

If I'm popping to the local shop at night or early in the morning Justice loves coming for the ride, even though he has to wait in the car. He knows exactly where we're going when I say 'shops' and knows he doesn't get to leave the car but every time he'd still rather come with me than be left at home.

I've always wondered that as I'd love to be able to take Kyojin with us when we go. Trying to find as many places as possible where he can come with us.