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s/o dogs left in the car
I may get flamed for this, but I honestly don't know and I am asking for feedback. So flame away if needed.
My dog is like a child to me. I love him more than anything. I am recently divorced and moved from a house with a dog's dream backyard to an apartment. Also, my XH and I split our two dogs up. So, my sweet pup has had his share of change in the past six months.
To make up for some of the change, he gets a daily trek around a Town Lake and many adventures to the dog park. I take him as many places as I can. Some times I have to leave him the car. I drive a Toyota 4Runner and he has the entire back (seats down). I roll all five windows half way down. I park in the shade, if available, and I set the timer on my phone so I know exactly how long I am gone. I don't run an errand that will take more than 20 minutes if he's in the car.
He doesn't act remotely bothered by it and the car doesn't feel hot to me. I only take him on single destination errands. Meaning I don't take him if I need to make more than one stop where I leave him the car.
If the temperature outside is 95 or higher I leave him home, but otherwise I don't feel like I am doing anything wrong. The adventure of running the errand seems a better option than sitting alone in my apartment.
Like I said before, I love him more than anything and want to know if I am clueless on this.
Re: s/o dogs left in the car
I'm not going to flame you, I just don't think it's the safest decision for your pup. It's good that you leave him at home for really hot days, but even when it feels mild out, it can get hot enough to do damage to a pet or a child in a car (chart). You can see having the windows cracked doesn't do a whole lot. And while we always have the best intentions about not being gone long, you never know what could happen. What if you got delayed?
It's risky, is what I'm saying. And the worst case scenario for a pet in a car is pretty damn bad.
I know you love your dog and think he'd be upset being left behind, but I think it would better for him to be safe at home.
On the plus side, Austin has a TON of dog friendly places, so you could make it up to him by going for a drink somewhere he can come along or frequenting new places that allow dogs.
I'm not going to flame you, but I definitely think you should reconsider your current MO. Dogs don't cool off nearly as efficiently as people do, so even leaving the windows down like you do isn't as helpful as it might seem. You also mentioned that you use 95 degrees as your cut off point...but honestly, anything above 85 can get really dangerous in a car.
Also, I'm concerned about the possibility of people being able to access your dog since you said you leave the windows halfway down. I'm sure your dog is very sweet (not trying to imply ANYTHING bad about him), but if he were to bite someone who reached into your car to pet him that would be a complete disaster. Additionally, if someone with bad intentions wanted to harm your dog in any way, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult.
All in all, the situation really just makes me nervous for a lot of reasons. I really think it would be better for him if you would leave him at home for your errands.
Sometimes I pin stuff
Thanks for the feedback. My errands with Z are few and far between, but I will stop "including" him.
He is a golden retriever and would lick someone to death before he would ever bite someone reaching into the car. He is a sweet and gentle animal. However, it has crossed my mind that someone might try to steal him.
My desire to take him with me has always been about not having him home alone. Prior to April, he spent EVERY moment of his life with our other dog. I am probably just projecting MY situation on to him. The fact is he is happy at home and safe there too. And, I would die if something happen to him.
Thanks again.
That's exactly what's going on. I do the same with going back to work and how it effects M. I know you love Z more than anything! Just try to include him on dog friendly adventures instead.
I only take one of ours dogs with me if I am running into the corner store and can leave my car running. I saw the news story of the guy who left his dog in the car....so sad.
Leave a thermostat in your car to monitor how hot it gets. Then you'll know. Abby plays with one I used to keep outside (she thinks it's a clock). It got left in the backseat the other day. I had the car ice cold when I got out to run into pick up the girls from the sitters. It was 5pm and it said 98 outside on my dash and 82 on the backseat outdoor gauge. I was in there 15-20 minutes and when I got back outside, the temp read 125.
I never ever like seeing dogs left in cars, no matter the weather. You never know, you could get stuck somewhere unexpectedly and not be able to get to them. As for having the windows half rolled down, that's just asking to have your dog stolen. I don't think all the "what if's" are worth the adventure. I know it's difficult to think of your pet being home alone but they're safe there. They're not safe in a car, sorry.
it kind of depends on the dog also- it sounds like your dog is used to this situation and might be a little more heat tolerant. my dogs would probably keel over if I left them outside all day in anything over, well honestly ever since they aren't used to it, however other dogs are comfortable outside all day in hot weather.
Others are right though, in my opinion the risks outweigh the benefits.
One thing to consider is theft. With the bad economy dog theft has become quite the lucrative business. Especially with purebreds- theives could steel your dog and sell him/her for hundreds of dollars to an unsuspecting person or worse as a bait dog. If you don't know what that is trust me you don't want to know.
I have a golden and a lab and this is my bigger concern. Working at vet clinics makes me slightly jaded because I used to see all the consequences of bad/moderately bad choices. Dogs in the back of trucks kill me. I know some dogs are used to it but again, witnessed the consequences....