Leaving my dog in the car

[chargedup77]

Evening all,
Would I be unreasonable to leave my dog in the car outside on my drive for an hour or 2 whilst I have visitors? It's my grandchild and gc parents aren't keen on gc being around the dog ( dog has been known to snap so fair enough ) can't put her in another room as she escapes or just barks loud, would this be okay or cruel?

Put a lock on the door if it escapes. It probably will bark gif s while but it'll get calm down after

I would, but only if the car was in the shade, dog has access to water, the weather wasn't too warm and you left the tailgate and other windows open. You can buy tailgate and window guards for most cars.

Think it depends on a lot of things to be honest. We had a dog that would whine by the door until he was put in the car! We have a big drive and a massive tree so it was always in the shade/cool. /windows always open. We actually ended up keeping an old car as a kennel.

It's shocking you would even consider this. Board your dog for the day. Simple solution.

Depends on the weather and how happy the dog is I guess!

If it a hot day then absolutely not. If it's a miserable cold day like today then provided you leave a window open and offer some water and check on him then I don't see why not

Yabu! It would be so stressed,please dont do it

I though you were going to say 'to leave the dog in the car whilst I nip into the corner shop because it's a cold rainy day', not leave them in the car all afternoon because my visitors aren't keen on dogs.

Don't leave the dog in the car.

A car can heat up to 47 degrees in an hour on an overcast day ,it's like sitting in a greenhouse.

Tell you what op,put all your winter gear on & sit in there yourself for 2 hours with a window open a little & see how you feel ?

Why can't your dog stay at home with a kong or similar?

Thankyou for your replies, this is a reverse, I am infact the dil and I don't want my baby near their dog who is known to snap easily, I choose not to visit them as I feel shutting the dog away in its own home is cruel and even worse to put the dog in the car, mil will not give in and accept that it is no disrespect to them or anything I just think it is best and easier all round if they visit us!! We live a few miles away so not too far!! She asks a lot if I can go there with dc!! Thankyou your replies have made me realise I'm in the right frame of mind and that it isn't me being silly xx

The dog will be fine shut up in a room in its own house Op,I've 4 very friendly dogs but if little ones are around I put them in the kitchen.

If you live anywhere like I do at the moment ( SE) it's cold enough to have heating on. So yes, an hour or so will be absolutely fine
My dog has just had a long walk then sat in the car while I went round Sainsburys, it's not a problem while it's this temperature. However once the sun shines I wouldn't do it at all
I don't understand you saying your dog will escape locked in another room. Surely you just close the door and job done?

Some people are over reacting - it definitely is not a black and white answer . It depends how hot it is and more importantly than that would your dog be stressed in the car anyway ? Probably if its not something you have done before it would be stressful without even taking the temperature into account. I know a dog that ate a dashboard when only left for 15 minutes( not mine ) . Dog owners who go to dog shows have to allow times when their dogs may be in the cars but they have ventilation /water / special shades and probably dog guards. Would your dog still bark if you had a stairgate and not a shut door? I also think the muzzle might not be a bad idea but you would have to get the dog used to it before the day. If your guests were more relaxed because he could not snap then the dog might relax as well . Or could you borrow a cage and blanket over the cage ? the dog might just sleep then?

oh just seen about the reverse . How would you feel if the dog was muzzled ?

No I wouldn't be happy, I love the dog she's never been muzzled so at 12 years old i think that would be mean xx

Why the reverse? Could you just not have framed your question in a more honest way?

I think if you do I hope someone breaks into your car to free the dog.

Indeed if your dog snaps around young children, I wonder if you should be a dog owner at all.

Yes very unreasonable there are NO circumstances when dogs should be left in cats and I can’t believe you asked. Do you consider yourself a responsible dog owner? Because if you think this is ok you are not.

Put the dog in a bedroom with her basket or toys, or better yet teach the gc to stay away from the dog, the dog was there first and children need to learn boundaries

cars not cats!

Muzzles are fine if worn for a short period of time as long as you get ones where they can drink water etc . Lots of people have to use them when they walk their dogs . you can get soft ones as well . But as I said you could not just put it on at the time of the visit it would have to be tested . personally I have crated my dogs if they get over excited but they are used to that .

Mikki Nylon Fabric Dog Muzzle

look up this one - only to be worn for short times

In this sort of weather we leave our dog in the car when needed. We just open the windows and boot.

If its sunny/warm we never do

One way to make this work is to ask MIL to install a dog/baby gate into an adjoining hallway or room. We have one that just clips up and it takes two seconds (once you've adjusted the suckers on the sides the first time). We got an extra tall gate that even our crazy athletic Houdini terrier can't jump over (from amazon). We store it away and just get it out when we need it.

MIL can give the dog a kong ball filled with something like peanut butter, an chewy antler or a filled bone to distract him. (Something that's a rare treat and hard work to chew/lick)

The dog is still "with the family" but cannot get to your child. It's not cruel because the dog isn't being shut out and in fact, from his point of view he has a fantastic rare treat that it only gets while DC is visiting, so learns DC visiting is a good thing! It also is too interested in the chew that it's not that bothered about the child.

MIL could also attach a trailing lead to her dog just to grab him if she needs to. For example, if he did slip by the gate when somebody entered/left the room.

Depends on the weather, today it would be ok, but only if the dog is ok in the car - mine is fine but some would be distressed. Surely a bedroom is a better option?

An awful lot of overreaction here, unless you are going to say you live somewhere tropical , the weather (where I am anyway) is rainy and cold.

Dogs die in hot cars not just cars. Our dogs (we have 2) are absolutely not bothered about being in the car (quite big car). We never leave them in the car on warm days but otherwise no problem, windows slightly open, its not the slightest bit warm.

We put our old DDog in the car when we had people viewing our 'for sale' flat.