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?

Hire a dog walker to take them out for a bit.

WTF. Of course you cant. And I don't even like dogs.

Mine comes to work... We travel round and he gets Parked up for an hour or so at a time.

Parked in shade, shades over the windows, with a boot vent and the front windows cracked open. He gets a flow of fresh air, is kept cool and has plenty of water. The car never gets very hot. The boot vent (about £12) makes a huge difference.

Cold day ok if the windows are open, we have done it on a hot day but left the engine is running and the AC on full.

Maybe your mil could invest in a bit of dog/owner training to put a stop to the snapping. If she really wants you and others to visit then she needs to ensure her dog is adequately trained. Otherwise stick to your arrangement where she visits you or meet out and about.

I don't get this at all. Will your MIL not just keep the dog in the kitchen while you guys are in the sitting room or whatever? If she won't restrict it within the house then yanbu not to visit them - I wouldn't take my child somewhere with a snappy dog, no way.

Just buy a crate/cage for the dog.

Muzzle. People think they are cruel, but what is cruel is putting a dog in a situation to be distressed and snap.

Kitchen with baby gate back door to garden
Poor dog stuck I an enclosed space for hours is cruel and that’s before you factor in the temp outside/inside the car
I’d not be happy bringing my small kid to a house with a snappy dog tbh
Dog training?

Prioritise your GC and rehome the dog. Shutting it in the car is a stupid idea and unfair to the dog.

Yes OP EXTREMELY UNREASONABLE.
PLEASE do not do this.
Just by getting into a vehicle (a vet told me this)a dog's temperature rises by 40%.
Leaving a dog alone in a car for any length of time is not acceptable.
Any person who does this should not own a dog and be prepared to have the car damaged to rescue the poor animal.

Yes there is a lot of hysteria on this thread! It’s not a black and white answer. On a hot day obviously not, but in cold rainy weather like today, yes it’s possible (I napped for an hour in my black car today and was cold! I needed a blanket).

However a stair gate is a much better option whatever the weather.

I get what PP are saying about hot rather than warm and common sense plays a part ,but it's hard to tell isn't it ?
Warm for us can still be too hot for dogs .
Even if we think it's cool enough ,humidity will also play a part .
Some people run hot ,some people run cold .

But ,temperatures increase rapidly ,especially this time of year ,which is why I think it's easier for vets etc.to say don't do it at all ,rather than risk dogs dying a very painful ,unnecessary death because someone didn't realise how warm it is inside a car when the temperature is lower outside.

After seeing a dog die from heat exhaustion,I wouldn't risk it with mine .
No dog owner would leave their dog in a car they thought was too hot ,yet every year dogs still die this way

Thankyou for your replies re Dog being in another room, we went for a visit several times and on these occasions one time we ( me partner mil and baby ) went upstairs to get some toys ( I think mil wanted baby away from me as she asked partner to go up with baby ) within about 5 minutes fil shouts up dogs on her way up she's a fast dog and was probably half way up before he said anything.
Another time fil held the dog and mil asked if dc would walk to her soon as dc was on the floor mid way fil let go of the dog, mil knows I'm not happy about dc being around the dog but agreed the dog would be out the way or held on to, once I said no to coming because the dog is securely out the way she now wants to put her in the car!! In June!!
For the poster who asked why I did a reverse, because I didn't want to end up being accused of mil bashing on here as have posted in the past about the way she is xx

Oh and the time they brought her to our house which I made clear she wasn't coming in fil let go of her in the garden whilst partner had the back door open to let everyone in and in the dog runs I had seconds to pick the baby up xx

This is not black and white. I compete with dogs; many people leave them in vans or cars. BUT we do it safely- cage fans, boot vent locks, heat deflectors. Always park in shade, bottles of ice in the car near the fans on warm days.
A tailgate guard is an awesome thing.

My dog loves the car and would happily lie in the car for a couple of hours. Obviously I wouldn’t do this on a warm day but at least 6 months of the year it’s not an issue!
In this senario though I would just shut the dog in another room.

Sounds like its the FiL rather than MiL causing problems with the dog.

I think he done it to " prove " she wouldn't hurt dc, he's a bit under the thumb and I think has to keep mil happy, I used to have the dog ( before I had dd ) whilst they had other gc to stay as they were worried about dog being near their other grandchild xx

Why don’t you take your child to see mil at her house. Whilst you are there, your partner could take the dog on a long walk for 90mins. Or you take the dog and your partner and child stay with mil

Cruel. YABVU.

Your in-laws sound a bit idiotic to say the least. You've done the right thing by both your child and the dog by insisting they come to you. Well done OP.

I think it's mean tbh whether it's a hot day or not.

Done safely there is nothing wrong with leaving a dog in the car. So long as they are secured and not at any risk of overheating.
My dog has spent 6hrs asleep in my car today. I took her for a long walk this morning she came back wet from the walk so I left her curled up in the car asleep back windows wide open and the boot open - but dog guard shut. I had the landlord coming to do a house inspection and my dog is anxious around people. She was unaware of their visit today because she was fast asleep in the car. The car was on a gated drive covered by a cctv camera it was cool and raining here so she was at no risk of overheating. I did check on her regularly.
After the landlord had gone she decided to remain in the car asleep. I open the crate door and the back door so she was free to come in when she wanted but I had to actively bring her into the house when o needed to leave for work.

A blanket dogs should not be alone in cars is a silly attitude to take. As done safely it is perfectly ok.

Where do you lot live? It's bloody freezing where I am. No chance of a dog overheating. My dog loved being in my car - preferred to be out and about in the car with me even if it meant being alone in the car for a wee whilst whilst I did chores.