Dogs In cars

[redteddies]

What's acceptable and what's not ? Is it okay to leave a dog in the car in any whether for a short amount of time ? Or never to be left in the car ?

Not acceptable to leave a dog in the car in hot weather. Fine when it is cooler.

I only ever leave mine for 10-15 mins maximum, with windows open, in cooler weather. Probably never even that long to be honest - only if I’m running into a shop for a handful of items.

Never acceptable. You do not know if you could be delayed returning, for any reason.

I think the law should be changed, and indeed give the right for someone to break into a car to rescue a dog and not face prosecution.

I’d have no problem leaving mine in the car for a while in cool weather if there wasn’t the risk of them getting stolen.

Depends on the weather..........and if the dog is doing the driving or not.

I only leave my dogs in the car during the winter and then only for a few moment for example while I pay for petrol. It’s not worth the risk otherwise.

Depends on the situation and how long they'll be in the car really. Cool weather isn't a problem. How weather definitely is.

I personally would never leave a dog in a car unattended for any period of time.

Not when hot, but I don't have a problem when it's cool leaving her in her car crate for a few mins to go to the cash machine or pick up a takeaway or something.

I almost never leave mine in the car. Putting aside the heat risk I'd worry he'd be stolen.

I don't leave my dog in the car at all

I might if she was bigger and more ferocious looking, and I could be sure that no miscreants wouid want to nick either her or the car with her loose in it. But even then it would have to be cool day, windows down and for no longer than popping in to a shop where she couldn't cone with me.

Got me wondering what happened to the couple a few weeks ago who left their dogs in the car in Brighton for over an hour while they went and had breakfast in a cafe who they then conned out of the price of the breakfast, stole drinks from the fridge and dipped into the tips jar. Police broke into their car and then they turned up all bluster bluster and argy bargy. Horrible people.

I do when I know the conditions are fine and obviously ensure he has water etc. My dog can be reactive and is also a resource guarder and feels less stress in the car than if he was asked to manage in some other situations.

There's a couple of German shepherd dogs shut in the car outside my house, no windows open at all, the woman came out told them to shut up drove down the road come back took one dog with her and left the other in the car again with no windows, wasn't just for a few minutes either I have called 101 but she left as I was making the call

Dogs absolutely must not be allowed to drive. Most of the time their paws can’t even reach the pedals

I left my dog in the car once to pay for fuel and she set off the alarm 😂

@RyanReynoldsHusband

Dogs absolutely must not be allowed to drive. Most of the time their paws can’t even reach the pedals

Ha ha!

Seriously, though, several dogs have been stolen in my area from parked vehicles (one was even in the back of owner's van so presumably not obvious) and not been recovered. So, apart from suffocation, you are still running a risk of losing them, never to be seen again. The RSPCA say:
Many people still believe that it's ok to leave a dog in a car on a warm day if the windows are left open or they're parked in the shade, but the truth is, it's still a very dangerous situation for the dog. A car can become as hot as an oven very quickly, even when it doesn't feel that warm. When it's 22 degrees, in a car it can reach an unbearable 47 degrees within the hour.
They advise calling 999 if you see a dog in a car on a hot day if you think it is suffering from heatstroke( not 101).

@VividGemini

I left my dog in the car once to pay for fuel and she set off the alarm 😂

But did she pay the fuel for you? (or was she alarmed as she was skint?)

I leave my dog in the car quite happily for an hour or two when it's cold. He just sleeps and is totally unfussed by it. It's quite common around here (west Scotland). When we were at the office there were often up to 10 dogs in cars in the car park, people just left windows open or the boot open if it was in a crate.

A totally different scenario on a warm sunny day though. Luckily a bit of the cat park is always in the shade and on the few days it's actually hot here no one would do it - or would find lots of site visits to do!

I used to frequently be left in the car outside a pub when I was a child. Doors locked, windows closed. Occasionally, if I was very lucky, father would bring me a packet of Golden Wonders. It was very boring but no other issues (apart from father driving me home after a couple of hours in the pub).

A dog will be fine in the car unless it's a hot day.

Just how many times have we as parents sat in the car for an hour or two outside our children's activities? Unless it was a hot day we've all been absolutely fine!

I would never leave my dog unattended in a car - mainly due to the risk of theft.

But in cooler weather they'll likely be fine health-wise.

Just how many times have we as parents sat in the car for an hour or two outside our children's activities? Unless it was a hot day we've all been absolutely fine!

Dogs left in cars are at risk of getting stolen - the danger isn't just to their health.

@mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork

Couldn't figure out how to pay at pump 😔

@mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork

Lack of opposable thumbs may have played a part

Yes, I often think that if my dog had opposable thumbs she could do a few things around the home to help out but I suspect she enjoys her role as sympathetic onlooker while I run around like a headless chicken.