After a reading a sh*tstorm on the topic on another board I figured I'd get an opinion from people I generally consider a little more logical (the other board gets a bit to caught up in more animal right leaning drama as well as treating dogs like little people, and a very close minded view of pet care and especially training...)


Do you leave you dog in your car? Obviously I don't mean in the summer...I mean in cooler weather do you ever crate your dog in the car (either using an actual crate or using the car AS a crate) if you know you won't be able to make it home in a timely fashion to let him out or if you've brought him somewhere and need to make a trip into a dog-free zone?

Also, let's pretend this is not in the the sketchy part of downtown where people may try to tease your dog or slip things in the window, this is in controlled parking with a gaurd or security making rounds, your doors are locked, the area is shaded, windows are cracked, water and possibly food is available, beware of dog sign and thermometer in your window for those who pass by and panic (not that that means a thing to some people), your dog is comfortable in a parked car (just curls up in his bed and is faaaaast asleep), you're no more than 30-50ft away, and you're checking up on your pup ever 45 minutes to an hour if you're even leaving him that long in the first place...

I plan on doing this once or less a week during the cooler fall months into winter, though I'll most likely stop if it gets to cold as I'm not equipted for it. My father does the same thing with his portuguese water dog in the winter. She gets her winter woolies, is given a heat pad and a pile of blankets and goes to work with him on days he ends early but can't go home....this (according to this other board) makes him the second worst people in the world...then of course I also use a prong collar which makes me the absolute worst since "science" says that prong collars break dogs necks if you use them at all *eye roll*.

Do any of you feel this strongly about this issue (lol, I'm assuming you don't about the prong collar part).... I know my dog enjoys it, he doesn't have to sit in his crate at home for 9 hours one day week because my classes lined up horribly and I don't have time to run home long enough to walk him (when I do this he gets a 30 minute romp around between each class then when I end early he can hang out all day with me even though I can't leave campus until later (on call for farm duty, I'm an ansci major...it's a horribly annoying system)

When I was taking some classes during the early winter, I'd take my dog with me so I could take her for a run after my classes. She had a pretty good winter coat and had blankets to snuggle in and a bowl of water. She'd just curl up on the seat and go to sleep. Saved alot of time because by the time I would have got home and then driven back to where I used to take her, it would have been pitch black out.

I do just about every other work day from the start of the rains in Fall until June where I work. I live on an island in the middle of puget sound so it's pretty mild here most of the time. Its a private boarding facility with a dog park (for members only.) It's nice to take the pup out between grooms for a run around the almost always empty park or work on the agility equipment.

I take one or the other of my dogs to work with me every day when the weather is mild. They stay crated in the car, which is parked right outside my office window. I don't have scheduled breaks, so I can go out and exercise the dogs at will. I think that's a better option for them than sitting in the crate at home all day. I live in a small town and work in a larger town, so this also gives me the opportunity to train in a variety of new places after work.

They are also crated in the car all day when I go to training/seminars.

I have 3 GSD's and I take them in our minivan as often as I can. I live in Orlando and, when running errands, etc., I frequently leave them in the vehicle which is running with the ac on high and the doors locked, of course. I also put on the emergency break so that the vehicle doesn't move in the extraordinarily unlikely event that one of the dogs would, somehow, move the gear shift which is located on the console of the vehicle.

I ALWAYS make sure I'm back to my vehicle within 15-20 minutes. If I can't do that I don't take them.

In a dozen years or so of doing this I've had the police called on me twice by concerned people. In both events the police explained that it's illegal to leave an unattended vehicle running, but they just cautioned me and that was it. They were just doing their jobs and I appreciated that. Maybe they would have ticked me if it were poodles or something. Suffice it to say that they were aware that breaking into my vehicle was not really an option.

I once had a local dog-rescue lady tell me I shouldn't take them and that it was dangerous for the dogs. I gently and respectfully advised her that the dogs LOVE to go for rides and that it's good for them to go. I also explained that, the more one takes their dogs out, the easier it becomes to take them out. Of course, my dogs come when I tell them to and I keep a few leashes in the car in case their needed, I rarely use them. Some of our brethren dog lovers think it's best to leave one's dog locked up at home all day, etc. I think it's better to take them with me when I can, even if it's just to drive down to 7-11 to pick up a gallon of milk.

My dogs think my truck is their home away from home. They would rather go with me & sit in their crates in the truck then be left at home. They go just about everywhere with me. I have taken them to work with me. They run errands with me all the time. I lock the truck & lock their crates & leave the windows open a bit & the back slide window open. I have a crew cab pick up so the dogs are in the 2nd seat area. (seat has been removed & false floor installed to put the crates on. I would not put my dogs in the back up a pickup or pick up cap area. I want them in the truck with me.) The bed of the truck has a hard cover so no one can climb into the bed. If someone comes too close to the truck or touchs the truck they will bark at them. Otherwise they just lay down & go to sleep & wait for me. I always park near the door of the store so that my truck is in plain view where it would be noticed if someone messed with the truck or dogs. My dogs are used to going everywhere & working everywhere from the first day that I have them, so they never have no problems working under any distractions.

This topic is very interesting to me because we take our dog everywhere and if we leave him in the car it's no more than 15 mins. He loves it. My father explained to me that it is illegal to leave your dog in a car unattended. Is this true? I live in the state of California by the way.

 Quote: maisha butler

This topic is very interesting to me because we take our dog everywhere and if we leave him in the car it's no more than 15 mins. He loves it. My father explained to me that it is illegal to leave your dog in a car unattended. Is this true? I live in the state of California by the way.

It's illegal in many places, under both anticruelty statutes and laws that specifically prohibit leaving a dog in a parked vehicle without adequate ventilation.

The laws that I have read all had "in a manner that is unsafe for the dog" language, though; that is, I have not seen flat-out laws against leaving dogs in cars, period .... only under unsafe conditions. (Maybe others have seen stricter laws.)

For example, in our state, SB 1806 prohibits leaving a dog in an enclosed vehicle under dangerous conditions. The same law also allows LE and AC to break in if they can't find the owner (after making a reasonable effort). Some municipalities allow regular citizens to do so, too, if reasonable efforts don't yield an LEO or AC officer and the dog is in danger.

Clearly, mild weather and adequate ventilation nullify the "unsafe conditions" part.

I worry about theft, too. I take my dog almost everywhere, but rarely is he alone in the car for more than a minute or two. Even with the car locked it doesn't take very long to smash a window and take a dog.

Theft or worse,

http://macombdaily.com/articles/2009/08/11/news/srv0000006085005.txt

This happened to a lady who had got a BH at our club last fall. This past summer, she stopped in at her vet. In the short time she was inside, someone closed all the windows on the truck cap.

Despite immediate attention -- both dogs died.