I took my kids and Kodee out today, and it was so nice out - 72 degrees after weeks of cold, snow and ice. Anyway, I was getting the kids out of the car when it dawned on me that the car might get pretty warm when it's 72 out. I cracked the windows and parked in the shade, but still rushed in and out of the store real quick just in case.

When I got in the car, the temp still felt comfortable (we were only gone about 5 minutes). But it got me wondering - how do you know when it's too warm to leave you dog in the car? I know the inside of the car gets much hotter than outside...but what temp outdoors is the "cut-off" for safety?

Thanks in advance.

There a number of factors to consider. Google something like "car dog temperature" and you'll find a lot of articles.

Here's one.

Mike

Hi Kori,

Depends how long your dog is spending in the car and how hot and humid it's likely to get.

I'm involved in Schutzhund AND my dog spends a fair bit of time in the car so I've already invested a lot of time and money in equipment anyway, so adding a few more bits was a fairly easy choice for me.

I went for a setup of high output silent fans and a leisure battery (enough to power the fans for a week between charges) and also kept windows and boot cracked open, and had a temp gauge displayed in case I had any issues with animal control etc.

I went for the following....

1 of these:
http://www.cabtransitboxes.co.uk/boxespages/04.htm

1 of these:
http://www.outdoorbits.com/numax-leisure-battery-p-743.html

1 of these in the rear window to circulate air in the back of the car.
http://www.marinemegastore.com/product.asp?pf_id=MER_18111&jump=0&cat_id=

6 of these on the crate vents blowing inwards.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=533395

1 of these secure boot/trunk vents
http://www.caninekennels.com/~sa_webapp/run.asp?page=15747

I also fed frozen food and ice water during the hottest part of the day to cool the core temp of the dog.

Overall I'd say to avoid it if you have the option but as long as your sensible about it you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

However if you get it wrong it doesn't take long to kill a dog in a hot car! I think I read somewhere before that the temp of a car can rise by as much as 15 degrees in five minutes in hot weather if no ventilation is provided.

HTH

John

Hi Kori - Heat, humidity, sun, clouds, and wind if you are leaving the windows open a little are all factors to consider. The amount of time confined to the car is a big issue as well.

I even consider the crate size and wire versus plastic when leaving the dog for any length of time. Crate ventilation is something I think about also.

We've all entered a car on a cool day to find that the inside of the car was toasty and warm. And that's on a cool day. Start off with a "nice" day and multiply that toasty feeling to fatal levels.

Here's a study that was done that shows even if the windows are cracked, the rate of rise in temperature in the car is the same as the rate of rise in temp with windows closed http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/116/1/e109 . Note this quote: "but even at the coolest ambient temperature, internal temperatures reached 117°F. On average, there was an ~40°F increase in internal temperature for ambient temperatures spanning 72 to 96°F".

Cracking the windows open won't make any difference.

Hi Sandy - I agree to an extent on cracking the windows. But if you have a decent breeze and cross ventilation to remove the heat build up in the car I think there is a difference.

Glad you posted this question. My husband and Ialways disagree. He has a diseal truck so I always want the enginge left running. I am amazed at the smallest crack he thinks will surfice.

First 72*!!!! Looking out at this gray, snowy Michigan day, I am JEALOUS!

I travel a lot with my dogs and this sometimes means leaving them in the car. What I do:

1. If it is the least bit warm, I leave the car running. If I'm only gone for a few minutes, I leave my automatic car starter going...if it is longer, I leave it key started, spare key with me.
2. I rarely leave them in the car for longer than 10 minutes if I am going into a building where I cannot see them.
3. I use one of these (a similar model): http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=2&scid=5&pid=629 Leaving the sensor in the car, I can read the temp from where I am at.

 Quote: lee sternberg

Hi Sandy - I agree to an extent on cracking the windows. But if you have a decent breeze and cross ventilation to remove the heat build up in the car I think there is a difference.

The problem is a breeze isn't a reliable ongoing element - it can stop at any minute, or change direction. The study mentions opening windows not making a difference. The reason I emphasized that in my post is because tons of people think because there's a breeze, they can leave the dog for 15-30 minutes while they go shopping.

Cracking open windows even with a breeze outside is just not something I think we should count on.

Children have been killed in hot cars with the windows cracked. Happens every year here in Phoenix.

Wow - thank you all! It's so unusual right now to have weather in the 70's, that I didn't even consider the temp when we all left - Kodee goes everywhere with us, as long as I feel the temp isn't too LOW, but this is the first time it's been warm, and by the time I thought about it, we were already getting out of the car at our destination (which is why we went ahead and went in, just were super-fast getting back out).

I just won't take any chances at all. He won't go with us anywhere if I even THINK the temp might be too warm (including 72 degrees). Since he's a pet and not a working/competing dog, there's no reason for me to get the fansI would die if something happened to him, especially if it was my fault. I was very surprised that cracking the windows doesn't help! Thank you all for the info and the links. I learned something new today...