Dogs in cars

Yesterday I was out shopping and when I made my way across the parking lot when I had the crap scared out of me.  A huge pit bull hit his car window as I passed.  I was more than startled and cursed under my breath.  It is warming up here in SoCal and across the country and this is when your dogs need to stay home.  When I was in Connecticut it was winter, well sort of.  It was nothing compared to the winters we had in Ottawa, Canada years ago.  We had mostly mid 40 degree temps for three months solid in CT.  Great weather for taking your dog along with you.

At Costco this week I was making a quick trip in to get bird food.  I parked close to the door which was amazing that I got this spot first off, and when I got out there was a golden retriever sitting barking in the car beside me. It was about 70, hot enough that this dog should not have been in the car.  The windows were all completely rolled down which is asking for trouble.  Yes the windows should be down but if someone reaches into your car and gets bit, you are in a great deal of trouble.  With the windows all the way down, someone can also help themselves to your dog if they felt the need.  If it is hot enough that you feel like you need to unwind the windows all the way, it's too hot; the dog should just stay at home.

Do people really think that their dog enjoys sitting in the car while they shop or eat?  I only ever bring my guys in the car if I am running in and out and if it's really cool weather.  Why chance anything when the temps are warming up.  It just makes no sense.  Also like the pit that startled the life out of me yesterday they can grow anxious and indulge in some pretty bad behaviors.  How many people have had their cars ruined by their dog left in the car?  If you are not there to supervise, what your dog is doing and what people are doing to your dog in the car you will never know.  Your dog could be teased relentlessly causing all sorts of fallout behaviors and you will never know why or what the cause of this new horrible behavior is.

Just leave them at home in the comfort of their own home.   If you are going somewhere that they can join you then heck ya, take'm with you.