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Cookie loves the car. All that it takes for her to think she's going for a ride is to see the garage door open when she's out in the backyard. Or, I will ask her if she wants to go for a ride in the car, she'll act like she's found nirvana.
In the wintertime, I'll take her along with the others, for a ride. They absolutely love it. Occasionally, I'll take them on errands with me and leave them in there for a short time (under 20 minutes). After an extended period of time, the car will act like a refrigerator.
Now, I've read that leaving your dog in a cold car can be as dangerous as leaving them in a warm car. I think like warm weather days, one must use common sense on cold weather days.
Here are things to consider when keeping your dogs in the car for any period of time:- Keep an eye on the temperature. A 32° F degree day is much warmer than a 15 °F degree day.
- Small dogs will get much colder than larger dogs.
- Dogs with thicker coats will stay warm longer than short-haired dogs like boxers and greyhounds.
- The ASPCA does not recommend keeping a dog left in a car in winter.
- The temperature in a car drops after twenty minutes.
- Never mix taking your dogs in the car with shopping.
Let's Discuss!
Those are my tips for driving your dog in winter. What are yours?
One possibility is leaving the engine running and the heat on, and, if it makes you feel safer, locking the door with the keys in the ignition. (Just make sure you have an extra key in your purse or wallet!)
ReplyDeleteHowever, this could be risky if the vehicle is a stick shift - I recall the dog I grew up with somehow pushing the gearshift into gear a couple times! (And of course my Mom cranked the engine without checking the gearshift first...OOPS...)
It's a good idea, but personally my shifter is on the ground. There would be a good chance that one of the dogs would put it in Drive or Neutral. Thanks for commenting though.
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