Is it Harmful to Leave Your Dog in a Parked Car?

Did you know that leaving your dog in a parked car during any time of the year where temperatures reach or exceed 72 degrees can be dangerous for your dog? The truth is that it can be dangerous even if you leave the windows cracked because of the way the dog's body is designed to cool itself down. Putting your dog in any dangerous situation should be avoided if it can be helped, especially this type of situation. In order to prevent your dog from suffering from heatstroke or even death, you might want to understand the science behind the temperature in your vehicle.

Many times you think about summer as being the time for hot temperatures and even hotter vehicle interiors because of the hot temperatures outside, but you don't always consider that the same may be true in the spring and fall seasons. The truth is, leaving your dog in a parked car is just as dangerous in the spring and fall seasons as it is in the summer season simply for the fact that the outside temperature can become warm enough during these times to make the temperature inside your car hot enough to cause problems for your dog.

It's a known fact that you dog's body temperature on a normal basis sits right around 101 degrees. Now, it's also understood that mild heatstroke in a dog can occur when the body temperature reaches 105 degrees, and that full blown heatstroke can occur at the temperature of 108 degrees. Consider these two weather situations: if the temperature outside is 72 degrees, which is not uncommon in the spring and fall seasons, then your cars interior temperature can reach can reach 105 degrees in just a matter of minutes, which is the same temperature that your dog will begin to suffer mild heatstroke. If the temperature outside is 85 degrees, then the inside of your car can heat up to 120 degrees in minutes, which is far more dangerous considering the fact that full blown heatstroke can occur at 108 degrees.

Many have the understanding that if they simply role the windows down, their dog will be fine and will be able to keep themselves cool. This is not necessarily true as the amount of available cool air on an 85 degree day, especially inside a car, will be minimal. Your dog's body isn't designed to stay cool, it's designed to preserve heat in order to stay warm, so it's harder for them to cool themselves down. The only way they can cool themselves down is by panting, which pushes warm air out, and pulls cool air in. They do have sweat glands, but a very limited number of them so they typically have little affect in the overall body temperature. If there is no cool air to pull in during panting, then your dog has no way to cool himself down which can lead to heatstroke and even death if the temperatures get too hot.