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Dog owners love their pups so much that they take them everywhere with them. And let's be honest, our dogs love car rides just as much. But is it safe to leave your dog in the car while you run into the store?
Every year hundreds of pets die from being left in a car while their owner is in the store or restaurant. As a dog owner, running into the store for 10 minutes on a hot day might not seem like a big deal; you left the window cracked. But to your dog, it could be a matter of life and death.
A study published by Pediatrics found that on days when the external temperatures exceeded 86°F, the internal temperatures of the car quickly reached 134 to 154°F. So they researched different external temperatures to see what the increase inside the car would be.
They discovered that it made little difference to the rise of temperature within the vehicle. The average mean increase was 3.2°F per 5-minute interval, with 80% of the temperature rise occurring during the first 30 minutes. They also discovered that cracking the windows did not decrease the rate of temperature rise in the vehicle. The window closed increase was 3.4°F per 5 minutes, and the window opened was 3.1°F per 5 minutes.
Scott decided to see what it was like to sit in a hot car on a summer day. Check it out.
On an 82°F summer day, Scott's car's internal temperature rose to 120°F in 30 minutes. In that time, your dog would have gone from panting like crazy to shock as their heart rate started to slow before their body, hit heatstroke and may have died.
Dogs mainly regulate their body temperature through panting, but it's harder for them to do in extreme heat. So when a dog is very hot, panting isn't enough to stop them from overheating. Most dogs begin to show signs of overheating when the air temperature is between 81 and 85°F.
The average body temperature for a dog is from 99.5 to 102.5°F. Dogs hit heat exhaustion when their body temperature hits 103°F. And at 105°F, they are in heatstroke, resulting in thermal injury to body tissue.
So, don't worry, we came up with five alternatives to leaving your dog in the car on a hot day.
Final Important Message
If your dog is experiencing heat stress, bring them to a cool area as soon as possible and provide them water. And if they are experiencing heat exhaustion or heat stroke, have them checked out by your vet.
Would you please share this video and help raise awareness on pet safety? Together we can help save the lives of dogs everywhere.
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Videography Credit: Austin Jones at Black Lion Media