We had a successful day at the Derby county show today .  But was upset when a call went out saying 21 dogs had been left in cars. 21. And all show dogs from the dog show car park. They did say they will prosecute People, but  I think people should be banned from showing for a year or more for doing that to a dog. When I got back to my car to go home ( and we left early due to the heat ) my car was boiling hot inside. I cant even Imagen leaving  my dog in the car in that heat. We had to open all the doors and wait 20 minutes before the car was cool enough to put my dog in.  yet 21 dogs had been left in there cars wile there owners went off to have fun :(
Do people never learn ?

no they don't do they. I'd like to shut them in a car  when its hot see how they  cope.

> I'd like to shut them in a car  when its hot see how they  cope.

...with a fur coat on!

Was it 21 dogs left in hot cars, or just cars in general? If people are leaving their dogs in enclosed hot cars then I agree with you but some show organisers have a blanket ban on dogs being left in cars regardless. I don't know why it's such a problem at breed shows - at agility and obedience shows there are loads of dogs left in cars, the cars are covered with silver sheets and all windows and tailgate left open and it's actually a nice cool place to go back and sit even in a heatwave. Those reflective sheets are extremely effective at stopping the car from heating up as long as you cover the car before it gets hot.

Generally at large breed shows the parking is a long way from the actual show (we are talkign abotu around 3000 dogs and theri woenrs on any day foa  large champ show, plus visitors), not the same as at smaller venues or the other kinds of shows where the parking is close to rings.

I agree though that some people do have their vehicles especially set up to be kept cool, often with generators running and prefer to keep theri dogs in air conditoned vans/cars rather than as the rules require on benches (of course some of these ar unentered dogs).

I agree for Champ shows the parking is usually too far away from the rings and dogs should be on benches anyway but for a general open show the entries are generally far lower than most agility shows which will have 1000+ dogs even at the small shows. I don't know how many dogs enter the Kennel Club Agility Festival but I wouldn't be surprised if it's more than 3000 dogs, most of which will be left in cars or vans.

How do Agility exhibitors ensure security in Open cars or are the cars still within the showing area at these shows?

I assume at these shows though there is no benching for the dogs so vehicles or shelters have to be used???

Agility exhibitors are usually able to lock their dogs individual kennels and can often lock the cab part of the van and day parking is not usually that close to the rings. My dogs are always in the van at agility shows, with the doors open and reflective sheeting on the front and windows and a silver reflective sheet over the cages at the back & my van is silver is is considerably cooler than anywhere else. Plus they have cooling coats which they wear if its really hot. I didn't go to an agility show this weekend and had we entered one I wouldn't have gone anyway, they would have been comfortable in the van but not comfortable standing out in the sun waiting to run.

They either park in a large group with friends or use padlocks on cages. The cars are on the same venue as the rings but can still be a couple of minutes walk away from the rings. The shows tend to be held in the middle of nowhere though so most of the people there are agility folk as opposed to members of the public so maybe that makes a difference to security. There is no benching but that's no different to an open show.

What are people at breed shows (non-benched) supposed to do with their dogs if they're not allowed to leave them in cars? On days like today it's far to hot to keep them with you all the time. I've only ever had one 'show' dog at a time so hasn't been an issue for me.

> What are people at breed shows (non-benched) supposed to do with their dogs if they're not allowed to leave them in cars?

Find a crowded spot in the venue to put crates.

I always like to enter more than one dog if classification allows as it's more cost effective to show two dogs at one show than one dog at two shows, due to travel costs.

You can do What i did and put up a sunshade at the side of the field for dogs to sleep under and leave any dogs not being shown at home.  The Derby show had two very big tents for the show dogs to use. and thay were empty. only a small handfull of people in there. So there was no excuse for any dogs to be in cars. And the man calling it out sounded very worred for the dogs.
It was so hot that we missed two classes and went home.

My usband and daughter were showing at Derbyshire yesterday.  They were on phone to me when a call went out saying 21 cars with dogs in - it was boiling then and to my knowledge, there were no rules to prevent all dogs entering the show ground and the marquees. Yes, it was hot to be walking around but better than cooking in a car surely!

We forfeited one class due to the heat but made sure that the crate was covered by a reflective cover and the dogs were wearing cool coats, even in their classes!

A car left with a dog in it and a car/ van set up to be cool and comfortable for a dog is very different - I can leave the back doors of my van open with the cages locked, windows all covered with reflective sheet and my van is the coolest place to be on a hot day - far more pleasant than a tent or crate on a showground ...

Marquees can become unbearably hot and stuffy in hot weather, and a covered crate will also be very hot as there won't be much air circulating. If a car is set up correctly it will be the coolest place on the showground for both dogs and people alike.

> A car left with a dog in it and a car/ van set up to be cool and comfortable for a dog is very different - I can leave the back doors of my van open with the cages locked, windows all covered with reflective sheet and my van is the coolest place to be on a hot day - far more pleasant than a tent or crate on a showground ...

I agree

I just herd that two police dogs died in a car yesterday. one was only a puppy. seems even the polce dont learn :(

i have shown at a outside show ring side parking the temperture gauge in the neighbours mobile home said 31o at 1 oclock, dogs were in car one a cage rest in seperate cages on the ground space blanket covering windscreen and all side windows covered with s the space blankets with windows open underneath over the back half a canvas gazebo also covering dogs on the ground all dogs were on cotton pads, all had cage fans and iced water, if they were out of the shade they all wore wet with iced water toweling coats they were not the only ones  who were covered with assorted gazebos tents etc that day , it was a county show with the public wandering around with dogs in the heat of the day most of them not having even brought water for the dogs all the dogs that callasped that day belonged to members of the public the vet on call was a friend a black staffie died that day infact due to the owners having taken no water for the dog by the time the vet got there it was to far gone

Totally agree , a van /car caged and able to leave doors back and side open is much more preferable , at blackpool on sunday i had two unentered dogs with me who stayed in the van they were very happy and cool , my boy who was in limit being shown by a friend was dying in the heat so i asked the steward if it was ok to take a golfing umberella to my handler she said thats fine, it made all the difference to him and even the handle who felt really stupid said it was best for the dog , the other 10 in the class were struggling and not one handler did anything about it , whats worse ?

Good idea Newfienook! I was at a companion show with my girl at the weekend, she wore her reflective coat nearly the whole time except when the judge was going over her and when she was making the final decisions, and I made sure my dog was standing in my shadow the whole time, every little helps. I understand one lady who had left her dogs in the car did find one collapsed but luckily they were able to revive him - a 'proper' show lady too who should have known better. :-(