Please can anyone help?? I hate to do it but I need to find someone who can look after Cassie (our very small Norfolk cross) from Xmas eve afternoon until boxing day morning. I feel quite sick at the thought but we have been invited to a big family get together at Xmas and I feel like we should go as we have lost so many family members this year that we all want to be together and there will be people from our family who I won't see again for a very long time. I hate the thought of putting Cassie in kennels so wondered if anyone on the boards looks after dogs in their home or if anyone can recommend someone to me. I live in hertfordshire. I thought about taking her with us but there will be so many people there that it wouldn't be fair.. I hope someone can help me because I'm feeling sick constantly worrying.

Thanks Deb

I would love to have taken her but you are too far! Have you no neighbours that would look in on her?

Best of luck. :)

I thought about that but my best neighbour is going away too and my neighbour from hell well... An old lady over the road has offered but I think Cassie will be a bit much for her. Thanks anyway and I'll just have to keep looking. :(

Deb

Can you not take her with you and keep her in a cage when it is not practical to have her out and about?  There are cheap ones on e-bay.

sorry I dont know anyone in that area, only in Northampton

Good Luck though

if you have a cage couldnt you take her with you and put her somewhere quiet (bedroom?) when it gets hectic? is she nervous...will there be lots of children there?.

I tend to agree, if she is well socialised and generally happy with other people she may well be fine. I am sure people would understand.....

Lindsay

Take her with you.  I take my dogs everywhere family-wise - if they want to see me, they also have my family  - my dogs. 

Hi
If you go to www.dogclub.co.uk on the home page click on the regional training it gives you a list of clubs click on dog basics it advertises as have boarding in a home enviroment they say they only take 4 dogs at a time the contact no is on the page.
Good luck
Mary
ps its based in great offley if not they might know someone that can help

Thanks for the web address, I think we may have found a lady on here who will look after Cassie in her own house and she has said that if I change my mind and want to pick her up half way through the day that there is no problem ( Just in cas we miss her too much).
Thanks Again
Deb

Deb,

Take her and a dog crate with you.  She will be a lot happier than if you put her in a kennel.  

Stacey

If Cassie is not allowed in the house, and it's not too cold a day, I would be tempted to take her and leave her in the car - if you can keep an eye on her.  My dogs settle in the car and treat it as a second home.  You can then keep popping out to see her and take her for walks.

Helen

In case this ever happens to us, how long can you sensibly leave a dog crated in the car, Helen? Im thinking about combining dog walks and kids outings where dogs may not be allowed.

You can never leave your dog safely crated in the car, unless you or someone you trust is watching the car at all times.
Unfortunately, these days it is an open invitation to dog thieves.

Stacey

Depends on a lot of things; my dogs travel all over the country with me and are left crated in the car when not competing, when they are asleep etc etc.  They are locked in their cages when stationary, never when driving.  If the weather is hot then the tailgate is left open and the car covered in reflective sheets and they are checked on regularly.

It is the same for anyone who competes in showing, agility, obedience, working trials etc etc.

There is the theft issue to seriously consider but other than that, I used to leave Harvey in the car whilst I was at work.  I would leave him in the morning and nip out mid morning and then give him a long run at lunchtime.  It wasn't ideal but I had to do it while I got things sorted out.  I also had someone watching him at all times.

As I said, they just switch off in the car and it's just a bed for them.

Helen

I must say thats very irresponsible of you , even in cold weather its not safe to leave dogs locked away in cars.
I would be so angry if i ever come across someone that had left their dog for just a few minutes , what ever the weather.
Sorry but i would report it , its not an ideal situation for any dog to be left in , as i said whatever the weather.

i have to agree with helen 2003 it i never safe to leave a dog unattended in a car, I would reccomend taking your dog with you, she would prefer to be in hustle and bustle than be in a strangers house, a long as your there she wont care, just take her bed and toys etc

Not safe in what respect?

Helen

In allsorts of respects, over heating , theft , injury ect.

Even in colder weather its not safe for dogs to be left in cars , and i cant belive that you would advise someone to do this , cars are not the safest of places for dogs to be left alone in.
End of story.

overheating - in hot weather the tailgate is open as the dog can't get out the back as either in a cage or has a tailguard and dog guard  - also has fan that runs off the battery and water bowl attached to the guard.  You can also buy those reflective sheets that go over the car to keep the car cool. 

cold weather - door closed, window opened a crack and plenty of blankets.

theft/injury - make sure you can see the dog at all times (when I left Harvey in the car, he was parked in front of a security guards window who looked in on him and I could see him from my office window.  If in cage in the car, there isn't any different to leaving him in a separate room in the house in a cage.

I do think we will have to disagree on this as I don't think every single case of leaving dogs in the car is irresponsible.

Helen

Got to agree with you Helen, not every case is irresponsible.  It would appear that dog owners, in some peoples views, are not allowed to lead a normal life but have to spend 24/7 with our dogs in order to be responsible owners.  Wrong in my opinion.  You would have been similarly heavily criticised for leaving your dog at home instead of taking him with you to work, you can't win it seems. In my view, however, leaving a dog in a car in hot weather is very questionable and I would never have done it myself, but surely when the temperature is ok in most autumn, winter & even early spring months (play it by ear basically), there is nothing wrong.  I don't get what 'dangers' lurk in cars these days??  They are manufactured to be much more safe than in the past (blunt edges etc, no horrible pointy bits to cause injury in the event of a crash), I would have been extremely angry if anyone had reported me for leaving my dog in the back of my vehicle as I popped into, say,  the local post office on my way back from a walk, in fact I would have been more than angry, I would have certainly thought that 'complainer' to be rather sanctimonious and someone who perhaps needed something else more rewarding to do with their time.

Well you would have a very busy time reporting all the dogs that are left in cars at competitive events all over the country Helen!  What exactly would you be reporting and to whom?  And why would you be angry? 

I don't think it is reasonable to suggest that anyone who leaves their dog in their car when popping into the shops etc should be afraid of being remonstrated with. Your views are somewhat unrealistic IMHO to say the least!

None of us live in an ideal world, most of us are not "ideal" people and most of our dogs are probably less than "ideal" (as are our partners and children) :D

But hey, most of us do our best.  I, for one, shall continue leaving my dogs in my car when it is necessary; I have never had one problem in the 13 years I have owned dogs doing this and I never expect to have one either.

Erm...and you point is?

I lead a very busy lifestyle and i stand by what i said...its downright cruel to leave dogs locked up in cars whatever the weather.

Stubbing cigarettes out on dogs is cruel, beating them is cruel, not feeding them is cruel, leaving them in the car does not cause "pain and suffering" the meaning of the word cruel.  THAT is my point.

Yes its a cruel world we live in....children and people starve all over the world , people get murdered , children get hurt , its not just dogs that suffer you know!

Erm...and YOUR point is???????

Have to admit, I'm another cruel burger around here then!

Its not safe to leave animals in cars during winter and summer months , its a well known fact that exposure to cold temperatures can lead to hypothermia , small short coated animals especially are susceptible to it.

It is much better to leave a dog at home than to leave them in cars , pets can suffer from elements and be lost or stolen!!!!

It dont take cars long to loose heat , even a few minutes in freezing car in the cold weather can cause hypothermia which can cause permanant damamge or even death.
Cold cars can act as a refrigerator in the winter , and your animal could freeze to death !

Same applies in hot weather , its just much too dangerous to leave animals locked in cars whatever the weather!!!

I'm another cruel owner then - one of mine gets left in the car at training, as I can't train them both at the same time, so they have to go in different classes. Now I could take one at a time - but as it is ten miles each way, I wouldn't have time to go home and swap dogs.

Perhaps you would come and explain to my Aussie that she shouldn't sit outside in the garden this weather - she doesn't seem to understand about hypothermia. In fact I'm the one who gets hypothermia when I try to persuade her to come in :D

Daisy

Well tonight I shall be going agility training and one dog will be in the car alone for an hour whilst I train one, then both will be in there alone for an hour while I go to the pub, and then the other dog will be left alone for an hour while I train the other one.

Tomorrow I am going to a dog training weekend and both dogs will be sleeping in the car for two nights.

If you don't hear from me on Monday I expect I will have been reported for my cruelty.  Sigh.

But who would look after your dogs whan you are in custody.  Or will the police leave them in the back of their vans until you are freed on bail after you are publicly feather and tarred

Please explain why you think it is cruel because I just can't see it at all and it would be interesting to hear your actual views rather than just labelling it as cruel - bit of a broad brushstroke.  For instance my partner leaves me in the car sometimes when he pops into the shop, I sometimes leave him in the car! As children we sometimes got left in the car when mum did the shopping, I have not been damaged in any way physically or emotionally.  It would be interesting to know why leaving a dog in the car is, in your opinion, considered cruel, leaving aside the obvious i.e. leaving a dog in a car in the heat etc.

As a child, I spent many happy hours sitting in the car, in pub car parks, with a book, bottle of Coke, packet of crisps, and a dog for company! It's not cruel!
:)

Hehehe, we must've had the same parents JG, lol.

Yeah, snap!  We must be of the same era, had many lovely times in those days but perhaps it would not be considered either safe or politically correct now.

Me too, JG! That was our summer Sunday night out treat, listening to the Top 20 on the radio for the first hour - usually on the way home from a day at the beach in Rhyl :)

..........and me only Vimto not coke, and crisps with the little blue bag of salt..:D Oh happy days :D

JG

Thats how I spent my Saturday lunchtimes :D

Apart from I was banned from drinking Blackcurrant and lemonade and Pacers( mint Opal Fruits, what ever happened to them ?) because I puked up in the back of my dad's brand new Cortina's back seat and stained it :p :p

There is nothing wrong with leaving a dog in a car if it has adequate ventilation and the temperature is not going to be extreme and not for an extreme length of time. It is common sense :)

I wouldn't leave my lot in the car as there wouldn't be much left of it by the time we got back because they would have eaten it ! :D

Yep,  i to was left in the car on Friday nights with dog brother and sometimes the cat.   I think thats why I frequent so many pubs,  because Im allowed in there now.
My uncle leaves both his springers in the boot of his picasso with no problem.  I wouldn't leave Bradley in the car because he likes to bark at the stereo if its turned off and if its on and its not a tune to his liking he grumbles very loudly causing quite a stir.  At present his favourite radio station is radio 2 drive time weve only experienced a couple of grumbles.  

The cat?? LOL

I used to get left in the car in supermarket carparks and outside pubs.  Used to have a drive out somewhere, get a bag of chips and we would be left in the car with a good book and my parents would go in the pub.

Helen

My father was always 'going to see a man about a dog' - we never did get a dog though - I wonder what he was up to :D

Daisy

hi

how come all dog and puppy books advise us not to leave dog unattended in a vehicle ?

love clare :)

Hi Clare,
Because writers of books have to assume that most people have zilch common sense! I have had people tell me that the worms dogs get are earthworms, and perfectly safe!