Yet again, last weekend at the National Working and Pastoral Champ show. PA's were being put out again for dogs in distress in cars. When oh when is something serious going to be done about it.
I read in last weekends dog papers the Kennel Club are threatening to punish people by making them appear in front of a sub committee. Big deal. At the rate that the kennel club works that will take months.
This has been going on for years at shows and nothing seems to have been done. When are these people going to be named and shamed and banned from showing for a fixed time ie, 5 years, on top of that made to leave the show there and then even if they miss their classes.
Maybe then will people think about it.
As someone suggested on here or in the papers, entry forms should have a section for the cars make and registration. Then the person can be named and shamed at the show in question. I do read in some shedules that the show committees refuse entry to offenders at future shows, but I haven't heard yet of anyone it has happened to.
One excuse I've heard is they didn't want the dog to be left on it's own all day. Sorry but what rot. All shows have to be entered at least a month before so alternate arrangements can be made.
Worse senario is the dog is better at home in the cool and maybe have an accident then slowly cooking in a car.
If I took my dog and put him in an oven set at medium heat and slowly roasted him alive I'd end up with a fine and possibly a prison sentence. My story would be around the country in no time as the sick bitch who cooked her dog.
Yet each week people are doing the same with their dogs in the car and what happens. NOTHING.
How can these people love their dogs. They don't deserve to even have them.
Maybe the majority of responsible exhibitors could all write the same letter to the Kennel Club and all the Dog clubs demanding that stricter rules come into effect or we would stay away from the shows.

Karen I'm with you all the way on this mate. Its shocking that even in this heat people are leaving dogs in vans/cars. Whats wrong with putting them on the benches that they are allocated? It might still be warm in there but at least they are out of direct sun :(
I would gladly add my car reg to the schedule, I have nothing to hide. People don't deserve to own dogs if they can treat them this way
Oooh you are so right, it makes your blood boil!!

Yep, car reg's should be put on entry forms and on the passes ensuring that they come in the car that they've registered it to, if you are coming with a friend then put their reg. on instead or inclusive of.

Then if anyone leaves a dog they should be named and shamed over the tannoy, with their names and breed of dog!!!!!

Of course people may not know what vehicle they are going to travel in.  I think the best way has to be what Blackpool did and that is put the bench numbers on the Car passes, so it should be an easy job with catalogue in hand to announce to the world who the people are.

Alot of the time it's dog that aren't even entered, just dragged along for the day.
No doubt will hear the same messages at East of England.

I didnt hear anything over the tannoy at paignton about dogs being left in cars, maybe the message is finally getting through ?

Couldn't agree more, I was at an Open Show yesturday which also made several annoucements regarding distressed dogs been left in cars. What really anoyed me was the venue I was at had three very large buildings were the dogs could be crated out of sun and they were quite cool with concrete floors. Yet there were still dogs left in cars, there should be a ZERO tolerance policy that anybody with dog left in car should be banned for 5 years and have there dogs taken off them, I amazed that more dogs haven't died at these shows. It is very uncaring and gives us responsible dog owners a bad name.

Couldn't agree more.  On Saturday at our Breed Championship show, we are parked very near the venue.  We were outside and is was very hot, however there are some trees with some shade available.. The tannoy went out to someone, several times, before eventually the Committee decided to go in. Luckily the doors were unlocked so they took the dog from the car.  Several issues about this.  They could have got someone to hold their dog, after all anyone in the breed would be willing to help.  They could have fastened the dog to one of the railing in the shade or a tree in the shade as someone could have watched over the dog. And if nothing else, as the cars were parked approx one minute from the show, why did they have to tannoy approx 3 times.  I get very angry, and I feel that when they found the owner they should have put a restriction on them showing at the breed show again.  However, if they did that you could bet your bottom dollar the KC would have overturned the decision. It is not good enough.

I get the impression it is partly a case of the organising show not doing all they can. (But I FULLY agree people should be named and shamed in the dog papers and banned from showing!) A recent press release from the KC on the sucject mentions a few things (I copy and paste below but this is NOT the entire text):

The following guidelines are published regularly in the Kennel Gazette and the Kennel Club would like to remind Show Secretaries of the following;

*  Show Executive may consider identifying exhibitor's cars by printing each exhibitor's ring number on prepaid car park labels.


*  When dogs are found in a distressed condition, an announcement should be made on the Public Address System, giving details of the dog involved, its breed, make and registration number of vehicle and the name of the owner or kennel if known. A time limit should be given of say 5-10 minutes, before further action is taken.

While i agree with everything said... if your van and or car has been adapted to have dogs left in then they are better off there than in the benching tents.
I have a heavy coated giant breed and used to have a toyota hi ace, fully caged, if i left the side door and tailgate open, and covered the windscreen, the van was the coolest place on the showground no matter how hot the weather, my dogs never even panted in there, and were always fast asleep when i returned.

As for cars as long as you have caged the rear and can leave the tailgate fully open AND have UV reflective window tinting (dark) to the back and side windows, AND ensure that you cover the windscreen, then the dogs are perfectly cool in the back.  I know i have tested my car on the drive in blistering heat (without the dogs in), and if the above is done the car remains cool inside.

It goes without saying they should have access to water too.

It is the idiots who think they can wing it without taking the proper measures, who place dogs at risk.

Completely agree Sharon. I was at an agility show all weekend. My Ulysse (MPV) has a fitted mesh tailguard so I can leave the back door up and has blinds on all the rear windows. I put a gazebo up over the car and the dogs were lovely and cool

In contrast I was out to lunch with friends today, we came out the restaurant to see the people who were at another table oopening the boot of their fiesta. In with a spare wheel and some carrier bags were a golden retriever and a jack russell :(  The parcel shelf was still on the car too, the windows opened only an inch or so. I couldn't believe anyone would transport dogs like this, let alone leave them out in the baking sun while they enjoyed a meal in an air conditioned restaurant :rolleyes:  The dogs were panting of course but it was difficult to tell if they had suffered. I went over (my friends tried to stop me) and spoke to them about it. My car was parked next to theirs and I pointed out the measures I had taken to make the dogs comfortable - not that they were with me today of course! They walked away with the dogs, completely ignoring me, they walked the dogs round the car park and then put the goldie back in the boot. JRT got to sit on someones knee in the back. No water or anything. I phoned the police who really weren't interested, the car drove away with nothing I could do to help these poor dogs :( 

so the dogs were under the parcel shelf??????????????????????? So they couldnt even see out of the back window?????????????

Yes Lea, under the parcel shelf, using about half the boot as there was a wheel in there and some carrier bags! Crazy isn' it   The goldie had to lie down all curled up and the jrt was sitting on top of it when they opened the boot!

under the parcel shelf , thats awful. I can't believe anyone could think it's ok to transport dogs like that, they should not be allowed to own animals Poor poor dogs

i have seen two people who go to agility shows they transport two collies under the parcel shelf. people have mentioned it to them but they don't care.
i was at an agility show on sat and my dogs where in the cages with the back and side doors open, also had a reflective sheet across the top of the back doors covering the cages and the dogs where not even panting, they had water in all their cages, we where even sitting under the reflective sheeting it was that hot,  my friend in the car next to us she could not put her dogs in it she said it was to hot she was having to tie them to the bumper outside the car and they where still panting,they where only small dogs so we told her to put them in one of our spare cages and they where much happier, but at agility i tend to spend a lot of time around the van as we are usually swapping dogs for different runs etc so can check them all the time, in the breed showing i find the van can be parked away from my bench area, and my dogs prefer the benching in their cages anyway and i can keep an eye on the rings as breed shows you can be called into the ring in mins where at agility you have a running number that you go in at say 250 there is a board there and they put on the board calling to 140 you know you have ages to go yet so you can go back to the van and hang around with the dogs.
carol