This post is brought to you as a part of the Dog Days of Summer Campaign, hosted by the folks at dog training collars. Make sure your furry friends play it cool during the warm summer months!
All my life I’ve had a pet growing up. I was taught from a very young age to be responsible for your pet and to care for your pet as if it were a member of your family. We recently traveled with our pup. He’s 7 now and we travel on the road with him quite a bit. This time we were headed up north. We had to stop at the grocery store on the way up north. It’s hard. I didn’t want to have to go back home and grab the dog, but in the end we ended up doing that. It was well over 90* F outside and there was no way I was leaving the dog in the truck, even with the windows down. We pulled up to the store and in the parking lot I see not 1 or 2, but several people who have locked animals in the vehicle. It breaks my heart. These are animals and they heat up just as fast as we do. Do you want to sit in the car in 90*+ weather with the windows up?
Of course, after we arrived up north Sparky wanted to head right into the lake. We drove up with the central air on and he sat on the
seat with the air blowing in his face, which he loved. As soon as we arrived though, he knew the lake was there and he was off to inspect and take a plunge! He knows the lake and loves to take a swim. We keep him leashed while we are near the lake. There are many people that do not. As soon as he starts swimming we unhook him so we don’t pull him and he ends up sinking, but while he cruises the shoreline he is leashed. It bothers me that other dogs come running up and some jump. They are bigger. Dog should be leashed for their safety as well as everyone else’s. I have control of my dog on the leash. He also has identification tags on him. He is a rescue dog and there is no way after 7 years and him being a part of our family that we want to lose him. We worked hard to train him and we 
take good care of him. He’s a part of my family and I would not want him missing! Keeping him hydrated was a tough one this weekend. He, like other dogs, is curious and wants to take off and check things out. He doesn’t want to stop to eat or drink. We did stop a few times on the way up and gave him water. I forgot our dish, so the folks at McDonald’s gave us an empty cup so we could pour the water in. He didn’t mind and it kept him hydrated. He was so full of weekend that when we arrived home, he was knocked out for HOURS!
I thought it was funny to watch him SNORE and just relax. He was incredibly tired and got a lot of exercise. Dogs need exercise, just like humans. When it comes to pet ownership it’s actually really simple.. would you treat a member of your family that way? That’s how your pet should be treated. What are your pet peeves about neglectful actions by pet owners?
About Bobbie
We do not own a pet, but my girls really want one. I think I need my oldest to read this because I need them to realize how responsible they need to be.
I agree. My daughter wants another pet. I constantly remind her that we remind her every night to feed the dog, a chore SHE chose to have.
We’ve had our beagle, Penny since she was three months old and she’s almost three years old now! Since we are in Florida, it always upsets me when I see dogs that are outside pets not have enough water – it gets HOT here in the summer. Doggies need to stay hydrated!
I agree. We live in the Midwest, which means COLD winters and HOT summers. I don’t leave my dog out for long at all.. unless it’s a nice day with a nice breeze and he is laying on the porch letting me know that he’s okay to be out there for longer then a potty break.
The weather is crazy hot this year. I have called police in the past on owners of pets locked windows completely up. Breaks my heart that these people do that and it also breaks my heart when I see them chained outside for 8+ hours in this heat.
This is such a great topic to remind people. Our firehouse near us has a sign that says don’t forget your pets. With out horrible heat in STL I worry about the dogs that dont’ get the love they deserve.
It drives me crazy when people leave their dogs in the car when it is hot…it gets REALLY hot here in Miami during the summer and there is NO excuse for leaving your pet in the car! I would love to travel with my dogs but I almost always leave them home because I don’t want to be in a situation where I can’t take him in somewhere – like a restaurant, etc.
I agree Jenn! We take him up north a lot, but the trip is less then an hour and a half.. We will stop at the gas station usually on the way up and the way back. Either hubby or I go in with the kids and pay and use the bathrooms and the other walks the dog for his potty break, which he always needs. I hate when people leave them even for minutes in the vehicle though. It’s such a bad habit and what if you get caught up and the 2 minutes becomes 10 minutes. That’s deadly at the right temps.
Our dog used to love to swim too. He would swim forever if we let him.
I think it’s cool and refreshing for them with all that hair!
Definitely leaving a pet in a hot car. Here in Arizona, it happens WAY too much.
I wish we didn’t have our dog, only because she is so much more work…but I that doesn’t mean I don’t care about her and making sure she is okay. Great tips!