Traveling with your dog in the car: What to do in hot weather?

Hot weather in the car can quickly become dangerous for your dog. To avoid heatstroke, you should take precautions before setting off.

Dogs in hot cars: Preparations for the journey

If you have good air conditioning in your car so that it doesn’t get hot in the first place, your dog will naturally survive the car journey without any problems. However, even with air conditioning, there are a few things you should keep in mind to make the journey as stress-free and pleasant as possible for your four-legged friend:

• If you don’t have air conditioning, longer journeys should always be planned for early in the morning or late in the evening to ensure that the heat exposure is as low as possible.

• Before setting off, make sure that the car has been parked in a shady spot the night before. This will prevent your heat-sensitive four-legged friend from getting into a completely overheated vehicle.

• Don’t forget to take plenty of lightly chilled water with you on the journey to keep your thirsty four-legged friend hydrated. However, you should refrain from giving them ice-cold water. If your dog likes cucumbers, a little of this refreshing vegetable won’t hurt either.

• Ice cream for dogs is a delicious way to cool down. You can easily make your own dog ice cream; you just need to find out which flavor your four-legged friend prefers beforehand. Remember to freeze small portions so that it is easier later on.

• Try to prepare for the journey so that the time spent in the car is as short as possible. You can avoid traffic jams by using the appropriate warning apps and good route planning also helps to save time.

Lowering the temperature in the car for your dog – here’s how

If it’s a relatively short trip, it may be enough to lay some cool towels down for your dog or put an old T-shirt over them that you’ve dampened beforehand. If you often take your dog with you in the car, it is worth taking a more professional approach.

• Specialist retailers sell cooling mats for dogs. These mats are available in a wide variety of designs. One difference, for example, is the filling of the cooling mats, which is either gel or water. Try out which type your dog prefers in advance and get your companion used to the cooling mat before the journey.

• Cooling scarves also promise some relief from the heat in the car. Here, too, it is important to familiarize your dog with the unfamiliar cloth in advance.

• A sunshade also reduces the heat in the car. Depending on where your dog is traveling, you can attach it to the rear windows or the trunk.

• If you have the windows slightly open, make sure that your dog is not sitting in a draught. This is even more important if your dog is lying on a wet towel or covered with one.

• A small fan can also provide some relief for your dog if it gets too hot in the car. However, make sure that the fan is placed safely and out of reach of your four-legged friend. There have been many serious accidents caused by pets getting their paws or tongues caught in poorly secured fans.

• If you take a short break while traveling, the same applies as before the journey: park the car in the shade if possible to prevent it from heating up too much.

Caution: Never leave your dog alone in the car in hot weather!

Even after a short time in the car, there is always a risk of death for dogs in summer.

• At outside temperatures of around 30 degrees, your car can heat up to over 40 degrees in the sun within 15 minutes. As dogs are unable to cool themselves down by panting at these temperatures, their body temperature rises and they suffer life-threatening heatstroke.

• Even an open window does not lower the temperature in the car sufficiently and is just as dangerous for your four-legged friend.

• Leaving a dog alone in a car in hot weather is therefore a violation of animal welfare regulations and can be punished with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.

• If you discover a dog in distress in a car that does not belong to you, you may break the window and help the dog under certain circumstances. For example, there must be an acute danger to the dog’s life and no other way to get into the car.