Dogs in the boot

EWheelChair

I was at a garage today and a woman had just picked up her nissan micra, i saw her putting what looked like an old colly into the boot, i didn't see her close it but i assumed she had lifted the cover off anyway.

I saw her driving away then and i noticed that she hadn't and the dog must have been in pitch black. I was in work and i told one or two people but they didn't seem to find it all that abnormal, the dark would keep the dog quiet and aslong as there was enough space (which there was) there wouldn't be a problem, seeing as boots are far from air tight.

I dunno, seemed a bit cruel to me.. she was nice to the dog, patted him when she stuck him in etc but its just not something id do myself.

Thoughts?

Karoma

As long as it's only for a very short journey, and the boot is emptied of anything that may harm the dog and provides ample space; I think it's fine.

EGAR

Alot of people do that. I personally wouldn't do it, my dogs are part of the pack and ride in the car with me (I do have a dog guards though). I also have a car harness for Bogey, my Pit Bull. He usually rides on the back seat.

Alot of hunters around here transport their dogs in the boot and whenever I have a stray gun dog here, I do the boot test. In 8 out of 10 cases the dog is a hunting dog if he/she jumps in the boot.

The question is air circulation and of course being in the boot when rear ended etc.

My old neighbour was once in tears of laughter when he told me that he had forgotten his dog in the boot over night. He thought it was funny and couldn't understand why I wasn't laughing.

Sarah

fits

We used to travel our old working collie in the boot. Its fine for short journeys. My dad did forget him once or twice I'm afraid and left him for a couple of hours in the boot, we certainly didnt laugh about it. He was a much loved dog who passed away last August at 18 years of age.

EGAR

Fits, I wasn't implying that people who transport their dogs in the boot didn't love them.

Sarah

Sigma Force

I find it irresponsible, how would the owner know if the dog was over heating, it's also not the safest way to transport a dog. A dog guard with the boot lid off is better I've had to use this method the only thing is I find it's not the most secure either so I only do it if I really have to, unless the guard is welded to the car it can slip esp. if in an accident.
The safest way to transport a dog is either in a crate or a car seat harness, the crates are great, they keep the muck off the car seats and you don't have to worry about the dog jumping about.
My biggest worry with the would be the heat, not being able to see if your dog was ok and ventilation.

peasant

Personally I would feel very uncomfortable in the dark, in an enclosed space with very little air, not being able to see what's going to happen next and being bumped and thrown around as a result.

Hence I don't do it to my dogs either.

our dogs travel like this:

Wishbone Ash

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054951352

grimloch

Our old dog used to go in the boot and he had no problem with it whatsoever. He'd stay in there quite happily for an hour. He was actually always pretty unsettled whenever he had to travel in the back seat.

Our current fellow is different and he just will not go into the boot. The one time he was in there he just made a ferocious racket so we couldn't be doing that.

junkyard

I think its cruel to put a dog in the boot of a car. Its bad enough to put them in a car on a hot day. I just bought a commercial jeep with air-conditioning so the dogs have loads of room in the back and are kept cool when we go for a spin. You have to consider what would happen if your car got rear ended and your dog was in the boot. I heard of an idiot in Kinsale last year who put his cocker spaniel in the boot of his car and went off sailing for the day, forgot about the dog until the following day, this was a hot day needless to say, when he eventually opened the boot the poor dog was breathing his last breath and died. This kind of carry on should have criminal charges going with it in my view. I know what I'd do to him if I caught him.:mad:

elekid

My two dogs at home ride in the boot all the time. They're never in there for too long and popping the boot as he stops the car has become a natural reaction of my dad's at this stage, so they've never been forgotten about and left in the boot. If anything they seem to like it and will often get in there for a lie down even if the car isn't going anywhere. If they do sense my dad is about to drive off somewhere they will run out to the car and jump in themselves! In fact they have even started to get into the boot of my brothers new car by themselves, even though he never brings them anywhere in it.

tj-music.com

elekid wrote:

My two dogs at home ride in the boot all the time. They're never in there for too long and popping the boot as he stops the car has become a natural reaction of my dad's at this stage, so they've never been forgotten about and left in the boot. If anything they seem to like it and will often get in there for a lie down even if the car isn't going anywhere. If they do sense my dad is about to drive off somewhere they will run out to the car and jump in themselves! In fact they have even started to get into the boot of my brothers new car by themselves, even though he never brings them anywhere in it.

To us (Humans) darkness often means relaxation but to an animal it often means confinement and stress. Most dogs go quiet in the car boot because impaired vision and not enough space makes them almost go "paralyzed". That doesn´t go for all dogs of course, but as a pet psychologist I can only advise you to let the dog travel in the backseat of the car.

A cage is less of a problem for a dog than a "dark room" like the boot.

Sigma Force

Collies tend to be calusterphobic, they like to see what's going on around them seeing as this dog was a collie that makes it worse. Bottom line is if your dog is in the boot you cannot see if it's alright esp. in this weather, you might be ok in the car with the window down but there's no air con in the boot.

fabcat

I know this post is about dogs but it reminds me of something that happened to me before, I was travelling to Donegal on the bus from Dublin and I was bringing my kitten with me in a cat box, while I was getting on the bus, the driver looked at the cat box in disgust and said really rudely 'your not bringing that thing on here' I had brought her on the bus before so I was quite surprised, but I didn't want to argue but this left me in quite a pickle as I had to be in Donegal that evening so didn't know what to do, he told me to put her in the boot of the bus with the rest of the luggage, I couldn't imagine the poor thing being in such a dark space for 4 hours on her own, she would be terrified!! I was really angry at the bus driver suggesting this, even though he swore this was regular bus eireann procedure for animals. I rang customer service and complained and they were very shocked and angry he would suggest this, no animals are allowed on the buses except guide dogs it turns out, which is fine by me, if they are the rules but I couldn't believe he tried to get me to put her in the boot!! :mad:

tj-music.com

fabcat wrote:

I know this post is about dogs but it reminds me of something that happened to me before, I was travelling to Donegal on the bus from Dublin and I was bringing my kitten with me in a cat box, while I was getting on the bus, the driver looked at the cat box in disgust and said really rudely 'your not bringing that thing on here' I had brought her on the bus before so I was quite surprised, but I didn't want to argue but this left me in quite a pickle as I had to be in Donegal that evening so didn't know what to do, he told me to put her in the boot of the bus with the rest of the luggage, I couldn't imagine the poor thing being in such a dark space for 4 hours on her own, she would be terrified!! I was really angry at the bus driver suggesting this, even though he swore this was regular bus eireann procedure for animals. I rang customer service and complained and they were very shocked and angry he would suggest this, no animals are allowed on the buses except guide dogs it turns out, which is fine by me, if they are the rules but I couldn't believe he tried to get me to put her in the boot!! :mad:

He was an eejit, plain simple

iguana

Guineapigrescue wrote:

Collies tend to be calusterphobic, they like to see what's going on around them seeing as this dog was a collie that makes it worse. Bottom line is if your dog is in the boot you cannot see if it's alright esp. in this weather, you might be ok in the car with the window down but there's no air con in the boot.

We have had four border collies and the first two would ride in the boot with the top up looking into the car. They were always very excited about this as they were only ever in the car if they were being taken for a run or to the river. The last two we've had hated having the top off, if they are/were in the car and can/could see where they were going they would cry and cry. But with the top down they are/were very happy.

Ruu_Old

I would say on short journeys its fine, otherwise get a big enough cage and have it in the backseat of your car.