Dog Hot Car Danger and Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Why leaving dogs in hot cars kills and harms them, and what to do if you see a dog in distress in a vehicle.

Key Facts

Car interiors can reach 60 degrees Celsius on a warm day within minutes of parking
Dogs cool primarily through panting and have very limited ability to regulate core temperature
Heatstroke causes irreversible brain damage and organ failure within minutes at critical temperatures
Cracking a window provides negligible cooling benefit in a parked car in warm weather
Dogs can develop heatstroke in cars at outside temperatures as low as 22 degrees Celsius

Welfare Considerations

Dogs dying or suffering serious harm in hot cars is an entirely preventable welfare tragedy that recurs every summer. The speed with which a car interior heats is consistently underestimated by owners, and the vulnerability of dogs to heat stress is compounded by their limited thermoregulatory capacity. A dog left in a car on a warm day may progress from distress to heatstroke to death in under 30 minutes. Every year, well-intentioned owners leave dogs for what they believe will be a short time, and return to find their animal collapsed or dead. The solution is simple: never leave a dog in a car in warm weather, regardless of how brief the planned absence.

What You Can Do

Never leave a dog in a car in warm weather, even for a few minutes
If you see a dog in distress in a hot car, call 999 in the UK or 911 in the US immediately
Know the signs of heatstroke: excessive panting, drooling, vomiting, collapse, and loss of coordination
If a dog has heatstroke, move it to shade, apply cool (not cold) water, and seek emergency veterinary care
Share information about hot car dangers with other dog owners and on social media during summer months