For the love of dogs!

don't leave your pet in a hot car

Did you know: Even vehicles with the windows down act as SUPER-MEGA-CONDUCTOR-OVENS and get VERY hot inside super quickly? In as little as 5 minutes, your furry friends inside could be in a heap of trouble! 

About Us

No Hotdogs is on a mission to end first-world animal welfare issues like pets being left in hot cars.  We use modern branding and digital marketing techniques to influence public and political opinion with a gentle (non-traumatizing) approach that is easy to read, understand and get involved in for everyone. 

The Facts

Don’t leave your pup in the hot car under any circumstances! Here are some facts that could save their bacon.

Any temperature is too hot

The inside of a vehicle quickly gets WAY hotter than the outside because of science

Even 5 minutes is too long

When he said. Your vehicle is a SUPER-MEGA-CONDUCTOR-OVEN! It's science

breed doesnt matter

Some breeds withstand temperatures better than others, but it's not enough to matter.

windows down doesnt help

Studies show the windows being down only makes about a 0.3 degree difference

Parking in the shade Isnt Enough

Studies show a car parked in the shade will still climb nearly 20 degrees in 10 minutes

vehicle Color Doesn't matter

Although lighter cars absorb less heat than dark, it's not enough to matter.

statistics

On a 70° day, the car temperature raises to 90° in less than 10 minutes

Even if you have the windows down, have a light colored car or are parked in the shade.

Heatstroke can occur in less than 10 minutes

Do you really think that doofus at the checkout counter can bag your groceries that fast?

100% of pets left at home will thank you with a big hug

Thanks for being such a great pet-parent! Little Fido was wise to trust you as their paw-rent!

Myths & Misconceptions

There is so much mis-information out there, it’s hard to know what to trust.

Read through common points and counterpoints to get the real facts about keeping your pet safe. 

Fact – Remember that SUPER-MEGA-CONDUCTOR-OVEN we were talking about? It’s kinda real. 😬 The interor of your vehicle actually heats up hotter and faster than the outside temperature which can add 20 degrees or more inside your vehicle in less than 10 minutes..

The simple explanation: 

The sun emits energy that is absorbed by all the stuff in your car like the dashboard, which gets reflected back into the car and heats up the interior air ultra-rapidly.

The technical explanation: 

The sun emits energy mostly in the form of shortwave radiation, which goes right through the glass of a car window. The sun’s shortwave radiation is absorbed by the surfaces inside the car such as the upholstery, the dashboard, and the steering wheel. These surfaces in the car then re-radiate the energy, but in the form of longwave (infrared) radiation. This heats up the air inside the car rapidly by convection and conduction. Since the windows are closed, the heat can’t escape. Longwave radiation can’t pass through windows as easily as shortwave radiation. Like the Greenhouse Effect, the heat gets trapped inside the car, turning temperatures inside the car from comfortably cool to dangerously hot and deadly in minutes.

Click image to see how fast a vehicle interior can heat up!

Fact – Studies show that even in less than 5 minutes, the cars can heat up to temperatures that are dangerous for pets and children. The inside of the car acts as a SUPER-MEGA-CONDUCTOR-OVEN and heats up to a hotter temperature than outside very quickly. Check our previous bullet point for a detail explanation of how this works.

Click image to see how fast a vehicle interior can heat up!

 

Fact – American Academy of Pediatrics study found: “In terms of heat-rise over time, it makes very little difference whether a car’s windows are closed or partially open. In both cases, a car’s interior temperature can rise approximately 40 degrees within one hour, even when the exterior temperature is only 72 degrees.”  For example, one study demonstrated that the average temperature increase of 3.4 °F per 5 minutes in a completely locked car was only reduced to 3.1°F per 5 minutes by cracking the windows.

Fact – Although this is partially true and dogs do cool themselves by panting, the temperatures inside a hot car are too much for panting alone to be effective in preventing dangerous outcomes!  

Fact – Unfortunately parking in a shady area won’t be enough to keep your pet at comfortable temperatures. “The position of the sun changes throughout the day, and the ambient temperature causes the car to heat up,” said Brad Nichols, senior manager of cruelty investigations with the Humane Society.  In an experiment, the Fire Department vehicle parked in the shade climbed nearly 19 F in 10 minutes, from 70 F to 89 F! 

Fact – Although lighter cars do reflect more heat making them better for gas mileage (you can have your a/c a bit lower when driving)  the difference for animals or children left in cars is negligible (126 F for white compared to 135 F for black) –  either temperature is too much for any living being.

Fact – Heatstroke can just as easily happen in your backyard. If your dog or cat spends a lot of time outdoors, ensure she always has plenty of fresh, cool water and adequate shade. Brachycephalic, or short-muzzled, breeds such as pugs and bulldogs are at an increased risk of heat stroke due to their stuffy noses and are best kept indoors on hot days. Pets who are advanced in age or overweight also are at increased risk of heatstroke. 

What to do instead?

We know it’s so hard and inconvenient to deal with an unruly paw-pal, but we promise it will be totally worth it to choose one of our awesome paw-ternatives to leaving your pup in the car! 

Leave your pet at home

The safest place for your pet is at home. Having trouble with your pets behavior while home alone? Check out this article for help

have an adult wait in air conditioning

Having your spouse or another trusted adult wait in an air-conditioned car with the pet can be a safe & fun alternative

Arrange a pet sitter or dog walker

Use an app like Rover to get an inexpensive house sitter, dog walker or drop-in visit for your pup while you're out

Use a puppy daycare service

Take your dog to a local doggy day-care like Dogtopia so they can safely play with other pups while you're out

Take the "NO HOTDOGS" pledge

Join us in taking the “NO HOTDOGS” Pledge and helping to eliminate hot dogs across North America! 

I (NAME) hereby take the NO HOTDOGS pledge.

1. I PAWMISE to never leave my pet in a vehicle unattended and without sweet AC.

2. I PAWMISE to take action when I see a pet in distress by:
- Attempting to contact the owner by asking the store to page their license plate
- Calling 911 and Pet Control

3. I PAWMISE to spread this message and information by sharing this message on social media and in person.

By taking the NO HOTDOG PLEDGE, together we can prevent the wurst from happening and save some cute buns from the grill!

Signed,
The best paw-rent ever!

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