taking to college?

omgtain

Hi all. I just started college and have a 1 1/2 hour break in between my classes (so I have a 1 hour class, 1 1/2 hour break, 1 hour class), I was wondering if it would be acceptable to bring Tavi with me, she would be crated in the car during class but the thought of her being able to meet so many people and train in all of the distractions gets me excited.

thoughts?
thanks!

Calia

I wouldn't. With you being distracted in class, there's no way for you keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happens. With such a high concentration of people, there are so many things that could happen that could make you regret taking her in the first place. Plus, many colleges don't allow dogs on campus unless needed for medical reasons (with proof).

mdokic

I used to take my Kona with me on campus, and so did a good friend of mine who watched her while I started my new job. However, both of those professors were really nice and actually let me bring her to class with me and she never made a peep the entire time. I couldn't take her to all my classes. We also lived right by campus, so I could just walk her there with me, sit in class, then walk around campus. My buddy was in the greek system, so he took her to picnics and events where she could meet lots of different people and get lots of attention (and treats)!.
The only places dogs were a problem on campus for dogs were in dining areas indoors (which makes sense with the food and stuff) and in class (but that was professor dependent). All the other outdoor public space was fine!

If you feel she would be OK in the car and it was cool enough, etc.. then letting her be able to socialize with all the people there walking by afterwards and training with distractions would be GREAT in my opinion. The crate thing in the car is your judgment call, but I think if it wasn't for me and my best friend taking her to campus with us where she could meet all these people, she wouldn't be as good around people as she is now (and I'm talking about out in public...at home, she can be wary of new guests for a little until she gets comfortable with them..but out in public she's great!). My little one (Kimber) is naturally fearless of anything, so when we took her to campus one a few times around tons of people, she was just like "ok cool..this is chill. OOO PETS! THIS PERSON WANTS TO GIVE ME PETS!". Lol. Silly Kimber..

Again, I think a lot of this is a judgement call (based on your own level of comfort, etc..).

Here's a pic of Kona with me in class. (She had my attention span too...she would be sitting up and alert, staring at the professor for about 20 min then fall asleep. lol)


Hope you and Tavi are doing well!!

ayk

Would you have covered garage parking? I don't remember where you live, but I would worry about the car heating up.

violet_in_seville

If she has to stay in the car, unsupervised for two hours time (even if not consecutively) I would say no. Too much can happen and most of it bad. You could be unpleasantly surprised by how inconsiderate or shady people can be. If you can find a trustworthy friend who can watch her in those two hours then it would make sense to me. To be perfectly honest I think it is much easier to do this sort of thing if you are a graduate student rather than an undergraduate. If you are the former rather than the latter, another alternative is to take her and watch some interdepartmental sports games. You can support your department and it's very good for socializing.

If you are a graduate student and your dog is very good you can possibly take her to your office hours with you or alternately your lab. We trained our girl to sit in an office chair and watch people quietly (though she often just slept).

jenn

I'm paranoid and wouldn't want to leave my dog in the car in case someone got the awful idea of breaking in and stealing my Rigby. Also, people are weird in Seattle (you are in the Seattle area, right?) and depending on where you park, may try to scare your pup in the car and make the car a scary place.

I would take Tavi to campus for socialization when you're not in class instead, like walking around campus, to on-campus events, sports events, etc. where you can leave at any time and can monitor your pup the entire duration.

PoetikDragon

If she has to stay in the car, unsupervised for two hours time (even if not consecutively) I would say no. Too much can happen and most of it bad.

+1,000

Crispy

I crated TK in the car once while I was taking a quick exam back when London was really picking on him mercilessly. I didn't want to leave them alone together, couldn't separate them, and had no one to watch one of them.

It was a perfect, mild day. Left him with water and some toys. Thankfully, nothing went wrong, but I'd never do it again. I was way too worried about him and could not focus on class.

Of course, he was fine when I got back (~45 minutes later), but it was too nerve-wracking for me to ever do it again. Like some others said, I just kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

London has been with my on-campus, but I wouldn't take him if he had to be alone for any length of time.

zandrame

Kouda loves the car, so we don't hesitate to take him with us on trips. And he's even slept in the car an hour or so when I've brought him to work (definitely accounting for the weather).


But long periods in the car in public places would make me nervous. I agree that it would be better to bring her to campus when you can stay with her. Or have a friend or professor or club with an office she could chill in. We've also brought Kouda to the martial arts room on campus during practice - the noise and smells were new for him, and everyone wanted to meet him, and he got to lick lots of feet.

lindsayt

Tavi is super cute and friendly. I would be worried leaving her in a car in Pierce county especially where you can't be right there. Maybe you can go to some classes without her and talk to your professor to see if it's ok if she comes into class with you on certain days (she is quiet and a good girl, it may be ok with them). Otherwise I would leave her with friends or at home.

shibamistress

I think taking a dog to campus (if it's allowed) can be great, but I agree that I'd be worried about leaving the dog in the car for that amount of time, because you don't know who would come by. But yes, ask your professors if she would be welcome in the class once or twice! I let my students bring dogs on occasion, and i have brought mine on occasion too. (It's technically not allowed on our campus in buildings, but....) Might be worth also asking if it is ok with others in the class, just in case there is fear/allergy issues.

But it's a great socialization opportunity. I try to bring a dog at some point, usually on a day I just need to run in and out. We have a duck pond on our campus, so I walk the dog around the dog pond, and s/he gets to meet lots of people, see ducks, etc. As a puppy, my Akita, Oskar, didn't get the whole idea of "pond" and tried to walk across it. Oops!

Kira_Inu

I agree with the others on leaving the dog in the car. Just like some people go to work and leave their dog at home, it should be the same for you when you are at class.

The responsible part of myself doesn't think that it's a wise decision because college classes are to benefit your learning and potentially, your future. This would be harder because if you brought your dog/puppy to class, you would not be paying attention in class like you should be. Even though my Shiba is well-behaved, I am constantly watching over her and keep my focus on her completely whenever we are out together. Your grades and future depend upon your attentiveness in your class, and that is something that you should focus on.

cdenney

I would not leave your dog in your car unattended. Not only the weather factor but "good samartians" could call the police if they think the dog is abandoned then Tavi would be gone and they probably would not re release her to you. Even worse, what if some one snatched her for themselves, to be resold, used as a bait dog? Also being in the car may make her nervous or defensive if people come up and look through the windows--anxiety dog could lead to shredded car, trust me it took 15 minutes of a carride for one of my childhood dogs (a true mutt of 95lbs) to destroy the entire back bench in a mini van, it was quick, not that loud, and it was too late to stop the damage.

Dragonfly

I agree with everyone. I wouldn't take her if she has to stay in the car. Like many have said there's too much that could happen, even in such little time. I know at my school there's parking officers that patrol the lots and if they saw a dog locked in a car they might do something, and there's a ton of foot traffic so with so many people you never know what someone might do.

I'll leave Kiyoshi in the car if we're out and want to stop to grab something to eat, or run into a store really quick. If by chance we decide to stop and eat dinner somewhere while we have him with us, then I leave him in the car but go and check on him a couple times. We're normally not longer than an hour and the car is sometimes in eyesight so it's worked.

I'd just worry too much with so many people being around. You never know what someone might do.

Losech

Guess I'm the minority here, I leave my dogs in the car all the time. Conker especially, he goes with me everywhere as long as it's not too hot out. Good luck "saving" or stealing him though, he'll rip your head off if you get too close. He is very hostile towards strange people when in my Jeep.
However, I'm not ever in highly populated areas. I live in a rural place, it's incredibly common for dogs to be left in cars/beds of trucks here.

shibamistress

I used to take my dogs places and leave them in the car, weather permitting. Toby likes to go, and he is happy waiting in the car for awhile. I still do it for short trips, like to the library or post office or a quick grocery store trip. But it is illegal, now, to leave a dog in a car in our area, so I'm always worried about someone who thinks Toby is suffering, so I don't do it for any length of time anymore. (There are probably good reasons for this law, because we live in a place where it can get very hot, and I suppose many people are too stupid to know when they can leave their dog in the car or not, but it has also hurt people who do know when it is safe, and has been a problem for people who are responsible. My vet got in ran afoul of the police when they left their dogs in the van long enough to go into a convenience store to use the restroom!)

So it depends also on local laws.

NavyDog

We don't leave our dogs in the car only cause we live in florida now but when I'm back in Indiana, I take cayenne with me everywhere so sometimes I leave her in the car for a few minutes. If I'm going to eat somewhere that doesn't have outdoor seating I will leave her at home but many placed are dog friendly in Indy. I think the longest I'd leave her in the car would be 10-15 min max, temp permitting of course

cezieg

Hi all. I just started college and have a 1 1/2 hour break in between my classes (so I have a 1 hour class, 1 1/2 hour break, 1 hour class), I was wondering if it would be acceptable to bring Tavi with me, she would be crated in the car during class but the thought of her being able to meet so many people and train in all of the distractions gets me excited.

thoughts?
thanks!

Yeahhhhhhhhh I wouldn't do the whole "leave in the car" thing. The clouds may part while youre in class and things heat up, someone may hit the car on accident and break a window, some random tragedy could occur and the worse could happen, seats could get chewed up and result in choking, so many variables that you have no control over. If you think about it from the pet's perspective, then you'll see that it's more of an exciting idea for you than it is for them Better to keep all of the experience positive ("yay car ride! yay meet new people/pets while hanging out with my favorite person! yay going home and getting food!) instead of breaking it up with periods of "time out". Not to mention the risk of going to the bathroom in the car. I'm not seeing too many positives to outweigh the many negatives. Just being real about it :P

Heidi

I was going to do something like that once. I'm an envi-sci student and I had an instructor who said I could bring Sosuke to one of our outdoor labs, where we're doing transects and it's a whole lot of walking around outdoors. I had indoor classes, too, so I was going to have him crated during one other class then take him home. Would have been cold out, so no risk of overheating. In the crate and out of sight of anyone else.

Unfortunately, I ended up being really sick that day and no other day worked. Everyone else was disappointed, too. They all wanted to see my dog.

WrylyBrindle

I wish I could see Sosuke...

Heidi

Maybe someday you will! When I graduate and have a job I might be making a dog tour.