[Mike Schoonbrood]

I found this unit, don't have a price on it yet, but lesser units seem to be up in the $800+ range so I'm sure this one costs a bunch....

http://www.iccubed.net/pages/chillydog.htm

Curious if anyone knows of any lower cost units that will either start the Engine/AC when the temp gets too hot, or pages the handler, or both? I am more willing to take my dogs places if I am sure they aren't gonna die of heat stroke while waiting! lol. I'm not crazy about the "roll the windows down" feature though, I'd rather set the unit to activate at a lower temp than risk my dogs jumping out lol.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

I found this unit, don't have a price on it yet, but lesser units seem to be up in the $800+ range so I'm sure this one costs a bunch....

http://www.iccubed.net/pages/chillydog.htm

Curious if anyone knows of any lower cost units that will either start the Engine/AC when the temp gets too hot, or pages the handler, or both? I am more willing to take my dogs places if I am sure they aren't gonna die of heat stroke while waiting! lol. I'm not crazy about the "roll the windows down" feature though, I'd rather set the unit to activate at a lower temp than risk my dogs jumping out lol.

I may not be reading this right, or there may be more stuff needed than the top "kit" listed, but it's way under $800 here (under $500):
http://www.iccubed.net/pages/pricing.htm

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

Oh wow I didn't see the pricing page! That's awesome I'll be buying that for sure!

I didn't mean THAT kit being $800+, but I've seen kits that don't have the engine start feature just pager/window roll down from other brands that are over $800.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

Oh wow I didn't see the pricing page! That's awesome I'll be buying that for sure!......I've seen kits that don't have the engine start feature just pager/window roll down from other brands that are over $800.

Yeah, if this "kit" is really all you need, that IS an awesome price.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

Yeah the kit is pretty much all inclusive... I just hate installing those things, I've done remote starters n alarms in so many cars it gives me a headache remembering being upside down on the drivers seat trying to splice wires under the steering columb that have no slack in em... but there's a place near me called Auto Techs who do installs like this pretty cheap, probably cost me another $100 or so for install, probably less than that, I don't care about the window roll down module since all that will do is give Cujo the opportunity to jump out the window LOL, so it's pretty much just power and remote start install.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

..... there's a place near me called Auto Techs who do installs like this pretty cheap, ......

Just don't let Cujo watch.......I mean, he already knows how to lock the car........

 

[David Frost]

The unit we have installed in our canine units does not start the car. It does however, monitor the temperature, roll down the windows if the engine stalls or the interior gets too hot. It has a pager option to notify the handler. Of course we have screen on all the units, the can't escape if the windows are down. This is certainly the time of year to start thinking of such things. Every year there are dogs that die from heat stroke/exhaustion, from being left inside a vehicle. Of course, there are also children that die from the same thing, nearly every year. Heat can be such a killer.

DFrost

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

Yeah Florida is a nightmare for that stuff. I was reading on the county K9 website that they have the auto-start window-rolldown "lights and sirens and pager" options on all K9 vehicles which got me thinking about this. I have window guards I put on the windows that give about 4" of opening on the 2 back windows, but since the summer is rolling in, those aren't gonna be enough anymore. But I do like having my dogs with me rather than being stuck in a crate all the time, so I thought this would be a great way to give them some more exposure to the world when I've got stuff to do or places to go, without having to worry about running out to the truck every 5 minutes to make sure everything's OK!

What type of window guards do you use that let the windows open without the dogs getting out?? That sounds ideal!

 

[Bob Scott]

Mike, my dog car is a 95 Pontiac Vibe. I cut and welded a wire crate that fits sideways, window to window, right behind the two front seats. This gives me access to the spare tire, and room in the back for whatever. Because of the tight fit, I can safely leave both rear side door windows completely down when I'm not in there. No way for anybody to get their hands in the car IF they'er dumb enough to try with Thunder showing them what a bad idea that would be.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

haha, I think Cujo would welcome a person that doesn't agitate him with open arms, I'd like to do some vehicle guarding exercises with him, have him in the back of the truck somewhere he's never been before n have someone come n agitate him n run away while I'm in a store.. perhaps hear him bark n come run outta the store n praise the hell outta him for chasing away the bad guy. He barks at everyone when I'm in the truck because I've been able to get him fired up a bunch n he has alotta pack protective instinct, but if I'm not around he won't bark. This is where a sharp dog would come in handy, perhaps Lÿka will be more like that when she's older n teach Cujo a thing or 2 LOL.

 

[Bob Scott]

Careful what you wish for. A dog that is aggressive in the car can be a pain in the A$$. Specially when your sitting at a stop sign and daydreaming a bit. When Thunder went off, I had my head up.....in the clouds or somethin like that. When I jumped, I durn near ran over the guy that was walking in front of the car. :lol:

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

hahaha! Yeah I used to think it'd be easier to have a people-aggressive dog in terms of getting people to not wanna pet your dog, but after seeing LOTS of extremely nice hard hitting totally bite-crazy dogs work, who will then be social and friendly with EVERYONE including the decoy that just threatened them defensively, well, it kinda makes me not care if people pet my dog anymore LOL I don't like everyone petting Cujo but I don't care if someone does anymore, he's become very aloof to strangers anyway, he'll wag his tail n say hi then immediately walk away n go do something more interesting. Cujo's my super social "loves everyone" dog, but he'll be aggressive when he's told to or needs to be... Lÿka, well, it could go either way, she's a little people shy right now towards strangers, but she's alot less shy than she was 3 weeks ago, so maybe with lots more socializing she'll learn to like strangers, or at least be neutral to them... her father is a social dog, her uncle (same parents different litter) is very dominant and doesn't like being petted, his grandma on fathers side isn't social either, her mother is friendly as far as I know, and so is her mothers male littermate... so who knows, I think if I keep socializing her that she will at least be able to be neutral around people even if she doesn't like to be petted... maybe she'll be social like her dad, maybe not, either way doesn't make all that much difference to me... but I can see how a very people aggressive dog that has little self control could be a pain in the ass, that might get old real fast... but growling at someone who reaches to pet her I can deal with.

 

[David Frost]

We buy them from a police dog supplier. It covers the whole window. They are screwed into the door frame, hinged so they can be dropped for cleaning the window. Some cars though are outfitted with a complete cage. It takes up the back seat though, so it may not be all that conducive to the family sedan.

DFrost

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

I have a quad cab Dodge Ram 1500, I love it for ease of use for the dogs... the back seat flips up n there's a metal tray that folds out to make the back area flat, n Home Depot sells for $12 these burgundy bathroom mats that are the EXACT size to cover the entire metal tray in a Ram, so Cujo doesn't slide around lol. Lÿkas puppy crate fits back there nicely, even the bigger one I bought to keep in the truck so I'm not constantly lugging crates around... someone told me that when she's an adult a Pet Limo 400 will fit back there perfectly which should be enough height for her. I also bought these plastic window guards that Ray Allen sells for $15.99 each at PetSmart.com for $5.99 each lol they clamp between the window and the inside of the window frame very tightly and give about 4" of air room, depending on the width of the window, but in the Ram about 4" with no risk of the dog getting out without breaking the glass, which Cujo will never do anyway.

I'm a little confused about the auto-start system I was looking at though, it has a pager option and option to beep the car horn repeatedly when the vehicle gets too hot -- but if the engine auto-starts when it gets too hot, isn't it a little pointless to alert the handler to something that is innevitably gonna happen, when there's already an automatic cooling system (engine start/AC) in place? You'd be sounding off the horn all the time in Florida for no reason. Perhaps it's useful to just be able to go outside n check if the car actually started with the pager alert... but the horn alert seems a little pointless/excessive?

Apparently it's $455 for the base unit, then another $165 for the pager, $47 for the window roll down and like $25 for the horn module. I want the autostart and pager, so should be under $650ish with shipping is my guess. But I think a worthwhile investment if it makes life with dogs easier, beats keeping em stuck in the house when you're running errands around town for 5 hours, especially for a puppy who's bladder can't handle much more than 3 hours.

 

[Jenni Williams]

Ok, no time to read the whole thread, but I skimmed, and I wonder why you guys don't just leave the car running w/the ac on? :? :? I do that all the time in the summer. I have to lock the windows, b/c Widge is very adept with all buttons except the window lock.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

Ok, no time to read the whole thread, but I skimmed, and I wonder why you guys don't just leave the car running w/the ac on? :? :? I do that all the time in the summer. I have to lock the windows, b/c Widge is very adept with all buttons except the window lock.

I know there's this theory about a car not getting stolen with a german shepherd in it... but when your german shepherd would probably hand over the keys if he knew how to, I'd rather not risk losing the truck and 2 dogs all in one shot LOL. Altho... the puppy might make the guy bleed a lil if he was stupid enough to open her crate

 

[Bob Scott]

The sensors, in the cars today, can get messed up by prolonged idling.
No problem with a diesel engine though. That's part of what the can do.

 

[Jenni Williams]

Well, what's "prolonged"? I don't go shopping for 4 hours; I'm talking about having lunch :wink: . Mike, I don't leave it unlocked; it's running locked. Ah, the miracles of remote starters.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

I had a remote starter in my old Camaro, it also had a 2-way remote that displayed the interior temp of the vehicle on the keychain remote, I never understood why anyone would want that at the time LOL. I've been to dinner after training several times, usually about an hour or so... when the temp is cool in the winterish months.... as summer heats up I'd get more paranoid a bout the temperature in the truck if I go to dinner after training, n not like I can take the dog in with me It'd put my mind at ease if the AC turned on whenever it started getting hot. I can't walk barefoot on the sidewalk after 10am without burning my feet, n in mid-summer if the car sits in the sun for 20 minutes you can barely breathe when you get back in.... n manual transmissions suck because you burn your hand shifting for the first 15 minutes lol. So with all the heat problems we face down here it's a "better safe than sorry" type thing.

I agree a remote starter could work nicely for letting the car run without keys in there.... but if I'm gonna spend money on being able to let the car run for the dogs, I might as well spend money on a product that's intended specifically for what I am wanting to achieve lol. If I got a remote starter type alarm system (I wouldn't just buy the remote starter because I gotta overcomplicate everything when it comes to gadgets n toys), i'd probably end up getting the system that costs almost as much as the thing intended for keeping dogs alive... so I'll get the thing intended to keep dogs alive instead LOL.

 

[David Frost]

They also make an anti-theft gizmo that, when attached, will not allow the car to be stolen, when left running. Essentially, when you get out of the car, you activate the mechanism, turn off the ignition, the engine remains running. If someone should try to steal the car, the minute they press on the break to take the vehicle out of park, the engine stalls, the siren goes off and the window go down. It's a pretty handy item.

DFrost