I agree with the OP, but this is one of those problems that is simply unsolvable, given the nature of the current US population. I wish there were easy ways to shop and handle chores while out with my dog, but I can’t find a good solution. To be blunt, she can handle it just fine, but the incompetent, whining, useless population which surrounds us makes it impossible. I can neither bring her inside, nor leave her in the truck. Both have their dangers.
Take her inside with me?
We just completed a multi-month training project with our new puppy, and have reached the point where she responds very well to spoken commands (heel, sit/stay, come). As a graduation exercise the trainers went with us to Home Depot, where we shopped for a full hour, getting her accustomed to the noises, people and the concept of holding while in the checkout line. And she was wonderful. But the other people’s dogs? Dear god what a clusterfuck. There’s a reason many businesses deny animals categorically. I can only imagine the nightmare of expecting a minimum wage employee to analyze and decide which animals to reject. And that employee would have to deal with our growing population of entitled dipshits who would wail about the decisions.
Leave her in the truck?
I’ve found two good solutions to maintaining interior temperature while leaving her in a parking lot (in the Texas heat). One is a battery operated interior A/C that can cool sufficiently for 2-3 hours. The other is a combination of electronic changes (Intermotive products) which will simultaneously boost the engine idle to maintain cooling, and lock the transmission when it senses I’m no longer in the vehicle. While either would be effective, I put myself at risk of two factions of the moron busybody (MB) population. Either are likely to endanger my dog and/or damage my truck in a self-aggrandizing frenzy of self-congratulation, with selfie sticks at the ready. One is likely to object to the large idling vehicle as an offense to Mother Gaia, and the other* would cast themselves as saviors of the poor overheating doggie.
So sadly, my well trained and acclimated dog must sit at home while I’m out and about, all due to the increasing percentage of entitled/busybodies.
*This actually happened to a friend who tried the portable A/C with his dogs. MBs attacked his car window in order to “save” his dogs.