To want to shake people that think it's okay to pavement walk their dogs in the middle of the day when it's 90 degrees!!!

[Mindfullness]

It makes my blood boil. People are so stupid! I also feel like telling them to walk barefoot and see how they feel

Poor dogs. I ran across the road barefoot earlier to talk to my neighbour and then had to hop onto the grass when i realised just how hot the tarmac was, it was burning my feet. Ddog is currently a bit sulky as she's missing her lunchtime walk but far better a sulky dog than a dog with burned paws (or worse). Some people shouldn't be allowed to have animals .

I actually think it's cruel to walk them full stop when it's so hot. It's dangerous as they overheat so easily!

Agree! Our dog isn’t being walked other than early morning, we’re up and out at 530. Even then he’s hot & panting a bit, so we keep it short. Fortunately as he is a greyhound, the laziest dogs ever, he’s perfectly happy with a shorter 30min walk this weather. He spends the rest of the day lying with a fan pointing at him, with a damp towel draped over him. It feels cruel to even contemplate taking him out later, it’s just too hot.

I have a collie and due to living in a flat don’t have a dedicated garden. So three times a day during the heat we trundle to the park across the road. Some days it’s been so hot I’ve piggy backed him there. He’s got to go out for a wee he can’t last that long without one. But it boils my piss when I see the same dog walker every day with half a dozen out of control dogs all panting and desperate for water. During the heat I literally take him over there until he’s pooped (7 mins max usually) and this guy is out walking people’s dogs across pavement routes for an hour at a time. So in summary- some people don’t have a choice because it’s the only way their dog can take care of business but for most people there is no excuse (and just in case anyone wants to start about dog in a flat/ without dedicated garden- he’s a support dog and after a long stay in a women’s refuge I had no choice in what accommodation I took. I gratefully took what was offered and have made it work for me and the pooch).

Boohoo - I am so sorry if I caused offence. I didn't even think about people that don't have gardens and am really embarrassed about that! You are a brilliant dog owner and it doesn't matter where you live as long as you love and care for your dog (which you obviously do). What started this off was that I was in the high street today and saw lots of people in the middle of the day walking their dogs. There are also people in my area, who all have gardens, that still walk their dogs in the middle of the day. We have to be careful as dogs can die if they overheat.

Oh no offence caused at all OP I was just very aware that I’m posting on AIBU and it’s saturday night- people pick up on the weirdest things to criticise you for. So please don’t think I was offended. I knew the kind of people you meant. The same kind who can’t bare to go to supermarkets without their dogs so leave them locked in the car in this heat

It just depends where you live. Our dog needs three hours a day whether the weather be hot or not. He evolved in hot countries (hence name of breed) , is adapted for warmer climes and copes just fine when it’s warm. He’s really running 8 miles a day or thereabouts at moment then has a walk/ swim/ ball chasing at beach or in woods for another couple of hours.
He wants to be out and about not cooped up indoors.

YANBU but some dogs do cope better in the heat! Mine aren’t used to the heat at all (recent move to a hot country!) and it’s been getting to 35 in the day. Having to walk them first thing in the morning / last thing at night to make sure they get out! The dogs that were born here however are used to it and can go out for a walk midday if needed and be okay

It's been in the 90s for the past month where I live and will be until early September. The heat isn't a problem here. The ice is awful because so many people use salt that irritates their paws. Our golden has doggy shoes for winter otherwise his paw crack and bleed terribly.

My dog moved from Georgia to Maine and he loves the summer.

I don't walk him on hot tarmac, and we walk slowly when it's hot and keep a careful eye on his energy levels, but he is loving the heart right now.

One of my dogs is a pug (and 14.5-years-old at that) so he’s quite happy with a 15-minute stroll per day, and I do it first thing. My Heinz 57 I walk for an hour at 6.30am, and the two of them wrestle and chase each other in the garden once the weather cools off of an evening.

I’ve seen dogs overheat before (I live where it’s humid and 90s all summer long) and it’s a distressing sight.

The suggestion that its flat-out wrong to "pavement walk" your dog in the middle of the day in hot weather seems a bit of an oversimplification.

I don't think that pavement surfaces are always, or even usually, going to be too warm for paws. I was walking barefoot across my tarmac drive on and off all day yesterday and it wasn't hot.

And all dogs are different, in terms of the level of exercise they welcome in the heat. It is perfectly possible for walkers to be thoroughly observant of their dogs' needs and limitations and just come to a different conclusion than the one the OP has come to about her dog.

I think there has to be a sensible ness about it all. My dog has to go out to walk. We go early in the morning before it gets too hot. Most people in hot countries don’t go out in the hottest bit of the day. It’s when you see dogs struggling that it’s irritating. Like the dog walker I see most days. I’ve started carrying a water bottle over to the park for my dogs walks mainly because he doesn’t even carry water and they are clearly suffering.

You are sort of being unreasonable. Most owners are responsible and make sure their animal isn't put in danger so I don't think that dog owners should be judged by other owners. Obviously if I saw a dog left in a hot care etc I would intervene but I feel that dog owners are overly zealous when it comes to dog welfare. There was a story doing the rounds on FB that a dog died after being walked in 21C heat last week. 21 degrees is not hot and yet dog owners are quick to condemn anyone who walks their dog after 5am based on this story. It's a bit pathetic and lacks any sense or reason.

HardyforTom, sadly I think you are wrong that most dog owners are responsible. An awful lot are not.

Every time I have been out during this hot weather I have seen dogs being walked. Full sun (not even on the shady side of the street), middle of the day or early afternoon when it has been absolutely baking.

Almost all of the dogs were panting like crazy. A good few actually looked quite distressed and the owners were literally dragging them along. I have seen a few obvious elderly and/or overweight dogs who have been struggling.

Yesterday me and DH went to an all day event in a local village. It was, I believe, 31 degrees where I live. I lost count of the number of people with dogs. It actually ruined the day for me as so many of them looked so unhappy.

We have 2 dogs. It would never have crossed our minds to take our dogs with us. They were indoors with all the curtains closed and the windows open to create a draught. They had access to water too.

The pavements certainly aren't too hot to walk on here. It is hot but it's bearable. We only have a tiny paved back yard and pooch will not go to the loo in his own back yard, ever. So I have to walk him. We are doing short 10 minute walks in the shade and he's fine. People need to be sensible that's all.

Mydogisthebest there are undoubtably people who are clueless about their dogs in the heat but that does not mean that most dog owners are not responsible. The number of people you saw yesterday do not make up a majority. Dogs outside in the shade with access to a stream or water are in no danger. I would not advocate walking on baking hot pavements or exercising them but a casual walk in a grassy park with plenty of shade and water is fine. Even in the heat. People in hot countries manage to keep dogs well and they have much more extreme temperatures than we do.

For 2 weeks now I have seen dogs walked EVERY DAY during the hottest part of the day. I have also seen people on bikes making their dog run alongside them. Almost none of these idiots have bothered to be on the shady side of the street. Almost all of the dogs have looked uncomfortable or even distressed. It has been DIFFERENT dogs every day.

Most of my facebook friends have dogs and they too have been posting about all the idiots walking their dogs in the heat of the day. That's not just a few dogs.

I am also seeing and hearing quite a few stories of dogs suffering heatstroke. I have two friends who work in vets and they keep posting messages for people not to walk their dogs during the day. They both say there have been quite a few dogs in their surgeries suffering, a few of whom sadly have died.

There are also stories just about every day of dogs being left in cars in the full sun. They are just the ones that make the papers, whether national or local. I am sure there are many that don't make the papers.

Dogs in hot countries are more used to the heat. Dogs in this country are not. I can tell you though that knowing many people that work in dog rescue in Spain, Portugal and France that plenty of dogs die in those countries too through heat or sun stroke.

Lots of pet owners under estimate the effects of the heat. I have seen posts of owners who thought they were doing everything right and yet their dog is still dead because of the heat. Today I have read a post by a friend of a friend whose cat has died of heat stroke. A cat that was young, healthy, had access to water and shade.

I think far too much of my dogs to risk their lives. They are not going to die because of lack of a walk.

I will walk them very early morning or late at night. If it's still muggy at those times they don't get a walk

Dogs in warmer climates cope just fine. I’m not saying that you should take a Pomeranian out in the midday sun but there seems to be this blind attitude that ALL dogs will overheat in ANY sun which just simply isn’t accurate. I’ve been to countries with 40 degree weather and seen dogs pottering about quite happily!

I came out of the supermarket this morning and some total muppet had left his chocolate lab locked in a transit van which was parked in a disabled space.

I don't know when he arrived but that poor dog it was 30 degrees at 10.30am.

Luckily the police had been called and were forcing the window down when the man finally arrived with his trolley of shopping. There was a large group of people who were all giving him a piece of their minds.

He hadn't even left the van in a shady place FFS.

PLUS, the store actually has a space on the west side (very shady), where there is a dog watering area so he could have left the poor dog there.

Then driving home I counted 5 people walking their dogs (mainly gun dogs) on the [hot] pavement along the main road in full sun.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to own dogs.

We took ours out at around 10 this morning, but engineered a route that was almost completely in shade (woods). When we got to the last part, which was pavement, there was a grass verge, which I tried to make him walk on, but the stupid hound wasn't interested. I figured that if his paws were hot, he'd have stayed on the verge.
He'll spend the rest of the day flopped by a cool wall in the hall, visiting the fan every now and again. Then we'll take him out later on this evening.

Because of my schedule my dogs are usually walked at lunchtime. It’s certainly always been their “main” walk where we cover distance and they are off lead to run and play. So they’re really missing out in this weather but it’s tough shit. I take my responsibility to them seriously and it’s up to me to keep them safe. If that means very limited walks in this weather so be it. Some people think only of themselves and not what’s truly best for their dogs. Of course the dogs want to go out but they can’t make that decision of what’s safe. It’s really frustrating and unfortunately it’s the same every time the weather is hot. Selfish and ignorance.

People will argue over anything won't they? I can't see why anyone would object to this advice, unless they have a guilty conscience.

If you have a dog that has been deformed by its breeding (eg flatfaced pugs), then it may well be that it can't be exercised at all in hot weather. But a dog with a normal, balanced anatomy is about as well able to cope with the heat as a human, unless it is elderly or unwell. We just need to take common sense precautions, same as we would for ourselves.

I wonder if extremely cautious advice is partly as a result of dogs having become so commoditised. There is such high demand for pedigree dogs that we have thousands of animals that can't cope with conditions that would be easily maneagable by a more naturally selected mut.
And we also have thousands of owners who don't really have much connection with the kind of dog ownership that is a partnership with an active and robust natural creature.

Alpha Just summed up what what I was thinking far more eloquently!