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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Are you walking your dog in this heat?

237 replies

weleasewoderick23 · 21/07/2021 11:08

Just that really. My dog is desperate for a walk, but I'm really concerned about the heat. I took him to a river yesterday so he could stay cool, but by the time we got back he had dried off and was panting.
Shall I just keep him in and stick to the hosepipe to keep him cool? He's a Labrador so not a thick shaggy coat.

OP posts:
harriethoyle · 21/07/2021 15:05

@EmmaGrundyForPM Yep! One of my spaniels is a resolute sunbather despite panting like a steam train... I had to shut her in the kitchen at the weekend because she wouldn't go in the shade I'd rigged up for them!

JustMeAndWheatley · 21/07/2021 15:21

Mine haven’t been walked since Thursday. I tried to take them out late last night and they refused to go.

I’ve been doing lots of scent work to tire out their minds.

Two old dogs and one puppy.

hellcatspangle · 21/07/2021 15:29

I don't have one at the moment but last year in the heat I'd do early morning and late evening walks.

I drove to go shopping earlier and saw several dogs out at midday - I found myself shouting "why's your dog out in this you dickhead!" Several times (I hadn't got my windows open)

hellcatspangle · 21/07/2021 15:30

Aren't there any woods you could go in the evening? Will be cooler than places that have been in full sun all day.

shouldistop · 21/07/2021 15:33

We're near Glasgow so maybe not quite as hot as some places but it is still very hot just now. He gets a walk at 7am when it's still cool, then out off lead at lunchtime in the woods behind our house where it's completely shaded then a short toilet walk at 9/10pm.

ferretface · 21/07/2021 15:37

Only walking in the shade and/or near water he can swim in, definitely no pavement walks or midday walks.

He went out with the dog walker as usual today but like us she only will take them in the woods or to swim in the stream, she's also a vet nurse so trust her judgement. Her van is also air conditioned.

He's nice and cool at home as we have air conditioning in the house.

Topseyt · 21/07/2021 15:44

No. It is just far too hot and I would worry about her overheating. She has been really str

Also, she is an almost 16 year old cocker spaniel and her back legs are much weaker than they used to be. The odd day resting at home is helpful to her even without this oppressive heat.

SueSaid · 21/07/2021 15:44

@JustMeAndWheatley

Mine haven’t been walked since Thursday. I tried to take them out late last night and they refused to go.

I’ve been doing lots of scent work to tire out their minds.

Two old dogs and one puppy.

You haven't taken your dogs out for nearly a week?!

I repeat it is not scorching before 8am and not after 7 or 8pm. Get up early! I was out at 7 it was perfectly pleasant.

Your dogs, especially the puppy need exercise.

Bryonyshcmyony · 21/07/2021 15:47

That seems really unnecessary. Just get up early!
I'm out at 6am.
Dd is 15 and riding her horse by 6.30am. All. Done and dogs walked by 7.15. Far sw where its 30 degrees plus in the day

Xiaoxiong · 21/07/2021 15:49

@MikeWozniaksGloriousTache I don't think built differently as much as just what you're used to. Our girl is half Lab half GSD, but where she's from it's in the high 20s and low 30s from April to October, and subzero regularly in the winter with snow as well. We rescued her as an adult so she had at least 3-4 years on streets we think.

I grew up in a hot country myself, so like my dog, I don't really think of anything under 35c as being too hot either!

Lonelydaisy · 21/07/2021 15:52

Whoever has said yes to this is disgusting! Even at 8am it's still 22-25 degrees.
What do you honestly think will happen to your dog if it goes a few days without walking?
It's like you all think they're gonna burst into flames and die if they don't get walked. They don't need walks to stay alive for fuck sake.

You try walking in this heat barefoot with a fur coat on. Honestly it's absolute madness that anyone would even ask this. No one has common sense anymore.

Bryonyshcmyony · 21/07/2021 15:55

@Lonelydaisy

Whoever has said yes to this is disgusting! Even at 8am it's still 22-25 degrees. What do you honestly think will happen to your dog if it goes a few days without walking? It's like you all think they're gonna burst into flames and die if they don't get walked. They don't need walks to stay alive for fuck sake.

You try walking in this heat barefoot with a fur coat on. Honestly it's absolute madness that anyone would even ask this. No one has common sense anymore.

My dogs have enjoyed their very early walks at 6.30am. It's fine.
GCAcademic · 21/07/2021 15:56

We are in the Lake District atm. DH hiked up the Old Man of Coniston (leaving our dog with me, to go swimming, as it was too hot) the other day, and arrived back down, absolutely boiling, just before noon, where he saw a man starting the walk with a golden retriever. Bloke was not impressed when DH told him it was way too hot for the dog. Apparently he had a bottle of water for it, so it would be fine 😡

SimonJT · 21/07/2021 15:57

No, I walk him at 6am before it gets hot and he has a second walk around 9pm, when we were on holiday he stayed with a friend who did the same.

A grumpy dog is better than a dead dog.

youshallnotpass9 · 21/07/2021 15:59

Early mornings and late nights here.

However he still looks at me with this why do you hate me look at around 11am, when he hasn't been out for the mid morning walk.

Lots of scent games at the moment,

SueSaid · 21/07/2021 16:01

'Whoever has said yes to this is disgusting! Even at 8am it's still 22-25 degrees.What do you honestly think will happen to your dog if it goes a few days without walking?'

Not it isn't. 28⁰c here after 10am, at 7am it was 17c. Stop being dramatic.

Dogs need exercise. They need to sniff, they need the mental and physical stimulation. Get up early and be a responsible owner.

warmfluffytowels · 21/07/2021 16:02

@Lonelydaisy

Whoever has said yes to this is disgusting! Even at 8am it's still 22-25 degrees. What do you honestly think will happen to your dog if it goes a few days without walking? It's like you all think they're gonna burst into flames and die if they don't get walked. They don't need walks to stay alive for fuck sake.

You try walking in this heat barefoot with a fur coat on. Honestly it's absolute madness that anyone would even ask this. No one has common sense anymore.

Then you get up at 6am if it's too hot at 8am.
shouldistop · 21/07/2021 16:04

@Lonelydaisy 17 degrees here at 7am.

DeathByWalkies · 21/07/2021 16:04

Mine is not in any of the risk categories (old, fat, brachycephalic) but still seems to think the garden is a bit hot, and the heat has made him a bit lackadaisical. Still, walks in the evening when it's cooled off, with some water, are fine.

Ghosttile · 21/07/2021 16:06

About 18c here at 7am when we got home from a lovely shady walk. She had also been in and out of the stream. I carry water for her and a folding bowl. She waits until I pour the water into her bowl and then wades into the stream and drinks from it. Arse.

SisterBeaverhausen · 21/07/2021 16:06

We have a Dalmatian and he hasn't gone out since Friday.

We do plenty of brain training games for him but he's not going to die from not going for a walk. He will from being out in the heat. He's struggling indoors as it is.

Bebeschitt · 21/07/2021 16:07

@Lonelydaisy I said yes and am pretty certainly I'm not disgusting.
Up at 6am and out before even a cuppa has been drank. The grass is wet and the the air is cool. The dog had a lovely hour rolling in the grass and drinking from the bottle I took for her. We stayed in the shade.
No disgusting behaviour to be seen. Well, I saw some joggers but each to their own.

Bryonyshcmyony · 21/07/2021 16:08

@SisterBeaverhausen

We have a Dalmatian and he hasn't gone out since Friday.

We do plenty of brain training games for him but he's not going to die from not going for a walk. He will from being out in the heat. He's struggling indoors as it is.

Get up earlier. Are people really this lazy?!
Ghosttile · 21/07/2021 16:08

I saw a kingfisher! Also joggers, but they weren’t as exciting.

LadyPoison · 21/07/2021 16:09

Took mine out at midnight last night, He's really not happy in this heat but won't go in his paddling pool either