To think people walking dogs in this heat are twats?

[Wombat100]

Just that really. It totally blows my mind. If you’re one of those people who has been walking your dog during the height of the heat in the last few days - I’m
genuinely interested to know why?

I went out today 8.30'and it was already hot so that's my boy done for today until the evening. I have a pool coming today tho I doubt he will use it as he isn't a fan of water but I will get in 😂

@LeFeu @SarahSissions you're both fuming about me saying people deserve to have their heads kicked in but are ignoring the conditions I mentioned.

If you're walking your dog in a shaded area that's not the same is it. Stop taking offence at things not aimed at you.

@girlmom21 but my point is that people work up a really head of steam on these posts and get into the “I’m going to have a word” frame of mind and can be quite nasty and aggressive. I have a had a number of people over the last two years be really quite unpleasant and forced me to justify myself when taking my dog for a toilet break- you never used to get this. So whilst your comments may not be aimed at us, someone else reading this thread will get really het up.

really if you see someone walking a dog and the dog is distressed, the best thing you can do, rather than having a go or telling them off is ask if they need any help.

Yanbu and if I see them I stop and have words with the idiot walking them.

YANBU. Thankfully I don't see it as much anymore, the message does seem to be getting through. But the other day I did see one person walking 3 huskies just after lunchtime 😐

@girlmom21 if I see a dog in distress why would I ask the owner if they need any help? Help with what, how not to be an idiot? There is no excuse for walking a dog in the heat to the extent that it is getting distressed.

If they need help understanding why heat can be dangerous to dogs then they really shouldn’t have a dog.

It's madness. We have a long haired GSD and when we've walked her it's been 9pm or later, but the past week it's been too hot to even do that. We've seen loads out with their dogs in the middle of the day. My Mum was playing fetch in the garden with my DDog at lunchtime yesterday, said she didn't think ten minutes of fetch was an issue 🙄DDog got sent indoors under the fan as DMum got a lecture.

It’s really got nothing to do with virtue signalling and I’m not sure why you think it is. If I see a dog in distress being walked in 30 degree heat in the middle of the day then I will speak to the owner, just as I’ve previously spoken to the owner of a dog who thought it was appropriate to leave her dog in a car on a boiling day while she had lunch in a pub.

People shouldn’t be standing by saying nothing when an animal is being cruelly treated.

Taking mine out at 10pm and skipping the morning walk.
She's seemingly unaware of the danger of the heatwave to dogs as I keep finding her lying in the sun in the garden 🙄😂
Bought her a baby paddling pool yesterday which she loves 😉

Years of owning bitches would have seen me walking early and late with just access to the garden in between too, and no issue with bitches I own now either. My two males, however, would rather explode than poo in the garden, so they need a walk between the early and late ones or they would climb the walls.

They will go from an air conditioned house, in to a pre-cooled air conditioned car, be driven to shady woods and walked for as long as it takes for them all to go to the loo, before the process repeats in reverse. I have suggested to husband that if any do-gooders tackle him before assessing the comfort level of the dogs, he points this out calmly and walks away.

If you feel the need to tackle any dog owners a) assess the circumstances and the dogs' comfort first and b) please do it politely - you might as well, they're far more likely to ignore you if you're rude and aggressive anyway (or indeed call the police if any classy sorts threaten to 'kick their heads in').

Not just dogs---
Elderly Mum who struggles with mobility had chest x-ray booked. I rang to check a wheel chair would be available at the entrance and was assured this would happen. You can guess where this is going? I had to make several forages throughout the different departments and building, so she was probably in the car, (All doors and windows open,) for 20 minutes. I actually used the example of dogs in hot cars when expressing my frustration.

My boy is from Spain and loves the sun but generally would rather lie in it than go for a walk in it. He just pootles about the garden - sunny bits and shady bits, and moves inside to cooler bits when he feels like it. I don’t force a walk on him when it’s really hot, a day or two off doesn’t hurt him. There are loads of dogs round my way and most are not going out just now (not during the day anyway), it’s much quieter than usual.

It friends. Some people live in flats so need to take out their dogs. I live in a hot country people tend to walk their dogs in shady areas dogs are used to it

Where I am the real heat isn't kicking in until 11 or 12, so walks before that are absolutely fine for many dogs. But it also does depend on the type of dog. The current morning temperatures my dog can tolerate well. But the same temperature and I see Frenchies really struggling, for example, for very obvious reasons. And my dog has a UV sun shelter and a nice pool in his garden so he can nosy at what me and the neighbours are doing in comfort.

@maddy68 but dogs in the U.K. aren’t used to it.

But as you say, those dogs are used to it. Dogs in the UK are not, which means it's much more dangerous for them.

really if you see someone walking a dog and the dog is distressed, the best thing you can do, rather than having a go or telling them off is ask if they need any help.

And people who are ignorant enough to walk their distressed dogs in the heat of the day aren't going to respond kindly to any attempt at help IME.

I wouldn't have a go either btw, but I also wouldn't be inclined to offer any help because I'd be worried I'd get shouted or worse, assaulted.

We walked our dog on the beach yesterday in Northumberland. She loved it. I think let dog owners be the judge eh?

It totally depends on the dog and when/where you walk them. If it's on grass, right next to a river the whole time, in the shade, then that is better for some dogs than staying in the house all day. One of my dogs genuinely gets distressed when we miss walks, to the point that he does himself harm, so I will take him to safe suitable places in this heat.

Completely agree about sitting with them at the beach or marching them through town in this weather though!

@honkeytonkwoman38 it may well have been cooler in Northumberland yesterday though, particularly if you were on the coast with a sea breeze? I’m in London and it was too hot to walk dogs in the midday sun here yesterday.

“I think let dog owners be the judge eh?”. Well no, not if they’re walking them on a boiling pavement in 30 degree heat.

@Palmtree9 totally agree, shaded woods/next to a river/walking early morning or late at night etc is different. I should have made it clearer in my OP that I’m talking about the muppets walking/sitting in broad sunlight/no shade/on hot pavements. Just feel so sorry for the dogs that’s all.

And the people (not you I hasten to add) saying “oh my dog loves lying in the sun so it’s fine” (or words to that effect) - dogs don’t have the mental capacity to think “oh, I might get heat stroke if I lie here, I’d better find some shade”.

We are walking ours before 9am (7.30 this morning) and then anytime after 7pm. Although tonight I'll walk her around 9pm and then tomorrow and Tuesday it will be a 6am walk and a 10pm walk. Will always walk her in the shady areas.

Unfortunately the fact that dogs die from heatstroke every single summer shows that many owners can't be trusted to "be the judge".

I'm in Cumbria so it's not been scorching but a dog collapsed and nearly died near to us earlier in the week. It wasn't even that hot - maybe 22-23 degrees, but the dog was slightly overweight and a black, large breed. It just collapsed on the floor and couldn't get up again - strangers had to help the owner carry it the car and to the emergency vets.

Luckily it pulled through but many dogs in the situation won't be so lucky.

That owner will have thought nothing of taking his dog out, yet his judgement was so off that he nearly killed his dog.

@Whitney168 I wouldn’t question someone if they were walking their dog in a shaded/woody area etc though, I’m talking about people walking on boiling pavements/sitting in broad sunlight etc when the dog is clearly distressed.

@coffeecupsandfairylights absolutely spot on.

i wonder if these people saying let the dog owner be the judge would say “let the parent be the judge” if they saw a small baby being left to boil in the sun or crawl along a red hot pavement? My mind boggles.