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?

What on earth are you going on about now? Prompt action by a ranger saved a dog from heatstroke. What an absolutely bizarre thing to keep picking and piking at.

I couldn’t give the tiniest shit if you believe me. If I wanted to be alarmist I could say I’ve rushed out in the last hour and flung wet towels over 20 dogs gasping on the pavement, before calling the RSPCA on speed dial and having all their owners arrested,
I’m not engaging with you on this any more

Well, yes, the media reports on things generally because they're unusual. I'm not saying all dogs walked in heat will die of heatstroke by any means.

But if a dog does die, that's a whole family left guilt-ridden and heartbroken over something that was totally, 100% avoidable.

There is no need to take your dogs out for a walk when it's hot so why take the risk? Leave them at home and keep them safe.

DS took our spaniel out at 7am to our local woods as it was 'only' 17 degrees. He said all the usual Sunday crowd were there. It's currently 31 degrees.

Tomorrow even at 6am the forecast is 22 degrees so we will stay at home.

Our vet is posting lots of tips on Facebook. DDog now sits and waits for ice cubes to added to her water

I disagree @hangrylady

A couple of years ago I watched some stupid twat of a woman walking a St. Bernard through a park on a hot summers day. They got to where I was stood in the shade (watching 6 formers do field work) and the dog just laid down and would not move. She was trying to tempt it along with a bottle of water she then got out of its back and it wasn't having any of it. Stupid cow.

Yes.

At 5pm it's still hot - forecast to be 26-27 degrees here. Prime heatstroke temperature. The woods might be shaded but it's still hot enough to be dangerous.

We had a dog die here at 9am last summer. Only one years old and otherwise healthy.

I have a friend who is a vet nurse and she says that every year they get quite a few dogs that are ill through heat or sun stroke. Sadly some of them die.

Some dog owners are thick idiots. I don't know how anyone can disagree with that. Walking them on hot pavements in full sun is bloody stupid. If they have to be walked because they won't toilet in the garden (thank God I trained my dogs to go in the garden as well as out of it) then the walk should be as short as possible and the owner should try and stay in shade.

@Terribletooths I would not leave my dog in car even with the windows open a bit and certainly not for 10 minutes. Cars get very hot and dogs do become ill or die in them.

People getting themselves in an absolute frothing rage when they don’t know other people’s circumstances. Calling for people to have their heads kicked in, honestly. Yes dogs shouldn’t be dragged round pavements for an hour in 30 degree heat but you just see a snapshot of their walk and you don’t know that that is what is happening.

I agree with this. I was confronted yesterday by a man that wanted to know what on earth I was thinking walking my dog 'in this heat'. I wasn't walking my dog, we had been to the vets and stopped at the lake to pick up my dd on the way home. The dog got out of the car, walked 2 mins across grass to the water, had a paddle while we waited for dd and back to the car and home. There was no need for his aggression at all but some people don't seem to be able to use their common sense and just see dog outside in heat and rage on thinking they are some kind of animal rights warrior.

But many many many dog owners don't show common sense do they? Have you never seen a dog being dragged along the street panting and unhappy? Have you never seen all the dogs at boot fairs, fetes, markets etc on very hot days? At the coast, in the park etc?

I would be very surprised if you have never seen any dogs in the heat in those places and those owners obviously did not use common sense did they?

My bloody thick as shit neighbour leaves her dog out in the garden which is south facing so gets full sun just about all day. The only bit of shade for him is under their garden table. She also leaves his food out there (lovely with all the flies on it I'm sure) and a tiny bowl of water. He was out there yesterday, is out there today and will, I am certain, be out there tomorrow and Tuesday when the temperature is meant to be 41 where I am. She is a nurse (advanced nurse according to her facebook page) but obviously has no common sense whatsoever.

I would far rather people do say something that just ignore all the ignorant dog owners who do drag their dogs out in the sun. Pretty sure he had far more common sense than a lot of dog owners

Yep. We only have a small garden and my dog refuses to toilet in it. He would hold it in and harm himself, so he has been getting carried across the street to wood/canal to wander around and do the loo. He gets off the lead and goes into the shade or dips his toes in the canal if he's too hot.

If anyone approached me politely with regards to the weather, i'd politely let them know our circumstances. If anyone approached aggressively, I'm hormonal and exhausted so I'd be more than ready for them.

What on earth are you going on about now? Prompt action by a ranger saved a dog from heatstroke. What an absolutely bizarre thing to keep picking and piking at
It's not bizarre, it just sounds like you read something and decided to jump to conclusions.

There is no need to take your dogs out for a walk when it's hot so why take the risk? Leave them at home and keep them safe
Because most dog owners know what is a risk to THEIR dog better than strangers and are able to assess risks thenselves. So leave those people alone and don't judge for the sake of judging.

Have you never seen a dog being dragged along the street panting and unhappy?
Nope, never. I've however seen many dogs very happy in the park when it's hot. That is hot, not very hot.

I took mine for a walk at 11am yesterday, mostly in the shade, a bit in the sun for an hour. She was very happy, walking along sniffing, excited to meet other dogs (quite a few). No heat stroke, no burn paws but a very happy doggy because I KNOW my dog and knew that she could tolerate this sort of walk. None of the dog warriors could know that better than me.

Well think whether you'd like to go out in 25 degree heat with a fur coat on and then reconsider.

It is definitely stupid to take a dog out when the pavements are baking hot. They'll get burnt paws.

I took mine for a walk at 11am yesterday, mostly in the shade, a bit in the sun for an hour

not sure where you are but it wasn't that hot yesterday. Much hotter today.

Because most dog owners know what is a risk to THEIR dog better than strangers and are able to assess risks thenselves. So leave those people alone and don't judge for the sake of judging

But clearly they don't or dogs wouldn't die or heatstroke every summer 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just don't try that approach with the police.

The Met has been tweeting for a few days now that dogs unattended in cars in a heatwave is a 999 matter.

Today's tweet is
"We provide a free car ventilation service. All you have to do is leave a dog in a hot car. We will do the rest"
(Pic of car with smashed window allowing officer to open door)

I could wave my dog’s lead right now and she’d be there, raring to go. I have no doubt she would keep going until she felt too ill to continue, by which time it would be far too late. That’s why I do the risk assessment for her, based on veterinary clinical advice.

I suspect all these dogs who do their own risk assessments and pass them on to their owners are the same dogs who don’t need to wear a lead when required to by farmers and are Just Being Friendly as they bound up to whoever they like

A local stately home has for many years widely publicized the fact that their staff and volunteers will not hesitate to break car windows if dogs are left inside on their premises. Very dog friendly place, so they see no excuse whatsoever to boil your dog alive. 👏 👏

"I think let dog owners be the judge eh?"

Bearing in mind the huge numbers of people who buy dogs from backyard breeders, who appear to know sod all about dog behaviour, haven't trained them, or walk them on long extendable leads right next to busy main roads, I'm
not sure it's always a good idea to let dog owners be the sole judges of how to treat their animals @honkeytonkwoman38

I live in a part of the US that’s been high 80s and 90s for weeks. I despair of the people who walk their dogs in the middle of the day, although they are few in number.

I have three dogs—a Frenchie, a small terrier mix, and a Shepherd mix. The Shepherd is a pup and came from Texas as a stray, so she copes well in the heat. The Frenchie is a puppy mill rescue and lived outside 24/7 until we got her, so she does surprisingly well in the heat. Even so, we walk for an hour at 6.30am, and I take water. My garden is 1.5 acres, so they mooch out there a few times a day, and race around in the evening. We will be doing this until the weather drops to the 70s and I’ll walk more like 8/9am.

👏👏👏👏

I had to do a 4hr car journey with mine today. My car has no air conditioning so we left at 5:30 am! They were fine but I was worried the entire journey. If I hadn't had to get home due to having treatment for cancer this week I would have stayed till it cooled right down.

My dogs don't do well without being walked at least alternate days so I'm planning on getting up as soon as it's light tomorrow and going for a wander.
I really don't understand how people think it's ok to walk them in this heat. Do they not care about their animals welfare?

not sure where you are but it wasn't that hot yesterday. Much hotter today

Absolutely, but it didn't stop the local warriors on FB. I'm about to take doggy out now for the first time today.

I really really do t have an issue with those who challenge owners of distressed dogs, what I have is an issue with those shouting outrage in a patronising way as soon as they see a dog outside the second the temp goes over 20 degrees and think it's makes them which annoyingly happens every single year.