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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Should you take dogs out in this heat at lunch

197 replies

Happynappys · 28/05/2023 21:10

Went to a food festival today and saw about 10 dogs there in 23degree heat. To get from the car park there was a long tarmac road. The festival also had no shade or water I did see one owner with a dog bowel.

OP posts:
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user1477391263 · 28/05/2023 23:20

Ditto bare paws =!= bare feet in shoe-wearing cultures. Human beings, in our culture, don’t walk around barefoot.

Dogs do and their paws are pretty much leather.

I have been in one part of the world (rural PNG) where people did indeed go barefoot much of the time, and their feet adapted and were leathery too, even when walking on the hottest rocky surfaces. It was impressive to watch. I asked some of the women if I could adapt my own feet in the same way. They said yes - when the men went to town to do migrant labor, they would wear shoes and their feet would adapt to shoes, then they would come back to the village and re-condition their feet to barefoot walking, which would take a couple of weeks or so. I did notice how many people were missing a toe or two, however, and decided not to risk it after all!

In any case, I really don’t think a normal hardy breed of dog is going to have problems unless the tarmac gets really hot, which 23 degrees is NOT going to cause, outside of MN Hysteria Land where everything over 20 is a heatwave and will cause mass death etc.

Again, if people own silly breeds, that may be a different matter.

Aquamarine1029 · 28/05/2023 23:22

ichundich · 28/05/2023 23:20

23 degree heat? Give me strength.

Exactly. The drama is unbelievable.

RampantIvy · 28/05/2023 23:24

outside of MN Hysteria Land where everything over 20 is a heatwave

This ^^
Why are there so many snowflakes on MN?

EbonyRaven · 28/05/2023 23:27

Seriously? It's barely scraped past 20 C today. Get a grip. Hmm

WTF is wrong with people this week on here? Threads talking about people living in fear as the mercury hurtles towards 22 C, and people taking dogs out in SHOCK HORROR 22-23 degrees C.

Stop scaremongering @Happynappys If you reported these dog owners to the RSPCA or police, purely for walking their dogs in 23 degrees C, you would be laughed at.

IT IS NOT HOT.

I also doubt the food festival place had no water available for dogs.

NBLarsen · 28/05/2023 23:29

Kleiber · 28/05/2023 21:19

23°C is hot now?

Let me tell you about summer heatwaves…

23 is hot for dogs.

I sincerely hope you don't have one.

DollyParkin · 28/05/2023 23:34

It’s only just over 20 degrees! Hardly “boiling” !!!

RampantIvy · 28/05/2023 23:36

23 degrees is not hot for the majority of dogs. The pavements aren't even hot.

silverlentils · 28/05/2023 23:41

LittleDonkeyKong · 28/05/2023 21:23

It is when you've got a bloody fur coat on!

Fur insulates, it keeps heat out as well as sun.

silverlentils · 28/05/2023 23:42

23°C is hardly a heat wave. It's just normal summer weather.

But owners should make sure their pets have access to water.

Branster · 28/05/2023 23:48

@silverlentils thank you for talking sense
This is true, fur helps dogs to keep cool.
My vet explained this to me once.
It may look wrong to us as humans but that fur helps the dog in warm/hot weather.
Super short grooming in dogs during hot weather is not as sensible as it looks.

EbonyRaven · 28/05/2023 23:51

NBLarsen · 28/05/2023 23:29

23 is hot for dogs.

I sincerely hope you don't have one.

Only if they are left in the car. (Never do that by the way!) 23 C is not that hot - even for dogs. Good grief. Confused

MissTrip82 · 28/05/2023 23:52

LittleDonkeyKong · 28/05/2023 21:23

It is when you've got a bloody fur coat on!

Lol. You’re so right, that’s why dogs in Australia are indoors only…….

This is the kind of temp you try and catch early morning so you don’t have to walk the dog in the hottest part of the day.

If taking a dog on an outing you should always have some means of giving them water.

EbonyRaven · 28/05/2023 23:58

Like many others here, I am struggling to get my head around this 20-23 C is so hot nonsense..., Keep your dogs in, fear the heatwave, put factor 300 suntan lotion on, stay indoors (still put suntan lotion on though, as the sun may catch you through the window,) and do not go out as you will spontaneously combust!!! 😩Dogs must always stay in, and so must cats. Get a large litter for them so you don't need to take them out to walk in the perilous 23 C searing murderous heat!

ONLY on mumsnet do I see this. Not a soul in real life has said 'OMG it's so hot' yet, or 'what a terribly cruel person you are walking your dog in 22-23 degrees!' Hmm

Wait til the mercury tips over 30, then 32C, 33C, 35C, Or higher. Shock I think a few people need to move to Svalbard NOW.

P.S. Funny the OP has not returned since their first post. Hmm

Zarataralara · 28/05/2023 23:59

For surfaces you can do the 7 second rule. Place the palm of your hand on the tarmac, paving etc. hold it there for 7 seconds. If you can’t it’s too hot for paws.

Aslanplustwo · 29/05/2023 00:04

It's not that hot. Dogs here are out and about in those temps all the time, with no ill effects.

Blossomtoes · 29/05/2023 00:05

Our dog, who’s almost eight weeks pregnant, chose to sit in the sun most of today. It was warm today, not hot.

Aslanplustwo · 29/05/2023 00:06

NBLarsen · 28/05/2023 23:29

23 is hot for dogs.

I sincerely hope you don't have one.

You are being ridiculous! Where I live we are almost into winter, and some parts of the country are having temps of 22/23oC at the moment. It is not hot - for animals or humans.

Apolli · 29/05/2023 00:10

Someone should tell my gran who keeps her house at 23 that the dog might die. Honestly, 23 is fine. It's 1 degree above the upper end of room temp! People are mad!

Apolli · 29/05/2023 00:12

Also, if this was Blenheim and I'll wager it was that tarmac road is bordered by grass down both sides! And you could have stuck my face on the tarmac today and it would have been fine...

BungleandGeorge · 29/05/2023 00:13

The argument that dogs survive in hotter temperatures is rubbish because when animals live somewhere they become acclimatised. Hence why I go on holiday in 40 degree heat. I’m struggling in my shorts whilst the locals are wearing jeans and long sleeves!
23 isn’t that hot but I take the OPs point that if it’s full on sun with no shade, multiple artificial heat sources and no water it really could be hazardous. Some people refuse to leave their dogs for more than a couple of hours but honestly what is the dog getting out of a trip like this? Probably a long journey in the car followed by standing around in the heat with no shade or water. Poor animal would probably be better off at home

StillMedusa · 29/05/2023 00:14

Double coated dog here... 23 degrees is fine for her... last summer in the heatwave I had all the blinds down, a little aircon unit running...and she was outin the south facing garden sunbathing!
I don't walk her in higher temps, but today was fine.. lovely walk down by the river, she had a paddle and then dashed through the long grass.
Her coat looks like she should be baking but it protects her from the heat!

Different breed/age/health = different needs!

user1477391263 · 29/05/2023 00:14

What happens when the “Dogs melt if it’s 23 degrees” panicking meets the “I can’t leave my lockdown dog at home alone for any length of time whatsoever” panicking?

Are we going to have a lot of people turning into reclusives every summer, spending their days indoors staring at their dogs with the air con on full blast and checking their breathing and temperature every few minutes?

(Actually, that might not be such a bad outcome, if it results in all the overprotective nutters staying indoors where they can’t harass the rest of us)

user1477391263 · 29/05/2023 00:15

BungleandGeorge · 29/05/2023 00:13

The argument that dogs survive in hotter temperatures is rubbish because when animals live somewhere they become acclimatised. Hence why I go on holiday in 40 degree heat. I’m struggling in my shorts whilst the locals are wearing jeans and long sleeves!
23 isn’t that hot but I take the OPs point that if it’s full on sun with no shade, multiple artificial heat sources and no water it really could be hazardous. Some people refuse to leave their dogs for more than a couple of hours but honestly what is the dog getting out of a trip like this? Probably a long journey in the car followed by standing around in the heat with no shade or water. Poor animal would probably be better off at home

Yes, but you are “feeling hot” on holiday, not dying of heat stroke.

Blossomtoes · 29/05/2023 00:16

what is the dog getting out of a trip like this?

Time with their human, lots of new sights, sounds and smells, mental stimulus, exercise, interaction with other dogs …

BungleandGeorge · 29/05/2023 00:22

user1477391263 · 29/05/2023 00:15

Yes, but you are “feeling hot” on holiday, not dying of heat stroke.

Yes I would also become unwell much more easily. The reason the locals are not feeling the heat as much as
me is because their physiology has adapted to deal with the heat better. Your body response to
The heat changes. I’m feeling hot as a warning sign!