Should you take dogs out in this heat at lunch

[Happynappys]

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.

23C?? - really?? That is not hot for most dogs.

Doesn’t dog fur act in a similar way to a sheep’s fleece?

Ditto, I chose a dog from a practical breed. Today we fitted in an early walk of a couple of miles, a play date in late afternoon and a run through woods and stream early evening.

However, last weekend we went to a festival and it was quite hot. We found the one muddy patch and rolled extensively 😖took our water bottles (unlike DH, I prefer not to share). Where possible we walked on grass verges or the tiny bits of shade. About 50% of the other dogs around were Frenchies, they tended to walk down the middle of the road. ??

I do walk barefoot a lot in summer, if you acclimatise yourself it is fine up to about 28 or 30 degrees. Avoid mid day sun.

I think my main point may be that you should choose a dog suitable for the climate you live in and then make adjustments for when they are old or sick. Most dogs should manage the current temperatures just fine.

@KimberleyClark - a dog’s fur coat insulates them from the heat/cold. It’s not the same as humans wearing a fur coat 😅

These threads amuse me no I no longer live in the UK

I was also that person that uses to get enraged. Now I live abroad that 23 degree heat is what I take my dog for a walk in at night 🤣.

Honestly dogs adapt really well. As long as the pavement isnt too hot , they have access to water and they are allowed to access shade or rest when necessary. They are fine

My dog (Jack Russell cross) is a complete sun worshipper, he hates the cold and seeks out the sun.

It totally depends on the dog 🤷‍♀️

Surely if a dog's 'fur coat' kept them so warm you wouldn't see dogs with jackets on in the winter. I don't think a dog's fur coat is like a human putting a coat on. Most (if not all non-humanoid) mammals have fur or hair coats of some kind and live seasonally with them.

It seems to me from some of the reactions on here that it is cruel to keep dogs at all in this British climate - if 23% is already too hot and so much of the winter is too cold (see threads passim). Though beats me where in the world you could keep dogs safely since this is one of the most temperate places overall.

23C is warm, not hot, and fur coat or not, the vast majority of dogs are perfectly OK in that temperature. Cats have fur coats too, and nobody seems to think they will die if they potter about in warm weather. Plenty of dogs actively seek out sunny spots to lie down in. If it had been 30C, that would be different, but 23?! Fine.

No, best to walk early in the morning before the pavements get too hot for their paws. We walk late at night but on grass so paws are not burned. Some people are idiots and don't put their dogs welfare first.

Fully agree with this when it's hot. But it's not

My dog pants all the time in this weather if he’s outside though. If I walked him at 21 plus he would pant the entire walk. He had a little pant this evening and I was wearing a thick hoodie! I know panting is ok but 30 minutes of continuous panting doesn’t seem right ?

genuinely interested as I’m going somewhere for a couple of hours on Thursday he would like but it’s forecast to be 22 and sunny and I know he will pant the entire time ? He’s fit and young - greyhound.

He's a big sunbather but comes in or seeks shade after a bit .

I'm getting jealous of all of the "this weather" comments because we just aren't getting hot weather where I live. We had a brief respite from the cool and cloudy weather on Saturday when it was sunny and 23 degrees, then it was straight back to cloud and mid teen temperatures with no temperature over 20 degrees in sight according to the weather forecast.

It was 14 degrees here today, grey and miserable.

23 isn't that hot!

Some dogs just pant more than others.

I walk dogs who will pant for a full hours' walk in the middle of winter. By itself it's not a problem and only becomes one if it's unusual for your dog really.

It's not that hot though.

23 degrees is a perfectly safe temperature for the vast majority of dogs.

23 is fine IME, as long as it’s not for hours, they have water and shade I would take them for a walk. I wouldn’t take ddog to a festival though, or shopping, some people want to take their dog everywhere and it’s not appropriate

I tend not to walk mine above 20 degrees but they are huskies 🤷‍♀️

we do early morning (5.30/6am) or late evening walks (8.30/9pm) once the heat has died off a bit, I also cut their walk time down. when we have extreme heat I don’t walk them at all but do lots of mental exercise activities with them, they won’t die from not having a walk whereas they could die if I did walk them 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I freeze their kong’s filled with treats and hide them around the garden they love finding them, I also have a doggy pool (not that they use it) I also have a treat mat etc

@AreMyDucksinarow - so husky’s are fine not to be walked for months on end? It’s above 20 here from May- September almost daily, usually 30+ for several months. Our neighbours huskies are always off out in the mountains for hours on end all year around. There’s trees for shade on and off, but it’s hot. I can’t imagine a husky not going for a walk for 5 months.

We have lived in places with ddog where it is 30+C at 8pm, so 23C at midday is nothing to him (rescue from a hot country). In serious heat, long walk happens in the morning, then short, calm outings in the shade during the day, with plenty of water, on grass not pavement unless in full shade. The pavement can still be too hot at night as it has been absorbing heat all day.

Both mine are lying on concrete in the sun in 23c, I think I’ve got cold blooded dogs (dogs are free range in house and farm yard)

You should have plenty of water for your dog when you take them out, it is 23C in my way in Spain AT NIGHT in the summer, up to 28C some tropical nights. Dogs haver survived for millenia. And no, it is NOT like a human wearing a coat, it actually insulates them from warm and cold.

@Caspianberg

I didn’t say that! What I said was over 20 degrees so not during daytime hours (9-5) they are walked early morning and late evening - I wouldn’t take them out for a run during 22 degree heat at lunchtime.

in extreme heat I don’t walk them! So anything above 25 degrees, it doesn’t hurt them to miss a weeks walk, and when they don’t get walked we they are kept occupied by mental exercise.

However what I do is check the temperature and adjust their walks accordingly, so that may mean I’m up at 5am to take them out or up late at night.

Yesterday was cool so they went out with Dh at 6.30am and then with me around 7.30pm. At the weekend the temp is rising to around 20+degrees so I will check the temperature and adjust.

Your friends are stupid and irresponsible dogs owners taking huskies out all day in heat like that regardless of shade a dogs body doesn’t work the same as a humans.

@AreMyDucksinarow - but it’s 25+ here even overnight in summer. Honestly I see hundreds of dogs out and about everywhere in summer, many on own steam as lots of private land. The dogs choose to spend the day outside in heat, then could choose to walk indoors but would rather not. It’s a very British thing that dogs melt so quickly.

It’s about 28 outside atm, quite sunny, and my cat is laying right in the middle of our driveway on hot tarmac. He’s been there at least an hour. If he moves 2m he will
be in the shade. If he moves 5m he can just walk in the open door where it’s cooler. Our neighbours husky was laying in the same spot on their driveway when I went past earlier, and he’s probably still there, he could just walk indoors, no one’s forcing it to lay there

Thanks @coffeecupsandwaxmelts i might take him with me then as some
of the walk is shady and a lot of it will be spent having a coffee where I can pour a bit of water on him as well as giving him a drink (although he never drinks away from home !). It’s not as warm now as it was at the weekend .