People are really mad about dogs and heat stroke?

[Brayndrayn]

In Italy there are dogs out in the midday sun with no shade with their owners for bloody hours. Personally I walk my dogs very early in this heat but it is kicking OFF on the local FB page about dogs being out today. People shouting at those with dogs as they go past in a car etc. Nobody knows others’ circumstances or where they are going or for what reason. Yes I know about paws on hot pavements but by Christ those pavements/sand in Italy were boiling and the dogs didn’t seem to care. My dogs also ran out of the house onto my patio and wanted to stay there this afternoon. I’m not saying there is no risk but this country loses the plot over dogs to point of being really very rude to other people about it. Realise I’m probably going to get flamed…

We may not be able to stop all stupid owners, but there is one area where the law could easily reduce dog suffering. Leaving a dog in a car should be illegal for more than a defined period of time, regardless of temperature, with only a few very carefully considered exceptions. Simple to say upon conviction you lose your driving licence for several years and the dog is re-homed.

I agree with this.

So if no dog will walk on pavements that are too hot how do some get burned pads? You may have seen some dogs refusing to walk on hot surfaces but unless you have seen ALL dogs being walked on hot pavements/sand etc then you cannot possibly state that it is a fact that dogs won't walk on hot sufaces.

Again my friend says that they deal with burned and blistered pads of dogs walked on hot surfaces. I think she knows better than you do.

I really doubt you know for sure that more dogs die in Australia from spider and snake bites than heatstroke.

There are no true statistic for dog deaths in the UK due to heatstroke so it is just your opinion and not fact. Also, if you are so knowledgeable what are the statistics for dogs getting heatstroke and not dying? Heatstroke is awful and I would not wish it on any dog especially when in the majority of cases it is completely unavoidable.

I think this actually illustrates the point people are trying to make, you know your dogs, you know how they like and when left to their own devices they will each choose different ways of dealing with the heat during hotter times, which you let them get on with.

A lot of the dogs I see being dragged around in hot weather in the middle of the day, don't look happy to be doing so, they are head low, tail low, panting, not sniffing, plodding behind the owner, and basically just enduring it, anyone who knows anything about dogs knows when a dog is happy/sad/frightened/excited etc, these are the ones that stand out to me, anyone walking a happy dog, walking ahead, sniffing, head and tail up wouldn't even register on my radar, no matter what the weather was doing.

Imagine your lab, and while he is trying to hide away from the heat saying, no come on it's time for your daily walk no matter what, we always do it at this time of day and today is no different, clipping him on the lead and walking him round hot pavements with no shade etc while he clearly does not like it, but you do it anyway.. this is the sort of mindset people get angry and frustrated seeing.

It shouldn't be rocket science for people to know their dogs and know what is best for them, but for a lot of people their dogs welfare is not their primary or even secondary concern.

I googled to see what the figures were and found out that the figures are not accurate because not all cases are reported.

As I said, are all dog deaths recorded with the cause of death? Seems very unlikely. Also what about owners who don't take their dog to the vet. If the dog dies at home they may well just bury it. They won't want the expense or the shame of admitting they caused the death.

It's not just my nurse friend who sees so many heatstroke cases or deaths. A vet nurse has posted on here saying she sees a lot. Also two of my friends' daughters are vet nurses and they also say they see quite a few.

If I saw a dog being walked in the heat that looked perfectly happy I wouldn't say anything to them, why would I?
Ok, but that's not who OP refers to. She mentions people who say something just because they see a dog out when it's hot.

30 minutes out, and doggy was very happy to get some air and enjoy some good sniffs, I guess it's even better when hot! She's happy, she is not overheating, she was not forced and she chose to walk on the asphalt even when there was grass next to it and I encouraged her to go on the grass!

You really have no idea.
I don't live in an awful crime ridden druggy dog-abuser-gangland place but I still had an attempted dognapping of my puppy.
You're in cloud cuckoo land if you think it doesn't happen in posh areas, because actually, it does.

Posh areas might well have more expensive, purebred dogs too.

On really hot days I get up extra early ( im not a morning person) and a take them out so they can run round like mad and burn themselves out so they can chill for the rest of the day. They go out again in the evening if they want to whenits cooled down.
The rest of the day they'll walk into the garden, get fed up, go back in and repeat!!)

She doesn't actually mention the condition of the dog, and seems actually completely unaware of what difference that could make to people's perceptions.

Whenever I have ever seen anyone kick off about a dog out in the heat, which is extremely rare to be honest, the dog always looks like it is struggling.

We don't know if the dog in question was struggling or perfectly fine, I do think it would be unusual for someone to start shouting out car windows at perfectly happy looking dog but who knows? People shouting out car windows are pretty unhinged anyway IMO.

The dogs in the hot countries that I lived in were feral and mongrels, so were a bit tougher. They also flopped in the shade during the day and got more energetic at night. My own dog (stray who decided to live with us) lived outside and his fur would get incredibly thick in the winter and then he would shed great tufts of it for the summer so I think they adapt more to the climate if they live outdoors the whole time. He would lie on the cool concrete floor of our garage on very hot days and wouldn’t have gone wandering about.

I googled to see what the figures were and found out that the figures are not accurate because not all cases are reported
Haha, what I reported came from a published document from Now Vets. You can't say they are not accurate!

The point is that of all the the emergencies they saw that year, overheating accounted for 0.2%.

So no, still don't believe in the many narrative.

So I asked but no answer - are all dog deaths recorded with the cause of death? I would actually like to know this because it seems very unlikely. And, as I also asked, how many owners don't take their dog suffering heatstroke to the vet for whatever reason and when the dog dies deal with themselves?

There are some terrible dog owners and quite a few don't take them to a vet no matter what happens. A neighbour of mine had a dog who had a stroke last year and the poor thing was obviously suffering. We could hear her whimpering and she could barely stand let alone walk. He never took her to a vet even though me, DH and a few other neighbours told him he should and even offering to take her for him. She died and he buried her in his garden.

Whenever I have ever seen anyone kick off about a dog out in the heat, which is extremely rare to be honest, the dog always looks like it is struggling
To be fair too I've never had anyone say anything to me, but then my dog doesn't look like she is struggling at all. If she was, I'd just pick her up and carry her anyway.

No, the warriors are active on Facebook. Every year, as soon as the temp goes over 20, the messages start with 'another idiot walking their dog in the heat, selfish twat', followed by message after message going on about how cruel, selfish, stupid it is. No mention of the dog clearly suffering.

So I asked but no answer - are all dog deaths recorded with the cause of death?
I have no idea, but a 0.2% does evidence that it's not half the concern many people are making out to be.

Even if you multiply the numbers it's still a very low percentage. Miles away from the many per practice that you claim.

I have 4 very fluffy winter breed dogs, I walked them on Saturday at 7am and Sunday at 7am in the woods and I’m not walking them again until it cools down, we have a huge garden, they are in front of fans and eating ice cubes and generally just sleeping the days away. I think the level of fluff on your breed is a big factor as well as size, I maybe wrong but a big double coated dog would struggle more than a short coated lab? Maybe?

I think it’s a good thing we have awarness around heatstroke, I’ve had dogs for 20+ years but do still see people walking dogs on pavements in this heat and roll my eyes.

@vivainsomnia - what do you think people should do if they see a dog who is clearly struggling, being walked in a heat wave? What would you do?

It may be that the ‘advice’ on social media can be OTT, but if it prevents some dogs from suffering burnt paws, heat stroke, or even dying, is that really a bad thing? I think it is better to be over cautious than not cautious enough - missing a walk when the dog would have been fine isn’t the end of the world, but walking a dog who is suffering in the heat is cruel and is avoidable.

what do you think people should do if they see a dog who is clearly struggling, being walked in a heat wave? What would you do?
Really struggling? As in refusing to walk whilst their owner is pulling at the lead? To be honest, I'm not sure because that's way beyond a heat problem, it's clearly a case of abuse, and that probably happens all year long. Maybe follow them hoping to see where they live and report them.

A dog that looks very tired? Offer the owner some water for the dog, offer to help carry them. Ask them if there's anything I could do to help.

Anything less worrying then that, I'd keep going and mind my business.

It may be that the ‘advice’ on social media can be OTT, but if it prevents some dogs from suffering burnt paws, heat stroke, or even dying, is that really a bad thing?
So in that scenario, you'd tell the person 'do you realise that your dog is burning its paws, and it looks like it's seriously overheating, what are you doing out with your dog in this heat', and you think they'll answer with something like that 'oh really, I didn't realise, I had no idea, thank you for make me aware that my dog could die, I'm going to order a taxi right away, and then take my dog to the vet to be checked. Thank you so much for alerting me to the dangers'

Mmmm, I very much doubt it!

The public shaming gets worse and at a lower temp every year. People were shaming others for walking their dog at 20C recently here

This. We worry about walking our dog at 20 degrees, not because dog would struggle but because we worry some local vigilante will post a photo of us on Facebook. It’s too hot to walk her in the day heat but she’s still in the garden on the “hot” paving - which I walk on barefoot all the time and haven’t burned my soles so far. Our last dog wouldn’t poo in the garden so we’d have to take him to the end of the Road whatever the weather if he needed a poo. Not far and not energetic. Most owners would know their dog and monitor them, adapting to their needs.

@vivainsomnia - I wasn’t talking about approaching individuals - I was talking about the advice on social media, about walking dogs in a heat wave. As I said, whilst it may be OTT, it might make some people stop and think about walking their dog if it’s really hot. To me, the risk of something bad happening if a dog misses a walk is less than if they have a walk in weather that is too hot for them.

I don’t think this is a terribly unreasonable or OTT opinion, nor do I think people are in some way bad for not wanting dogs to get burnt paws or heatstroke. Obviously no-one should be out being a vigilante, posting pictures of people walking their dog, or attacking them in person or online - but that applies to pretty much anything which attracts the online mob mentality.

Sadly I can’t walk more than a few metres, so am highly unlikely to be in the position you describe.

Yes it’s bloody hot. 99% of dog owners know not to take their beloved dogs out in silly temperatures.

Much the same as I imagine 99% of parents know not to leave a baby in the bath on their own.

Shall we post multiple patronising threads about it? Or shall we all just get on with our life’s without being dicks to each other?

I've walked barefoot on concrete in 34 degrees. It's doable. 34+ on asphalt you want to walk quick when barefoot. I tend to agree with OP that ppl on MN are irrational about exercising dogs in heat and risk in general. There are lots of feral dogs active in asphalt covered very hot cities.

However... a dog (in England that) I walk for someone else (volunteering) was struggling in temps about 24-25 deg C about 1 month ago & not so great last week, too (temp maybe 22-24). A month ago, She kept going slower, vomitted & flopped. I had to carry her about half mile home (like carrying a 2yr old that far, and I'm not used to that right now!!) I suspect that little dog specificallly just can't handle exercise in "heat". She's a little Llasa Apso or SheetZhu... maybe 9yr old. Can be energetic in cold weather but probably generally unfit. Shaved but that didn't seem to stop her easily overheating.

Exactly, because the 1% won't probably read the social media post or if they did, wouldn't care anyway!