Dog walker didn’t pick my dog up until 11am

[CaptainJason]

We have a walker who takes our golden retriever out for a couple of hours a few days a week. We’ve been using him for years and never had a problem.
Today, he didn’t pick my dog up for her walk until almost 11am. He collects several dogs and takes them to a secure paddock, which I presume doesn’t have shade as it’s a big open space.
His van is air conditioned and she’ll have had access to water, but she was out 10:45-13:30, ie, the hottest part of the day.
I’m not comfortable with this, and if she were due to go out with him tomorrow I’d cancel, but am I right to be annoyed? Should I say something, and if so, what?
(He is fully licensed etc, and we live in the North East so temperatures have been mid 20s.)

Mid 20s isn’t hot. Was your dog ok when she got home?

Our dog Walker is out at 6am currently to get the dogs walked safely- I don’t think anyone should be walking dogs during the day at the moment and am surprised a professional dog Walker would. If they can’t do early walks they should offer to let animals out in their gardens during the day and spend time with them for mental stimulation

I think it’s up to you to cancel if you think it will be too hot? Does he normally collect at a different time?

I spoke to my dog walker earlier this week and we agreed what was too hot for a walk and an acceptable alternative so that we were on the same page.

Also hottest part of the day where I am has been the afternoon.

I'd have cancelled and taken the dog out myself really early.

It's a dog. It will be totally fine.

Temperature doesn’t actually matter does it? You’ve got yourself a dog that you can’t be at home to sort out, and so have employed someone else to do so for you. What does your contract say? That he won’t take your dog out in certain temps? Presumably he has other clients, you’ve all got dogs that you can’t give adequate care to yourselves, so you pay someone else to give inadequate care to them to salve your own conscience. What is the issue, exactly?

What were you expecting them to do? Surely coming midway through the day is entirely the point? To shorten the period of time they are alone and give them a break?
I also wouldn’t assume anything about a secure field. I go to a huge number near me as my dog is reactive. Every single one has some shade. Some are more shaded than others but they all have some. Far better letting them have a relaxed sniff and potter round a secure field than a pavement pound or forced exercise.

If the van is air-conditioned, then it's really not an issue

This week it has been 17 at the very least at 8.30 in the morning, by the time I would finish a walk with my little ones it would be 20+ and sunny.

so no daytime walks for my dogs until it is a lot cooler as they are all brachycephalic breeds ( all rescues so it wasn't me that put the £'s in the breeders pocket )

Altho still warm at 8 pm at least there was no sun when we did this evening's walk.

No dog dies because it's not walked.

You need to discuss this with him, he doesn't want to lose money / a client, you don't want to lose your dog walker
but...

What?

it's not being exercised in the van fir several hours?

@CaptainJason I don't know, I'm in the south east & it's in the 30's but the hottest part if the day is early afternoon. Without knowing the dig field it's hard to say. I walked along the river today, lots if shady big trees & a lovely earthy track. Lots of dig having a great time (some swimming, some not going anywhere near the water).

I presume he has insurance? That often stipulates a max temp they are covered to walk dogs in.

i would have called him yesterday to see what the plan was, if he hadn't contacted me (which I'd actually expect in extreme weather.

Let's hope you don't have a dog!

If he normally AWLAYS comes earlier, yes that's very odd. If he sometimes comes at 11, maybe he couldn't come earlier today? You always had the option to ask him not to take your dog out. I mean I 100% get why you didn't want your dog walked in the heat, but not everyone CAN just reorganise their day even if there is a good reason to. He may walk other dogs earlier and not have room to take his later dogs too, he may have another job, childcare stuff, elderly relatives who need help, whatever.

I really don’t think this is an issue for the dog.

I'm a dog walker with relevant training and insurance. I begin to reconsider my usual walking arrangements once the forecast temps hit 23c. This is discussed and agreed with my clients at our initial meeting.

I ask that I'm given autonomy to decide what to do when the temperatures rise as some dogs cope with the heat better than others and as well as the temperature I consider humidity and any wind. So it is not an exact science with the same definate cut off temperature for every dog.

However it is absolutely true that dogs as a species are rubbish at coping in heat- they only sweat via paws, are covered in hair and cool themselves by panting which is a rubbish system once the air temps begin to rise. Heat stroke is a real risk and can quickly become a danger to their life. People will mention that dogs survive in hot countries- but they have a different breed mix, laze about most of the day, don't walk their dogs during the hot part of the day and the dogs themselves become more acclimatised than ours.

For the past two days I've walked dogs starting at 6am and ended walking at 10.30am. After this I've visited dogs who are home alone throughout the day- to offer a potter in the garden, some sniffing games, cuddles and paddling pool fun where possible. Working out what to do for each dog has depended partly on whether the owner is home or not plus the type of dog.

OP in my opinion your concerns are valid- maybe chat to your walker though and ask them how they are mitigating for the heat. They may have plenty of shade, water etc at their field and have carried out an adequate risk assessment before carrying on. If they can't offer any reassurance I'd definitely consider using a different walker....

If the dog is ok then there isn’t an issue

So you don't know where he took them or what he did with them....do you think you're right to be annoyed?

Would you think it reasonable if someone was annoyed with you if they had no knowledge of what you actually did? Or would you expect them to ask you first, before jumping to conclusions?

Is this the normal time? I assume they are walking other dogs at other times and this is your slot as there are limits to how many dogs can be walked at once.
It reached 31 in London today and I wouldn’t be walking my dog midday, but then I’m not running a business.
You should talk to them about what can be done when it’s so hot out, but if they have a set schedule they might not be able to change it.

For context, she’s usually picked up around 11, but historically on hotter days he’s come to collect her earlier and have her home before it gets tooooo hot.

I’ve seen photos of the paddock and it definitely doesn’t seem shaded but as someone said, I can’t just assume.

She’s due to go out with him again on Tuesday and Friday next week so if the temps are warmer again, I’ll ask whether he’s taking them earlier.

I just didn’t know whether this was commonplace or not.

You are employing him - you don’t ‘ask’, you tell him that either the dog needs walking earlier, or failing that just let out into the garden for a wee and a quick run round.

You’re right, thank you! I’ll message him if it’s hot next week and cancel walks if he isn’t coming earlier.

I know some people seem to think I’m being a bit dramatic, but I’d rather my girl was a bit sick of her life in the house than unwell, and I’ll see if my SIL can pop in to let her out for a bit if I can’t.