Too not to walk dogs?

[winkywinkola]

32 degrees today.

Someone told me it's too hot to walk dogs. And cruel to do so as they can't regulate their body temperature.

Is that right?

Erm.....of course. You wait for the evening or early morning . the pavement is too hot, they can't sweat like us and they rely on panting. Heat exhaustion is a real danger!

I walk early morning or late afternoon. I also walk where there are streams or other water sources so he can drink and swim to cool down.

We are walking before 7am (ideally before 6) and after 9pm

We walk early morning and late evening. Shorter walks. Take water. Stick to shaded areas. I spritz giant pup with a plant mister which she loves too.
Try standing on the pavement in bare feet at noon for 5 minutes. You will soon see why it's an issue. Plus dogs don't sweat and can't remove their hot fur coats!

Waiting for after 8pm to take the whippet out

Yes of course! If it's too hot for you on the pavement, it's too hot for your dog's paws.

And they can die from overheating: www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/britain/bbc-presenters-heartache-as-pet-labradors-die-in-the-hot-weather-35840796.html

I walk my dogs in the woods when its hot, lovely and shady and streams to paddle in.
When we got home both dogs stretched out on the patio in full sun for a snooze. I felt the slabs and they were too hot to keep my hand on

I'm going to walk mine late tonight, about 9pm. I'm going to some woods where there's a stream he can paddle in and cool off.

My 4 staffys have kept cool in a pool in the garden and 2 fans plus a cool coat. Over 30 degrees here so can't be too careful

The Labrador we had when I was little used to get heat stroke and fit. We used to put a damp towel over her.

Depends on the dog. I've had dogs who loved heat which I couldn't bear but my present one is really struggling with this heat. We have short walks very early then he lies in front of a fan for the rest of the day.
He hardly ever drinks either, is fed on raw and just doesn't get thirsty.

I should have made clear. We walk in woods and fields. Not on pavements.

Is that okay for the dogs?

You have to watch for signs of exhaustion in this heat. Is there shade, are you stopping for water breaks? Is the dog panting hard?

Avoid the hottest times of the day and ensure your dog can cool down (shade, swimming etc), provide water to drink and cut down the time spent running about.

This is quite a useful graphic

It depends on the dog and where you take it. I walked mine at 6 this morning, and again at 5.30 this afternoon, mostly in shade. It was hot, but they frolicked like mad in the sunshine. They both lay down on cool tiles when they got home, but they at their dinners and they're both fine.

I fill up a ( rigid plastic) paddling pool for my Dane to sit in. The soft plastic trugs are good for small dogs, but don't fill it beyond their ankles as they might slip getting out. Local doggie daycare has a pool with a shaded deck alongside it

Ours have had a 10 minute stroll early this morning and will get the same later this evening - the lab will get a hose down too as her coat is thick. We have a 10 week old whippet who appears completely oblivious to the heat and seems happy zipping about the garden so she's confined to a cool room for lengthy periods in between her mad moments.

@frostyfingers I have a whippet pup too bit older than yours. He is just as crazy in the heat and I took him out yesterday. Drove there and back (air con full on) went to a local shady park where he pranced around off lead like a crazed gazelle. Brought him home where he chose to lie in one of the sunniest spots in the house!! He's not all there, I'm sure of it!

As others have said, you have to walk in the cool times of the day.

It is 35+ degrees for weeks on end here in summer, often 40+. I still walk my dog every single day. They need some exercise.

We had friends over with a youngster and she was running it ragged - their puppy just wanted to flake out but ours was on and on at the poor thing - we had to separate them in the end! We had a large plant tray full of water (about 2 foot square) and the other puppy was splashing in and out but the whippet would sip daintily but under no circumstances was she getting her feet wet! It's our first whippet so a bit of a learning curve - so very different from the lab!

Mine's been pottering around the mostly shady garden in a wet t shirt, and refusing under any circumstances to play with the specially provided paddling pool. We did manage a walk early this morning but there's a bit of a breeze today, the last two days its been like an oven and its a built up area.

My vets surgery has posted pictures today on their facebook page of the burned pads they treated yesterday with people walking dogs on boiling hot pavements. They incuded a video of the nurses all taking their shoes off and standing on the pavement barefoot. They were vocal about how it felt!

Jiggly can you link to the that graph I can't see it properly and my phone won't let me save it please

Our lab goes in fields at 6am and no other walk at the moment. Just pottering in the garden or playing with the children when he chooses.

Mostly he's just sleeping or lying in shady rooms.

I have seen several people walking their dogs on pavements at lunchtimes this week. It's 32 degrees here today. I could cry for them!

We're on hols in Cornwall at the minute.
Our dog is walked for two hours 8.30 -10.30 every night once children are in bed by DH.

@InfiniteSheldon - here you go: keepthetailwagging.com/5-random-christmas-hazards-for-raw-fed-dogs/ (it's point 4 - about it being too cold!)