Dog walks in the heat!

[BaklavaBalaclava]

New ish dog owner. How do I know when it's too hot to walk the dog? Have a lab who loves going to our local park. Do I still take him for his lunchtime walk in this heat?

What is the rule of thumb?

If the pavement is too warm for your hand, it is too hot for the dog.

I go by this

I don't tend to walk at lunchtime or early afternoon in the heat. I'll go in the woods in the morning where it's shady, and then walk again after about 8pm.

Not today. Way too hot.
Early morning or late evenings at the moment.

No dog has ever died from missing a walk, but plenty have died from being walked in hot weather.

We did a woodland walk at 730.... getting back to the car it was getting very warm... ddog came home and sat in his pool for a bit before shaking off and stretching out on the cold kitchen floor.

When it gets hotter his walks get earlier :)

Def not at lunchtime, far too hot

Far too hot today. Keep them in and keep them cool.

And that goes double if you have a flat faced breed! The amount of poor little frenchies and pugs I saw being dragged around in the midday heat on Saturday, clearly struggling, was criminal. I have a rescue pug and I only walk her either very, very early in the morning or late at night when the temperatures start to creep up. Some days she doesn't go out at all as it's just too hot. She's happy enough lay on the tiles in my nice shady dining room safe from the heat.

If I didn’t walk my dogs when it was 21-23 degrees in summer they often wouldn’t get a walk at all. Just choose shady routes and keep an eye on the dog and keep it shorter. But mine is used to it as we have warm spells most summers here.

My lab went out pre 9am today and will go out again this evening.

Old, very young, overweight, giant or large, flat faced, pregnant or chronically ill dogs should be walked with extra care in warm weather. Also, be aware that dogs can die of heat exhaustion from exertion all year round too. Don’t push them too hard in any weather but especially watch for the signs of overheating and avoid excitable play, ball chasing etc in summer temps.

To me it’s also about knowing your dog and what “type” of walk you’re doing.
Today it has hit 23 here and I have no problem taking mine for their usual hour over in the country park where there is plenty of trees and shade and I’m not walking in the middle of the day. But I might not do as much ball throwing or go quite as fast. Mine are not flat faced dogs and all cope pretty on hot days.

I'd go early or late on this weather, and remember your dog isn't the best judge of whether he should go out. Mine will pester me for a walk at lunchtime as that's his usual routine, but he just gets a quick visit to the garden.

Does it ever get too hot in the UK for a leisurely walk? It's roasting here today (24ish) and we've still done our usual walks, at a slightly slower pace than usual, and sticking to the shade as much as possible. The dog has fresh water and somewhere cool to lie down when we get home, and she's absolutely fine.

Thanks, we did a walk at 6:45 this morning, we just often do 3 walks a day!

Chart is super useful, thanks for that and the feedback!

I'm learning that he doesn't always know what's good for him by the way he tries to beg when I'm eating chocolate....

@unmute do they walk on pavements?

We only do early morning or late evening walks, unless can find a cool spot during the day

ineedaholidaynow - Mostly pavements. Even in the parks we go to the paths are mostly paved. I'm too hot, but judging by the way the dog is bouncing around trying to convince me it's dinner time (still 12 minutes to go), she's feeling fine.

I am happy to walk mine up to about 23 degrees but they are fit healthy working dogs.

I would reconsider if overweight, brachycephalic breed or an old or unwell dog.

Today has been fine in shady woodland with several water dips along the way and a lovely breeze.

I would not walk on pavements or in parched parks though.

I go by the touching the pavement with my bare hand or bare feet

If I can’t stand on it for longer than 20 seconds, it’s too hot for the dog

My dog was walked this morning in a forest with a stream. Zero chance of any pavement walks for her today. And midday walks are best avoided in warm weather.

We just do the one morning walk before it gets too hot , our dog is fit but he’s 11 today , black and is incapable of walking when offlead he has to run everywhere . On non hot days he has a second walk in the afternoon .

We our limit is about 23. So if I don’t know what the actual temperature is, I will go stand outside in a T-shirt, if I’m OK (I’m a cold person) not moving in just a T-shirt then it’s too hot for the dogs. If there’s a breeze and I’ll be fine when walking, then we might go out but make sure there isn’t too much running and I’ll carry water and portable bowl with me. If we’re going to a walk somewhere that is shaded with trees or has water, that’s preferable when it’s hotter. Both of mine are black which pushes them up the risk but they’re both fit, healthy and a good weight which helps.

It’s not just walks you need to be careful. Most dogs can turn into sun worshipers, so they might go sit in the conservatory or the sun in the garden. You need to keep an eye on them there too. Both of ours would have laid in the sun in the garden all day today if we let them. It’s a bit easier at home because you can have paddling pools (or even just hose them down or fill a storage box with water) for them to take a dip in. If we’re doing something like a BBQ in the garden, we will create a shaded area, get a paddling pool out and put them in their cool coats. If they don’t voluntarily paddle in the pool, they get scooped up and dumped in the paddling pool to cool their paws every 30 minutes to an hour.

@Unmute

Does it ever get too hot in the UK for a leisurely walk? It's roasting here today (24ish) and we've still done our usual walks, at a slightly slower pace than usual, and sticking to the shade as much as possible. The dog has fresh water and somewhere cool to lie down when we get home, and she's absolutely fine.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has advice about heat exhaustion and exertion, so yes, it does get plenty warm enough in the UK. It doesn’t have to be that hot for your dog to start feeling the effects.

www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/blog-article/dogs-die-in-hot-cars-and-on-hot-walks-new-evidence-on-heat-related-illness-in-uk-dogs/

You can do mind games with them instead of exercise, when too hot for walks. We scatter treats around for Ddog to find in a cool area

We go out early and late so it's a lot cooler. Think about yourself walking in a fur coat ! I'd never take them out in hot sun
Also we go to the woods where there's mostly shade

Our dog is 18 months old (cocker cross) he seems to really struggle when it's warm, gets very panty and just stops walking and lies in the grass, even when it's relatively early and cool. We walk him before 9 and usually skip the evening walk as he's lethargic. Tomorrow we're going to the beach but we'll leave home at 7am, be there for 8.30 and home before lunch.

I don't go when its over 20 degrees. They go early in the morning and late in the evening. I have also ordered one of these ruffwear swamp cooler because even at 20 degrees one of my dog struggles a bit (he's black and gets uncomfortable really quickly)