Hot weather walking

[ScottishBlanket]

I’m sure this has been asked a lot of times before but just wanted to check if people think this is ok or not.
My dog refuses to poo in the garden, so I took him for a short (about 10 minutes) walk round the block at about 10.30 am today. I think it was about 22 degrees, I checked I could stand on the pavement barefoot for at least a minute in the sun (and on a metal man hole cover) and it didn’t feel too hot. I sprayed my dog with water before we left and we plodded slowly on short lead, sticking to the shade. I made sure he walked on the grass verges as much as possible and not on any metal man hole covers.
A woman stopped me and said it was too hot and he would burn his feet and get heat stroke. He wasn’t even panting until just before we got home and even then only slightly. He’s an 8 year old Labrador very healthy and not overweight at all.
I know you shouldn’t go for long walks/let them run around In the sun when it’s above about 20 degrees but are short pavement walks ok? I don’t see how it’s possible for them to burn their paws if you can stand barefoot comfortably on the ground like I could today. I know it’s going to be about 27 degrees on Wednesday so I will get up extra early and avoid going out at all then, but should I also avoid going on 10-15 minute round the block walks in general if it’s around 22 degrees plus? I’m worried he’ll be uncomfortable if his only opportunity to poo is very early morning and very late at night as he normally goes a couple of times at 10-11 and 4-6 pm.

Saw some cooling towels in Aldi today.. You wet them, wring out and wrap around your ddog!! Look a great idea!! Sadly our Husky's fur is way too thick for it to make any difference!! And our other ddogs bloody love the sun!
Almost to being roasted!!

I do that, I keep her off the pavement as much as possible, put her cooling bandana on her and literally just walk to the poo bin, fortunately she will wee in the garden, just not poo.

I grew up walking (running) barefoot on black asphalt in a much hotter climate than UK. The dog-walking-on-hot-pavement threads here amuse me.

I suppose about 35 was the too hot threshold when I was 5.

That's fine. I would absolutely do that too.

@lljkk

I grew up walking (running) barefoot on black asphalt in a much hotter climate than UK. The dog-walking-on-hot-pavement threads here amuse me.

I suppose about 35 was the too hot threshold when I was 5.

I get that it’s better safe than sorry, and I am cautious when it’s very hot, but my Facebook seems to be covered in posts about how it’s too hot to walk dogs and pictures of burnt paws as soon as it gets even slightly warm and I can’t tell how much of it is a genuine risk in the uk weather and how much of it is people sharing posts from America where it is 35 degrees all summer. And this woman was very rude! And there is obviously a difference between ‘walking a dog’ as in running round for an hour and walking on lead round the block for 10 mins. Hopefully I am being careful enough and it is better for my dogs welfare to break up his day a bit with a short walk and a chance to poo than to leave him entirely inside all day if it’s not 100% necessary?

Could you drive him to somewhere woody?

A lot depends on the individual dog and how fit it is. Our old dog can't cope with anything above about 22C. The younger ones were out yesterday when it was still about 24C - small distance on tarmac, then grass, then woods. They charged about like maniacs for 20 mins and got back panting. They recovered within 5 mins. They are lean, fit and have proper muzzles so breathe easily.

And like @lljkk, I grew up where it's a lot hotter than it is here. The local dogs coped with hot ground. I'd never take a dog from low temperatures and expect instant adjustment to 30C, but I'm well aware that Australian stock dogs are out there in even hotter temperatures, working all day.

In England it can go from warm to bloody hot the next day and some people don't realise how hot pavements can get.

I have artificial grass and I walk on it in my bare feet and the hottest days it is too hot for me to stand on and my dog keeps off the sections in the sun otherwise it hurts his paws. He actually holds them up if he stands on it and then sensibly moves to the shade.

This weekend we went early walking in the woods and because he is an active dog he had to take dip himself several times into a pond to cool off. Normally he would just go for a drink but he kept diving in there so he was clearly feeling the heat even early morning.

I just use my own feet to decide if walking surfaces are too hot.

There’s a huge difference between dogs acclimated to near constant hot temperature in hot countries and dogs in a temperate climate like the UK suddenly having to manage high heat they aren’t used to.

It’s easier than you think to burn paws, I’ve done it myself before and felt just awful.
I don’t walk my dog much above 25c.

A slow gentle walk at 22 degrees is absolutely fine for most dogs. Yes, some will struggle at those temperatures but they're generally older dogs, puppies, very hairy breeds or brachycephalic breeds.

I'm a dog walker and I cancel walks once it hits around 24-25 degrees but I would still take dogs for a potty break as not all dogs have a garden to go in, or need the stimulation of a walk to get them to go.

However once it gets about 20-21 degrees we either swim (I live by the coast) or go to the woods where it's shaded and the ground is nicer on their paws.

I live in a hot place and as it gets warmer the walks get earlier and earlier, even if its humid but sun hasn't hit the streets . I also know the times that streets are in the shade so go that way. Mid afternoon its a quick walk to the park and home and then a longer walk when the sun has set. The cool things are actually bad as unless they are kept constantly cool they insulate the dog ! We stop at every water fountain en route !

It may also help to put protective wax on their paws. I put a bit of Musher's Secret on ours

It sounds okay, we tend to go earlier in the summer, but if he needs the toilet a short walk should be fine.

We went for a longish walk about 9. Some pavement, but then woodland. I took her a water bottle for a drink.
I think being aware is the important thing.

Gees he's not going to get heat stroke walking once round the block, you have to be careful with paws as they're not used to this heat but I think having them just stand still is probably far, far worse. If they keep moving and are constantly lifting their paws they're only down for a short time.
That said I would definitely go earlier and later for the few days it is very hot - if he normally eats before he goes then just feed him earlier too.

I have a double coated breed who won't toilet at all in the garden.
We went out at 9am for an hour down by the river..she ran through the long grass, drank from the river and paddled and dashed through the field.. absolutely fine (not even panting)
At 3 we did as you have.. a 10 min walk to pee and poo.
Went out again at 8.30 pm when it was much cooler for an off lead run. I always take water for her and head for shade as much as possible. She's been absolutely fine,.

22? I'm Aussie but surely 22 isn't hot anywhere except maybe approaching the Arctic circle?!

I'd still need a cardigan. My black, double coated dog would find a sunny spot in the garden and sleep in it all day. It's certainly not enough to make surfaces unbearably hot by 10.30am.

What about draping a wet towel over him when you go out for a poo walk? If you use a harness, it would be held in place.

If your dog wasn't distressed then it wasn't too hot for them. Stay aware of the heat and your dog's reaction.

We were in the park at about 5pm today and Ddog was running around quite happily, but a French Bulldog she was playing with got breathless very quickly and their owner (rightly) stepped in to stop it. Ddog is a mongrel without breathing problems and was fine to keep going.

Do what is right for your dog.

If your dog wasn't distressed then it wasn't too hot for them. Stay aware of the heat and your dog's reaction
This really isn’t the case for all dogs.
Mine showed no distress whatsoever, it was only when we got home and she started getting restless chewing at her feet that I knew what had happened.

If your dog wasn't distressed then it wasn't too hot for them. Stay aware of the heat and your dog's reaction.

This is really dangerous advice, though I'm sure you meant well.

Unfortunately by the time dogs are visibly in distress then it's often too late and the damage (heatstroke or dehydration) has already been done. Healthy pups can go from doing happy zoomies to collapsed and unable to breathe in seconds due to the heat - and it really doesn't have to be that hot.

@Providora

22? I'm Aussie but surely 22 isn't hot anywhere except maybe approaching the Arctic circle?!

I'd still need a cardigan. My black, double coated dog would find a sunny spot in the garden and sleep in it all day. It's certainly not enough to make surfaces unbearably hot by 10.30am.

You may not think it's hot but dogs have died from heatstroke in this country at those temperatures.

I think Facebook gets a bit carried away with all the posts about dogs being walked in hot weather. How do they think dogs get on in California/Australia? They don't all have blistered paws and heat exhaustion.

Just be sensible (as you were) by keeping walks early and late if possible, shady areas etc. One short walk for toileting isn't likely to cause any problems. I took mine for a walk about 9am last summer and a woman across the street looked at me, knelt down and touched the pavement in a theatrical manner 🙄

I'm getting really tired of the hot pavement warriors who clearly get a quick from repeating the same mantra and telling off people who are deemed to not follow such mantra without even consider individual circumstances. They might feel good patting themselves on the back for fighting for the cause but ultimately, they are just idiots.

Most people love their dog and would never do anything to harm them. They assess their own dog's needs and act accordingly. My dog doesn't like the heat, but will also not bulge from the bed in the mornings. She has never ever liked going out in the mornings. Forcing her out sees her just fighting to walk and showing little enthusiasm.

We have therefore been going out around 11am and she's been absolutely fine. Plenty of water, limiting the run, walking on the side of the street that is under the shade. Cooling cloth when we are back and she is perfectly happy. We went out yesterday at 4pm, and it was a bit hot but there was also a nice cool breeze. I didn't throw the ball as far as possible for her to run as we normally would, and it was fine. She had a great time. We passed a runner with her two dogs who were running at pace and seem so happy, clearly not bothered by the heat.

Last year, my friend got a right ear full from someone when she was walking her dog to the park, going on about how cruel she was, she didn't deserve her dog etc.. She desperately try to explain her situation but that warrior just wouldn't listen to a word. As it is, the dog was her mum's who lived in Cyprus and had just moved back to the UK. The dog was used to much higher temperature and that was actually quite a cool day for him. That woman clearly didn't care. She was shocked when that evening, she saw the woman had posted about her on the local facebook page. She clearly basking in her hour of fame. Pathetic!

Just to be clear, that's totally different to idiots who leave their dogs in cars, like these imbeciles criminals in Brighton this weekend. I hope they end up in jail. Horrible behaviour and certainly don't deserve to have dogs.