would you take your dogs to the beach today

[Marshtit]

this afternoon meant to be 24 degrees
i am thinking that will be ok

I wouldn’t, whilst the sea may be cool the sand where not wet and any walk to the beach may have hot surfaces, and the intake of sea water coupled with the heat may cause severe insecure digestive issues.

I wouldn’t but it’s supposed to be 35 degrees here. We went out at 5.30am for a walk and it was already hot.

I would before 9/10am, not in the afternoon.

Dogs are at greater risk of heatstroke at 21 degrees, so l wouldn't.
I have a double- coated breed, and it already too hot for him to be outside for more than a few minutes.

I did yesterday (when it was 23 here) and I will be today, though it will be slightly cooler. They will both be swimming in the sea. I make sure they have shade/water. We will have a blast.

I wouldn't, however, take them on a pavement walk when it's hot.

No. Absolutely not.

Sand gets hotter than concrete and dogs don't know when to stop - particularly if they are in and out of water. You'd practically be asking for heatstroke.

If you're on the beach, if something does happen how on earth would you get your dog to a vet in time? Minutes matter when dealing with heatstroke.

And a dog never died from not having a walk.

not much sand

No definitely not. Far too hot.

Depends where you are? South East....too hot. South .....not so hot.

Possibly even worse shingle / rocks gets v hot.

Not here. It's 28. If we'd been up and out before 8 maybe.

We did on Saturday and it was lovely but that was only about 23 with a lot of wind and cloud cover. And beach is all stone not sand.

Only if you wear a fur coat and walk barefoot.. I live by the beach and I'm constantly baffled by people who do this.

thank you @WonderingWanda
the bbc website says 23 after 2 pm and 22 around 4 pm

You'll be ok at those temperatures just make sure you have shade and water for your dog. Dogs in hot climates manage.

Yes i would based on your forecast which looks similar to where i am. Its cloudy currently. Also based on my young fit dog who would be fine for an hour or so

I wouldnt but also worth checking if you even can as alot of beaches are no dogs this time of year we find

It depends if they would have shade or be able to get a drink etc.
If i lived at the coast then yes, but i wouldn't take them for the whole day

Dogs can overheat so quickly and once they're showing signs of heatstroke then they're already in danger.

My cut off temperature (I work with dogs) is 23 degrees - any warmer than that and we swap to toilet breaks and indoor enrichment.

It's also not just the temperature - you need to think about the humidity, shade, time you'll spend outside and whether your dog will be charging around like an idiot or just lying under an umbrella.

Dogs in hot climates manage if they don’t exert themselves. The problem is that they sometimes can’t stop themselves.

that is a good point

Dogs aren't humans. Be different if we always went barefoot, we'd be able to tolerate higher temperatures.

Dogs in hot climates are far more used to these sorts of temperatures. Dogs in the UK, or similar, are not. That's like comparing apples and oranges!

The fact is, OPs dog is likely not used to this heat, the strong UV and the humidity.

A dog does not die from not being walked in temperatures like today. But they do die when irresponsible owners take them to the beach and make them exercise themselves in the sea. Just because your dog is in the sea does not mean it is not overheating - quite the opposite in fact. The shock coming in and out of the cold sea into the heat of the sun is just as dangerous as the hot weather itself.

By the time something is wrong with OPs dog, it will be too late.

I don't walk ddog if it's over 20 degrees. If there's a handful of days in the summer where she doesn't have a walk, so be it.

Dogs in hot climates are far more used to these sorts of temperatures. Dogs in the UK, or similar, are not. That's like comparing apples and oranges

Except it isn’t.

Chilling warning as 10 dogs taken to Aussie vet 'dead on arrival'
The deaths could've easily been prevented, with one worker at the animal hospital telling Yahoo the sad deaths were 'disturbingly not surprising
Yahoo News Australia
Updated 12 December 2023

'Living in a nightmare': Couple's dogs die from heat stroke
Yahoo News Australia
Updated 26 March 2017

that is very limiting