Dogs being walked when it’s too hot - do you say anything?

[Trumptontown]

I’ve just seen two brachy breeds (a pug and a bulldog) being walked when it’s 27 degrees outside. Both were clearly struggling. Every year I get really upset seeing dogs being walked when it’s clearly far too hot but am scared of saying something in case the owners react aggressively. Equally, I feel terrible NOT saying anything because those dogs have no voice.

How do you handle this?

It can easily be 40° in Paris, as well as -5° in winter. It's in the low 10s most of the year. Hot countries are quite often not hot all year round, like the UK. UK's weather isn't special at all.

We'll be off to walk our JRT in the woods shortly. No tarmac whatsoever and shaded by a canopy of trees, I might need a jacket.

I was in Ramsgate yesterday, the number of dogs out in 30 degrees was shocking.

No @MyThreeWords because you presumably wouldn't describe it as a "cute terrier hop" and not have any clue that it can be pain related. I'd certainly be glad if someone said something to me if I was in danger of potentially missing something which might be causing a dog pain. In fact, they have and I'm grateful.

Depends what grade a luxating patella is @MrFluffyDogIsMyBestFriend. Not all cases of luxating patella are "fine".

Glad to hear it @CaptainMyCaptain But it's not just a JRT thing and it's not always "fine".

Most dog lovers/walkers/owners that I know don't walk between 8am and 8pm when the temperature is over 25 degrees.....but there will always be people who know better.. 🤷

It’s not that we know better but not all dogs have access to private gardens or if they do, many won’t use it for peeing/pooping. It would be far more cruel for me to keep my dog inside between 8am to 8pm during a heatwave than to take it out for toilet breaks. I live in a not normally hot European capital city, none of the dogs here have gardens.

I'm talking about southern England, and taking a dog out for a regular walk. The RSPCA and my vets (and others I have seen from FB) tend to advise not to walk over 25 degrees...going out quickly for a leg stretch or for a 💩 isn't the same really. As I said, in other countries, your dog will acclimatise or will be used to having to go out to poo etc. Here, it was freezing last week and meltingly hot now, so dogs won't be used to it.

A few weeks ago I had to pop in to Tesco after taking our dog to have his nails trimmed.
he was in the car with DD (20) so wasn’t unsupervised.
i came back ten minutes later to be confronted by a woman who proceeded to tell me off for leaving the dog in the car because it was 17 degrees!!
she said dog was panting and looked in distress.
I very politely told her that he pants for many reasons and in this case it was excitement seeing people come and go.
he was panting his arse off when I can back to the car!
I also pointed out that DD had her door open.
There was no way dog was going to over heat.
sometimes people do need to wind their neck in.
I would never leave him unsupervised in the car no matter what the weather, and if it had been this weekend there would be no way I’d leave him in the car, supervised or not.

I'd love to put a fur coat on you and take you for a walk, see how you like it 🙄

I ran with my very fit border collie between 9 and 11 this morning, wooded area, access to water. She seemed less bothered than me, not even panting.

Why do people always say this? The actual purpose of dog’s fur is to regulate temperature.

Panting regulates a dogs temperature not fur. Also the pads on their paws. I should know 🩺

Why can't you walk early morning and late at night though? I thought that's what every sensible dog owner would be doing during a heatwave. It takes a dog 3 weeks for their body to adjust to hot weather.

Because it would be incredibly unkind to make them hold their pee and poo for 12+ hours?

When I was training to be a vet nurse many years ago we treated several cases of heatstroke one summer. Very distressing for the dogs and totally unnecessary and avoidable. one one day one dog died, one dog was very ill. The owners were presented with a huge bill - it was an emergency so sll other routines surgrues were pushed back so vets and staff coukd work on these 2 dogs.. Presumably the owners had originally paid ££££ for their dogs (pedigree). Yet were blasè and cavalier in their care of them. All the vet staff were angry and very upset.

So I’m guessing that every owner that ‘ knew what heat their dog could handle ‘ in the heat the other year when it was extreme heat - that they knew that their dog was going to go into a heat induced coma & had to be PTS.

My friend is a vet. Every heatwave there are a number of dogs admitted, sadly most of them don’t make it back home & have to be PTS. Dogs little tummies & vital organs are cooking from the pavement heat with their legs being so little.

Ahh I see. that's not a walk though. That's a quick comfort break. That's different ftom what the OP is talking about

what???

But nothing extreme heat surely?

Ive got a Pod and he adored his walk today. No one else was out and it's only five mins between shade and streams so we took it slow. Had a lovely sit down in the shade looking out over the fields. Pods are solar powered tho. He's been basking all afternoon.

Typical of the British weather obsession. They think 27 is hot and there are loads of warnings in the media about old people dying etc etc. the British don’t know how to deal with hot, hot is 35 or more which we have experienced in Europe. Close the windows after 9am. But really, feel the ground for dog‘s paws.

Brachy dogs absolutely shouldn't be walked in this. However, I do get frustrated by the blanket attitude (not that the OP said this, but i've seen countless FB posts today!) that no dogs can possibly cope in temperatures like this. I have two dogs, one is tiny and fluffy and has been more than happy pottering about in the garden today but I wouldn't take her for a walk. My other dog is a VERY fit VERY active working dog, he is absolutely fine in this weather. We don't walk him during the day when it is like this for three reasons, one being our comfort, because we are melting, two being that I hate confrontation and can't deal with the passive aggressive (and actually just outright agressive!) comments from people who think they know better, and three being that while he'll be fine, he'll get a much nicer run earlier in the morning and late at night.

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration regarding whether a dog can be out in these temps, and while you do get total idiots who should know better and walk them anyway, there are also people who know their own dogs.

In fairness for dogs and walking, it’s the sudden change - last Saturday I had to de-ice my car to leave for work, today it was 22.

Is that ridiculously hot? No, but it’s a big swing…one of mine is only halfway through shedding his winter wool 😂

We call it god flicking the switch. Happens here. People cope. I think maybe uk people aren’t used to the extremes of 20degrees that we experience overnight in Europe

I do walk early morning and late at night but I would have a very tortured dog if I didn’t let him relieve himself between those two walks. Doesn’t make me a non-sensible dog owner that I take him out in all weathers. I’m not marching him down the street, just walking in a calm tempo that he is comfortable with in the shade.

But a random passer by isn’t going to know the difference - so many people judge without knowing the circumstances.