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?

Absolutely, but the thread is about saying something upon seeing a dog walked in hot weather, when one can't know whether the dog is on a 5km hike or a quick wee break.

To put some numbers to all of this:

Back in 2016, when most people didn't think twice about walking Fido during a heatwave, some researchers gathered information on 'heat related illness' (HRI; heatstroke) in dogs.

Out of a sample of 905,543 dogs, 395 cases of HRI in one year were taken to a vet. In other words, 0.04% of the dogs in the sample suffered HRI. That is one dog in 2500. Of those 395 cases, 56 dogs died: that is, one dog in about 16,000.

In another study, only just over half the cases of heatstroke with a known cause were the result of exercise (I assume the others were from being left in hot cars etc). That study had a slightly higher rate, but it was based on emergency vets who are likely to see more cases relative to the canine population as a whole. It also covered an exceptionally hot summer.

Both studies showed that brachycepahlic dogs were at considerably increased risk (about double). Chows were found to be at increased risk in both studies, along with some other breeds.

So... don't panic. Be sensible. Exercise caution - especially if your dog is brachycephalic, very young, very old, overweight, from a giant breed, has a very profuse coat, or is exceptionally active (springer spaniels seem to be at increased risk, but less so than pugs etc).

Both papers are available on the internet if anyone wants to read them. Plug in the titles, and they should come up.

• Incidence and risk factors for heat-related illness (heatstroke) in UK dogs under primary veterinary care in 2016, Hall et al, Scientific Reports, 2020
• Epidemiology of heat-related illness in dogs under UK emergency veterinary care in 2022, Beard et al, Veterinary Record, 2024

I’m not in a hot country but we do get hit weather from time to time. I can take my dog out for ten minutes for a stroll in the shade but unless you are following me you won’t know if we have been out for 2 minutes or a 102 minutes. This is why this blanket “don’t walk your dog in over 25 degrees” is a bit of generalised bullshit. Going down the street to pee on a tree doesn’t pose any more harm to my short haired, long nosed, slim dog than walking into my garden and doing the same. Or walking around inside for that matter. It’s the same temperature.

Watched our drove this morning took our slot at 7.30am when the Last dog a
had left. It was still too hot my two harrier bassets got half way then headed back for home. Spent the rest of the day in the garden with ice cubes on the hour

I'm sorry but the fur coat analogy is a bit ridiculous. Most animals have a fur, I'm yet to see a hairless buffalo or a hairless fennec fox.

This said, if you wanna go there, you'll find that The Bedouin are generally covered head to toe, the fabric acting as a protection against the heat and the sun.

They aren’t - that was kind of my point 😁

I’m not in the south, I get like one or two days a year where I go, yeah, might walk them a bit early or late in case it’s a bit warm. But I get why it throws people, especially with brachycepahlic breeds.

But you often get very weird blanket rules around dogs and temperature - I saw a tiktok in winter that insisted under 5 was too cold to walk dogs 😂 I was there like, but…like that’s half the year?

Though I will say, I went to London for a weekend last summer, it was horrendous, I’ve relatives in a few places in Spain, I’ve been to Egypt…London was colder than them officially but was like being in Satan’s armpit in comparison. It’s like it heats up and emits it as well 😐

I remember one year it being so hot I could feel the tarmac burning through my shoes, (converse type shoes with fairly thick soles) so I had to walk on the grass to cool my feet down and idiots were still out walking their dogs. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Every time I see a pug or a sausage dog I judge the owners, hard. I don't like dogs (let's face it, it's the owners I don't like,) but I don't like animals suffering.

It’s the judgement that bothers me.

As a dog walker I am super careful with my
clients as they’re not my animals at the end of the day, but my own beagle is fine up until the mid twenties. It was early twenties today and we did several miles with no issues.

I do find it odd people walk their dogs in sweltering mid day heat, I take mine early morning through the woods where it is cooler but you can still feel it warming up, id rather they spend time round the house than dragging them out in the heat

I think people have become very neurotic over this since the Facebook police started sharing posts about it every summer.

Yes, obviously it’s a bad idea generally to take dogs on massive hikes in full sun when it’s boiling hot.

However, not all dogs are the same and you’re only seeing a snapshot without any knowledge of their dog or situation.

I had some woman walk past as I came out of my house with a dog last summer. She bent down and made a show of feeling the pavement with her hand and glaring at me - when I was actually going to put the (young, healthy and in need of exercise) dog - in the car to go to the local woods for half an hour. It’s completely covered by a tree canopy and has a lovely stream running through it that the dog happily sloshed up and down in the entire time.

So no, I’d mind my own business unless I could see the dog was in distress.

I see where you're coming from but don't forget British houses don't gemerally have air con and our houses aren't built for hot weather plus our play parks etc don't have much shade. So we suffer more when we do get a sudden heatwave I think.

Wi think your attitude says your a cunt

i wouldnt say anything
i did ask someone on a really hot day last year who had a dog with a double layer of hair and he reckoned that meant it could cope,
google told me otherwise but i wasnt going to correct him.
i hate seeing these brachy type dogs being walked whatever the weather they seem to struggle to breath

and anyway there is enough facebook messages about the perils of walking dogs in a heatwave

WTF?!?! 27 is far too hot!

@HaveANiceFuckingDay Dogs in hot countries typically walk on cooler natural surfaces, like sand, dirt, or grass. Not UK-style black tarmac, which heats up far more intensely.

Many dogs in hot climates are walked early
morning or late evening, not during peak heat.
Breeds commonly found in hotter regions are often more adapted to high temperatures, while many UK dogs (like brachycephalic or thick-coated breeds) struggle more. Even in hot countries, paw burns still happen when dogs are walked on overheated pavement

@BaitalOf course it fucking is! Ffs

10000% I would say something. It is animal cruelty. Dogs sweat through their paws. If the pavement is hot for us it is unbearable for them. Mine were walked yesterday at 6.30am and today at 8am and even at 8am it was feeling borderline too hot. I now have the paddling pool set up for them

This is a screenshot from a video a local professional dog walker posted yesterday where she’s using an infrared thermometer to scan the pavement temperatures. It was 23°c here yesterday. The pavement was 46.8°c!!!! So imagine what it is today when the temperatures are hovering around 30°c! Ffs

I think you’re missing the point, it’s about the hot pavement burning their paws! Please see my post above, where a local dog walker showed that when it was 23° yesterday the pavement was 46.8°!!! So imagine what it is when the temp is 29/30°….

Yeah we haven’t gone out at all today. I got up at 7:30 and already felt it was too warm. We will sit out in the garden in the shade a bit if ok but currently still inside.

Agreed. People are so so dumb. They have no clue that dogs sweat through their paws, and if the ground is hot for them to walk on, then it is too hot for their dog. The person who posted is is one of the ones wandering around today with their dog at 2pm

paws are not the same as human hands though

Is it fine? You ought to know as a dog walker that they swear through their paws. Glad you are not my irresponsible dog walker

No need to be rude. I was just saying that 27, compared to the usual 37-38 that are common in France, Spain, Sicily etc... isn't that hot.

How I walk my dog is none of your business, you won't see me describing my walking routine to show how I'm a better dog owner than other people, I leave the performative righteous dog ownership to others.

Of course it was fine 🙄

We walked in the woods, he paddled in the stream and then we sat in the beer garden under massive umbrella where he had unlimited access to water and snacks.

It was only about 22 degrees here, so hardly baking hot. It’s much hotter today (29) and he’s not been for a walk but is currently baking himself on the patio.