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?

Sand is very hot.
Hot countries have cities too, they even have electricity and running water.
Tarmac isn't specific to the UK.

Im all for being cautious about walking dog when its hot but let's not make up things, nothing's special about the conditions in the UK.

Most people living in cities on the continent don't have a garden (here's a british specificity if you're looking for one) so dogs need to be walked. No one is talking about walking 6miles. Just 10min round the block for a wee break.

Surely, these dogs who "self-regulate" or who love the heat are still prone to burning their pads on a hot pavement? If the heat is no problem then why, during most heatwaves, do we hear of at least 2 or 3 cases in Southern England where dogs being walked have collapsed and died and quite a lot more burned their paws.

TBF it’s “fine” until the day it’s not fine. And how can you be sure you’ll know if and when that day comes? Our friend’s young, healthy dog died from heat stroke a few years ago after an evening walk in relatively cooler temperatures. Had always been fine before. Just came home and dropped dead. They were devastated.

Because those are the extremes, not the norm.

There are millions of pet dogs in the UK - so the vast, vast, vast don’t burn their paws, or collapse and die from heatstroke. Their owners are sensible, take them out early, keep to the shade, only do a 10 minute potter for a wee/poo at lunchtime if needed etc.

We walked our dog yesterday in Cumbria, it was about 22 degrees and I would say about 80% of people had dogs with them - none of them were distressed or struggling in the slightest because everyone was sensible, sticking to the shade and allowing their dogs to swim and paddle as much as they wanted.

But you could say that about anything.

Dogs have died eating sand - do you never take your dog to the beach?
Dogs have died in rivers and lakes - do you then never take your dog swimming?
A dog near us was killed by another dog on a walk - do you then never walk your dog?

The vast majority of dogs are fine - that’s why the extreme cases of death or whatever make the news - because they’re unusual.

I personally wouldn’t walk my dog when it was warmer than 23 degrees as I’m a bit of a worrier but I know lots of people who don’t have gardens and need to take their dogs out for a wee no matter what the temperature. As long as you’re sensible, your dog will most likely be absolutely fine.

Well, the dog owners' facebook group in my outer London borough say your dog will go out with you in the heat if you start to do so because they want to do it for you and that doesn't mean it is safe. Last year, several dogs collapsed on hot walks but people never seem to learn and continue to risk it. Lots of them don't even carry water in case they need to cool them down, so little chance of saving them if they do collapse.The test is, hold the back of your hand on the pavement for 7 seconds; if it is too hot for your hand, it is too hot for the dog. It was 39 degrees in the sun here yesterday and I did see someone walking her elderly dogs along the road and really wish I had told her.

They're used to it, obviously. Even so they do say only mad dogs and English men out in the midday sun it hot countries so even they regulate walkies times.

I'd tell anyone out in the afternoon in this heat with a dog that they were being cruel to their dog. Tell me to mind my own business if you like but I can't just stand by and see animal cruelty and say nothing.

i just saw two people it seems struggling to walk a dog, i nearly stopped the car i was so concerned

It's hard isn't it. People say 'I know my dog best', it isn't about knowing your dog it's about knowing what it safe. Ours would sit outside in 28°c with us, she wouldn't think 'oo I'm a bit warm best cool off indoors', they need us to look after them.

Walks should be 7am in this weather. Anyone out in the afternoon with a dog is guilty of cruelty imo.

Dogs without access to a garden still need to go out for the toilet though - I have a friend with no garden (just a yard) and one of hers won’t toilet there so she has no choice but to go over the road for a wee break.

I think it is difficult to know when passing a stranger if they are doing a wee break or a full on walk.

I don't walk mine in the afternoon when the weather heats up. I wouldnt be able to tell if she was struggling or reluctant. If I say walkies then we go walkies and she always does what I ask of her, she wants to please me and will keep going. She pants of course, even in mild weather but how would I know the difference between a healthy pant and a "could-collapse-later-pant"?

I could ask her to sit in an oven with me and she would without protest. Dogs generally want to please their owners even if it isnt in their own best interests.

It might be worth reading up on the difference between a normal pant and one that means “I’m struggling” - it’s mostly down to the shape of their tongues.

yes, this. Maybe people might of thought I was a bad owner if they saw me in the park at lunchtime today.
Fact is the park is literally across the road from me and it was a 2 min pee break (TBH if it got hotter I could easily pick him up and just carry him across the road!).
We do our only big walk early in the morning.

I was in Chester yesterday and it was around 26°, so many people were out walking their dogs around the city. I couldn't understand why they couldn't just leave them at home. One couple were day drinking and had the dog outside and had to keep pouring water all over it, as it was struggling in the mid day heat. I walked my dog very early in the morning and.hes been inside for the last two days in a cool shaded living room.

It's not just been the last few years, this message has been shared for a lot longer and needs to be shared every year due to the fact that dogs are still dying! And no, it isn't always brachy breeds, I've seen fit, healthy young breeds like labs and spaniels die as well - has you ever seen a dog die of heatstroke? I have, many times, and it's one of the worst ways to die.

I share the message every year when it gets hot, including the most up to date guidance as there is still so much misinformation out there. If it saves just one dogs life, it's worth it.

I actually think all the posts on social media often have the wrong effect - because they’re often shared as soon as it hits about 19 degrees which is a perfectly safe temperature for 99% of adult dogs.

If pavement too hot to hold your hand on it's too hot for walking a dog. I don't walk my 2 Lhasa's when it's so hot like today. They went Into garden to do business. They soon came running back in.

But not everyone has a garden, so they have to take their dogs out for wee breaks, even if it is hot.

5 or 10 minutes early morning and late night when it's cooler.

So dogs should be expected to hold it in for 12-14
hours?

And yet so.many dogs do walk quite comfortably at 27 degrees, depending on all the variables.

DDog today chose to lie in the sun at 30 degrees at times, before retiring inside to cool down.

She is a slim, non brachy mongrel, originally from Portugal. She doesn't like rain or cold, and deeply dislikes being walked in the rain, despite the claims of some posters here insisting that EVERY dog should be walked EVERY DAY even if it is raining...

Some dogs will sacrifice themselves.

DDog is very affectionate, but is very capable of going her own way. She chooses when she wants company, and prioritises her comfort at other times. She will bake in the sun while I stay inside, and refuse a walk in the rain in the winter.

No. I took my dog on a short walk with plenty of water and shade. It’s not for you to say

While I think it's crazy to walk your dog in midday heat it is possible to pop them out for a couple of mins for a pee break as long as its on lead and in shade.
Sometimes you have to and its very different then dragging your dog down the high St all day. Or thinking that a young fit dog will be fine if you let it run around like a lunatic just coz there is abit of shade.

It helps to know your dog as well. I had 4 at once and they all had very different tolerances around heat and cold. The short haired chihuahua was practically solar powered!😆

But its not wee breaks is it. We went to a seaside town yesterday, it was absolutely scorching. Stood sweating queuing up for ice-cream and there were panting dogs everywhere. No residential houses in the immediate vicinity so they clearly weren't just toileting them.

So many irresponsible, stupid and cruel dog owners about.