your opinions on walking dogs in hot weather???

hi all, i dont normally walk my dog when we have hot weather like we have been having as i worry my dog will get to hot, but tomorrow id like to go for a walk somewhere with my dog as its a shame to not walk him until the night time when its cooled down, i was thinking if i take a big bottle of cold water and his water bowl he will be ok?? whats your thoughts on this? if people tell me not to walk him then i wont i just wanted a bit of advice thanks

we've been keeping to mornings and early evening walks , just not worth the risk , we did have a member posted here the other day about an attack of heat exhaustion under quite calm circumstances and had to run home with him . At very least I would be sticking to shady places (wooded areas etc ) and keep him on lead so he doesn't over exeert himself and keep the walk time short. But as I said personally we've been avoiding it , my 2 are pretty whacked out at the moment and seem content digging a hole to lie in to cool their bellies

Hi rich I've only been walking darcy first thing in the morning at early evening once it's cooled down, she just doesn't cope very well in the heat :(we've also been playing games at home to keep her busy and to tire her out to stop her going stir crazy this link may help:- https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t32839-indoor-dogs-games

Walk in the early morning and late evening, just not during the day.

Hi Rich , just off to bed now ut here's the post I was referring to just for a quick read and some useful info there

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t40433p25-heat-stroke-even-at-10pm-last-night?highlight=night

ok thanks guys ill stick to walking him when its a little cooler as its just not worth the risk, ive seen a lot of people the last few days walking there dogs and they looked very worn out, i may take him for a 10min stroll through the woods though as dave said. once again thanks for the advice.

No problem

i'm quite happy to not walk at all in really warm weather, for me it's not cool enough in the morning or evening to walk them.

Chance overheats in cool weather or can so it's not worth the risk to his health. We do games at home to keep their minds busy and they don't miss the odd few days of no walks.

I have to take Ledger to the park as he won't toilet in my yard but even 5-10 mins and sticking to the shade he has wanted water on the way round. Can see he is wiped out but also frustrated he isn't getting time out with his ball, we will go to agility the next 2 nights but it's not til 7 and they have giant buckets of water, I have also booked him in for a swim at the local hydro pool on Friday

Ive only been walking my pooch at night, even then its not a long one...down to the water and back. Its just far too hot for him. He happily plays with his toys all day and we keep him occupied with frozen kongs etc

I do walk in the day but we stick to the woods, and the canal where she can go swimming

Only been walking Vin early in the morning through the woods, which is lovely and cool. Then again early evening again through the woods but drive there as although its only 5 min walk to get there its so hot across the roads that he is worn out before we get there! Always take water though. 

if you were to where a fur coat on a boiling hot day & walk bare foot on pavements for a good hr or so how would you feel?? Me or my oh take Herbie out for a stroll in the mornings & evenings nothing to strenuous as he still gets hot & during the day literally out in the garden for a quick wee (I live in a flat)....sometimes I take him over to a small river with my neighbour & her dog so they can swim. Personally I would stick to mornings & evenings when it is much much cooler xxx

During the hot weather I have also been taking Rocky out earlier in the mornings and later in the evenings. I always carry a bottle of water and a fold up bowl with me anyway regardless of temperature. I do try to keep to shaded areas as much as possible.

I walk early every day before work and later in the evening after work so doesn't effect us as much. But weekends I take him out during the day but like Janey I've been going places with lakes and streams as Blue loves a good swim, which is great for cooling them down

I also am walking Pixee only in the early mornings now. If I feel she is up to it, she will have a 10 or 15 min walk in the woods on the night time too, always carry a sports drink bottle for her too. She drinks out of it like a baby, so I dont have to carry her bowl. So down from 3 long walks to this.

I walk Louby at 6.30 in the morning, this is in winter also. Then around 9.00 at night...she is in and out of the garden inbetween, but not for very long, and its her choice to go out as the door is open.

Our local park on sunday was full of poor dogs being walked by their owners, it was red hot, some were even jogging, and 1 owner was on a bike!! hate seeing people riding bikes with their poor dogs running along side at the best of times.

Mrs McFisher wrote:I walk Louby at 6.30 in the morning, this is in winter also. Then around 9.00 at night...she is in and out of the garden inbetween, but not for very long, and its her choice to go out as the door is open.

Our local park on sunday was full of poor dogs being walked by their owners, it was red hot, some were even jogging, and 1 owner was on a bike!! hate seeing people riding bikes with their poor dogs running along side at the best of times.

I know, as I live by the canal, me and Pixee will watch from the conney all those poor dogs on walks looking so hot and tired. The kind ones are walked into the woods from the canal. Some do seem to be ok, other not.

haha just me who forgoes walks then

I walked frankie at 6am today other than that I haven't walked him since its been really hot. He doesn't show any interest in walks when it's hot. He just lays in the garden. Like Ella we play games in the house and in the garden when it's cooler. I just worry that he would over heat. He's currently in the paddling pool!!

It's was quite cool here when I finished work this morning so managed half hour walk and ball play seems to have sorted that pent up energy and Ledger hasn't been a pest today like he had been the last few days

I'm struggling to sleep in the heat one more night shift then off from 7am tomorrow so might head upto north Wales early to give him a paddle in the sea then see my parents at their holiday flat

If the dog really can't handle the heat and there's no way to walk in cooler hours, one or two days shouldn't hurt too much, as long as you make sure they have plenty of attention and games indoors.

It's always best to try to get in walks though, if you can manage to get up earlier in the mornings and put the afternoon walk further into the evening. Or divide the walks into shorter, gentler ones.

personaly i only take mine out in the morning and evening right now as it is just to hot for them. but i have seen plenty of happy looking dogs out and about during the day. problem is with staffs is they have a strong desire to please and will keep going until they drop if they think is what you want them to do. so i'd say take caution and keep away from open spaces and keep to shadey woods etc or if water is near thats a bonus. also be mindfull of how hot the pavements/roads can get in direct sunshine and what that can do to there pads.
TBH i prefer the early and late walks as the smells around the park at dusk and dawn are amazing and its alot quieter people wise.

See my problem is i'm not happy some days to even walk early morning or at night, it's been still well in to the 20's here even at 3 in the morning. No walks in those temperatures i'm not risking making Chance poorly.

We just bugger off to the park all day, she has the choice of playing or not and spends much of the day on her back snuggled to me and I get too hot

Out of curiousity, what are you guys calling hot weather? Summer temps here are frequently over 40degC.  Most dogs are ok with that just like the humans provided they have the beach (water play) and decent shade.  Of course, just like us, there is alot of lazing around.

Edited to add: Of course, any time I feel it so hot to be mandatory to be in the A/C, the pooch gets exactly the same thing.  

we are having a heat wave where it's getting to maybe 30c BUT it is a very different heat over here.

We are normally a very wet, cold country so we in general aren't used to the heat. Same goes for the dogs, it whats they are acclimatized to

40 degrees C is certainly very hot, Erin!

Decent shade is a must of course, but it isn't always available in towns and cities, and even less access to a beach! Plus we in the UK don't get dry heat - we are assailed by the Warm Wet Westerly Winds (across the Atlantic) so our heat is humid and feels like wading through hot treacle.

Also, because we in the UK aren't geared to extreme high temperatures, the majority of homes don't have air conditioning, it's just not economically viable (like on the reverse side of the coin, my nephew in Sydney is currently swaddled in woollies - no heating in his flat!)

I found the heat isn't just there when the sun is out - it has also been quite muggy and humid on some days. I am taking Densil out very early in the morning 6.30ish for about 45 mins - walk only and a little trot in the park on the trainin line, and it is still getting hot by the time we come back. I also take a bottle of water with me. He hasn't been having his second walk of the day which is usually in the afternoon as it has been too hot and I don't feel safe taking him out on my own late at night.

ella wrote:See my problem is i'm not happy some days to even walk early morning or at night, it's been still well in to the 20's here even at 3 in the morning. No walks in those temperatures i'm not risking making Chance poorly.

I've been the same. Took Biscuit out at 8am on Saturday and she was lying down half way around the first field. Decided to head back and she was falling over trying to get up the hill, scared the hell out of me! She's rubbish in normal hot weather but we were up to 30+ degrees in Exeter with no breeze on Saturday. She can just about handle a lead walk at 10pm but other than that it's frozen trotters, kongs and games at home. Not that she wants to do anything other than starfish on the cold tile floor bless her  

Densil has been ok in the house as I have a tall cold air blower on all day for him and a small window open. Another thing about walking dogs during the day when it is hot is that the pavements are also hot - not very good for their paw pads.

At the mo I walk Roxy at 5.30am and then again at 7.30 - 8pm

I just heard this morning of a guy who was out yesterday walking his dog at lunchtime in the hottest part of the day, idiot. He was then seen carrying the dog back to his car as it was suffering from heat exhaustion, idiot. Apparently the dog was a large golden retriever, I think, the long haired one. He was going to take it home at put it in his swimming pool, idiot.

I'm a Canadian, now living in Australia so sounds like your weather might be like Ontario? Hot and humid this summer according to my mom.  Dry heat is easier...until we hit 45, then no one is comfortable.

Taking dogs out until they are half dead is just brainless (re:above). But then there are all sorts hey.

Ledger seems to be slowly adapting to the heat and getting less lethargic during the day so I tried a walk about 10am (we have to go out for toilet trips either way), just a very slow mile out to one of the parks where I stopped for coffee and a bowl of water for him then back again. Luckily there is always a shady side of the road, kept to grass rather than Tarmac most of the way round and took the woodland path along the brook (letting him have a good long paddle)

Been hyper aware of him since we got home but he seems same as usual no more panting than a usual weather walk and he is currently sunbathing in the front room he did have a mini milk as his post walk treat tho

Kuchar is dealing with the heat better this year than last year was he was a baby puppy, although it's going on longer this year as we know.

He's a creature of habit and looks for walks at certain times of the day which are normally OK but are not the coolest parts of the day in this weather. So he gets them, but in shady places and on grass, and they are not as long as normal; he does get hot and panting but a cool drink and lie down on cold tiles and he copes.

It's these hot humid evenings he finds the hardest - evenings are normally his busiest time; playing with us and his toys etc . I have made a big personal sacrifice and placed an electric fan at full speed and not oscillating on the floor - he is currently laid out in front of it and his panting is decreasing nicely.

Oh for a good refreshing thunder storm!

Dempsey's still getting 3 walks a day - I insist on it! But he's going out earlier in the morning, and then only for a short toilet break in the afternoon. He still has his last walk just before I go to bed. Even in hot weather, most dogs still need to get out regularly, you just have to be sensible about it.

Kathy wrote:I just heard this morning of a guy who was out yesterday walking his dog at lunchtime in the hottest part of the day, idiot. He was then seen carrying the dog back to his car as it was suffering from heat exhaustion, idiot. Apparently the dog was a large golden retriever, I think, the long haired one. He was going to take it home at put it in his swimming pool, idiot.

Did you think he was a bit of an idiot? 

I had a terrible shock on sunday as Rupert got heatstroke. I didn't see it coming at all. We were walking in the woods although it was 11.30 - i.e. very late to go for a walk, I suppose I thought it was earlyish as it is in Britain and Sunday etc (I am a thicko in retrospect). Anyway, he was hyper and loving it as usual - I had brought some water with me and he was drinking at regular intervals. Then very suddenly he was sick and had diarrhea. Then he couldn't focus on me and went limp. He couldn't walk - it was really awful. Thankfully I was a) near a farm and b) had my smartphone on me so I could look up heatstroke (from which dogs are liable to die very quickly, I found out) and work out what to do quickly. I got some water from the farm and poured it all over him. Then I carried him to the car as he couldn't walk and opened all the windows and got on a very fast road home so that the wind was cooling him down as quickly as I could manage. I called the emergency vet and they said bring him in immediately but he had stopped panting so much by this stage and was focusing so I risked taking him home where I put him in a cool (not freezing) shallow bath as I had read that getting their paws wet is the quickest way to cool them down - also splashing their undersides. I was lucky also as someone had left an electric fan at mine years ago and I put that on him too, he stopped panting and his breathing became more regulated. In the evening he started panting again (house was v warm) and I repeated the bath and fan thing.

Anyway, it gave me a real shock and I will not walk him after 8.30 a.m or before 7pm. Walking him really early is lovely anyway. I talked to a guy the other day whose bull dog had died in the heat because the dog walker had overexercised him in the warm weather - apparently bulldogs have more difficulty in warm weather because of their short muzzles. Staffies (I learned) are also apparently very susceptible to hot weather and mine is often having too much fun to know when to have a rest - he also hates water so will never cool himself down.

I would advise taking no risks. If you are going on a day trip, don't take him with you in case you find yourself in a position with no shade or else in a no dogs zone.

I am lucky that Rupert did not die considering the circumstances - if you look on the internet there are quite a few stories of dogs dying recently in this heat (even a poor police dog!)

How dreadfully frightening - poor Rupert. You did BRILLIANTLY in getting him recovered.

A warning for us all ....

Definitely a warning to us all. Glad Rupert is ok