Walking in hot weather

[JudyN]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

I know, I know, we should aim to walk our dogs in the early morning and once it's cooled in this weather, but with Jasper unsettled with the roofing going on, and not being able to go out into the garden unless on lead, I need to weigh up what is best for him. So this afternoon we had a slow on-lead pootle, sticking to shade almost the whole way, to a nearby churchyard (checking online, 0.2 of a mile away) where we had a nice snooze in the shade of a tree before heading home again.

I felt the pavements with my hand whenever about to move onto a sunny bit, and did change route once when I wasn't happy with the temperature. But what I'm wondering is, if I'm able to walk comfortably on a pavement, and stand on it for the length of time Jasper does, does that mean that it's also safe for him? I'm assuming his pads are tougher than the soles of my feet. I'd happily walk barefoot if it's the easiest way of making sure he's safe. It would probably look less odd than touching the ground every few yards.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

I'm interested in knowing more about this too, it's not always convenient to go early morning or later in the evening.
Sounds like a nice gentle stroll to me, as long as you take water with you and take breaks it's okay right? Think paw pads are quite protective against hot/cold but I've read that if you can't hold your hand comfortably on the pavement for 10 seconds it's too hot for them.

 

[JudyN]

Yes, I also compare it to what he would be doing if I didn't take him out - pavements aside, pootling close to home is the same as pootling round the garden, and chilling under a tree is as good as chilling in the house.

I'd heard you should be able to hold the back of your hand against the ground for 5 seconds without it hurting, but it is of course just a rule of thumb, and different surfaces in different places will be different temperatures - so walking barefoot would actually be easier than dipping down to check the pavements all the time!

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Yes definitely, I bet he enjoyed.
Aah okay, always handy to know. Good point, you'd look a bit funny testing the pavement all the time
I always think it's a shame that Roxy doesn't like water, a dip in the sea/river would be good for cooling off.
there are cooling coats of course but not sure how good they are and obviously don't help the pads.