# too hot to walk ??



## pigeon man (Feb 17, 2010)

here on long island it got to 100 degrees .. i was afraid to walk my g.s.d. how hot does it get beforew you say no to the exercise ????


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## sadie006 (Feb 19, 2010)

We have the same problem in Texas, so I walk Lucy very early in the morning. I also take along water.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I wouldn't walk my dogs on hot surfaces. This heatwave(90's+) is dangerous and the dogs aren't wearing flipflops to protect their pads. Let alone the extreme temps. Very early morning or late night would be the only time I'd take them on a street or sidewalk. Grassy surfaces should be fine as long as they can drink cool water(not ice cold) and take a break from the sun. Black coats heat up, so if this is a black dog, not in the sun.


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## JudynRich (Apr 16, 2010)

If you are too hot, your dog is too hot! With the heat wave in the east I would stay in if possible!


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## Relayer (Apr 29, 2010)

Maybe it's time to look into getting a treadmill. Max gets on ours (indoors, of course) during the mid-day heat, walks and runs outside only very early and at night these hot days.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

Masi is bouncing off the walls, but it is way to hot to be doing to much outside here in CT..I finally went out and sat with them for about 30 minutes, let them do their own thing, they were sure ready to come back in the AC !


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## ken k (Apr 3, 2006)

I let the pups out for a bit, they run for about 5 minutes and thats it, way too hot, of course they dont under stand


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## gsdmi (Apr 4, 2009)

We have been walking at 5:30 a.m. and it is fine then. By 8:00 a.m. it is too hot! We'll have to see what tomorrow holds, as the heatwave getting more intense.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

other than walking on concrete or similar surfaces, why can't a GSD go out for a walk in the hot weather? Do they call off herding when it gets hot, or police work (man or beast!), it seems that the dogs worked in Vietnam during the hot weather?

Sure you take care just like for people but c'mon a GSD should be able to do something even when it gets hot.


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## AvaLaRue (Apr 4, 2010)

Ava is going insane bouncing off the walls. Causing me to want to bash my head in. We have a very long hallway so I have been tossing the ball back and forth for her to fetch. It's helping a little bit.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

codmaster said:


> other than walking on concrete or similar surfaces, why can't a GSD go out for a walk in the hot weather? Do they call off herding when it gets hot, or police work (man or beast!), it seems that the dogs worked in Vietnam during the hot weather?
> 
> Sure you take care just like for people but c'mon a GSD should be able to do something even when it gets hot.


Well how many of the barracks had/have AC? The dogs were conditioned to be in those extreme temps. These days dogs are in and out of the AC so the heat feels worse. Personally I love the warmth, as long as I have shade and a cool drink. Hyperthermia is real and serious. Just because these are working dogs, doesn't mean they can't overheat.


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## Dawn (Jun 23, 2010)

Dogs cannot sweat to cool themselves off like we do, they pant to cool off and when it is 95 plus..( here in jersey today it got over 100 degrees) it is inhumane to think running dogs in safe.
They will also burn there pads on concrete and blacktop. 
It is driving me and Raven crazy right now but I will only walk her very very early in the morning or at night.

I cannot wait till fall....lolol


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Just takes planning... go early or go late. And find a location that's shaded as well as the water situation!

It's amazing how just the shade from a wooded path makes it bearable. I went out today just after 3 pm, and it was around 100 in the Poconos. But my girls did fine, walked about 1.5 miles, played a bit of Chuckit in the shaded part of the picnic area, and had alot of vists to lay in the cold creek nearby (the dogs, not me!).

If you and your dogs are used to the heat, and not just in a AC, then they will do fine with some common sense on our part.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

agree ^^^^^


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Of course the dogs have to acclimate themselves just like people but once they do, we ought to remember these are supposed to be "Working Dogs", not couch potatoes. give them cool water and some shade now and then and the dogs will be fine, (maybe not the people who I suspect in many cases are the real reason that "It's too hot out for the dogs".

Sure is common in the group of GSD owners that I belong to that get together every sat morning at 11 am - many cases there of "it's too hot for Fido!".


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

It was 99 when I left work. Still well over 90 in the country at our house. I took her to the pond so she wasn't driving everyone nuts from inactivity!


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## lixy (Mar 14, 2007)

In this type of heat, I am still able to play hard with my dogs in the backyard, as long as I get out the kiddie pool. Even better is in the river at my in-laws, or an actual pool they can swim in. Works for us. They get the kiddie pool water dirty pretty fast, though.


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

It is way too hot to walk here today too, but tonight it cooled off enough that I walked Wolfie to the ocean to swim. Hubby went out and bought him a kiddie pool, so he played in that today to burn off some of the energy.


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## Eva von Selah (May 7, 2010)

My Eva, a very tough two-year old GSD female, developed a blister on each of the big pads on each foot (four blisters total) and I never suspected it. Was last week, hot in VA and we went on our normal afternoon walk around 4pm. A little over a mile and the same walk we take all the time. I took her to my dad's the next day and we flyfished and played with the other dogs in the country, and it wasn't until about 30+ hours after the walk that she began a little limp. Looked at her pads and saw that the blisters had just popped and she was walking on that red, raw skin under a blister. Took a few days off, carried her outside a few times and the blisters healed quickly. A little neosporin didn't hurt. Anyway, the point is I thought that she was tough as nails as she is not a pampered GSD, she gets around in the outside world - and the blisters were a surprise to me. Just be mindful of where you're walking your dog, the black asphalt paths are extremely hot in the afternoon, concrete sidewalks are much cooler. Choose a path where you encounter less asphalt and more sidewalk and grass. 

John
N.Va - middle of a heat wave!


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

Where I live it's pretty hot in the summer but this spring we have had many days that with the heat index it is well over 100....just deal with it the best you can....go out very early at day break and in the evenings...in the south we LIVE in a heat wave. Just use common sense and watch closely...


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## Catori (Jul 5, 2010)

It's been too hot for any real exercise during the day in VA as well, it peaked at 100 and for my ole gal, that's way too hot. I think it's more important to pay attention to the temperature when dealing with our seniors and young puppies who don't have a tolerance. When Lucky was in her prime she would do ok if we did our play/exercise in the shade with plenty of cool water or if we had out the kiddie pool and the good exercise in the morning before it was blazing. Lately I simply waited until about 7/8 to walk her around the block, by then it had cooled down.


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## Andrew (Jun 16, 2010)

I'm glad I found this topic!
It's not too hot here yet in Southern California (Mid 80's), but I am trying to get used to waking up earlier and walking my Katie in the morning, rather than walking her in the evening.

I also bought these "doggy boots" that were on Clearance at Petco for $3. So far, I've only had time to use them once for her to get used to it.

I also bought a "doggy knapsack" that I clip around her and I put in her water, my water, and a foldable travel bowl.

If I have no choice but to walk her during the day when it's hot, I'll take her to the nearby man-made lake near my house that has a lot of trees. I'll be sure to bring plenty of water, and those boots to prevent her paw pads from being burnt!

I need to look for a Kiddy pool on sale.


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## bluecoyote (Aug 16, 2009)

Keep in mind that when it gets hot, the sidewalk gets REALLY hot and dogs have to walk on that without shoes. It's best to walk early in the morning or after dark and things have cooled off a bit.


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## Trina (Sep 11, 2009)

Our walks are always before we go to work at 5:30 in the morning, so the heat and humidity haven't had a chance to really get cranked up yet. Even still, we sometimes cut our walks short because of our 12 1/2 yr old. The warmer temps and her age just seem to be a bit more than she can handle right now.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Dang, you wouldn't get me out walking in hot temperatures like that . . . never mind the dogs! 

Need to find igloo and cool down . . .


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

My dogs don't want to go outside in this weather, but I go out and we play with the hose and they are much happier. Then they are cooler and can play some ball before we go back inside.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

Sorry, but I have to disagree with a lot of that has been said on this thread.

When we lived in Virginia, it would routinely go over 100 degrees and over 80% humidity in the summer and we still walked, hiked, and did all the other activities we enjoyed doing during other weather as well.

It's not so much about "when it's too hot" or how hot it feels, it's how warm a temperature you (and your dog) are acclimatized to. If you always run your AC in the house and in your car as soon as it goes over 72 degrees, you and your dogs never get a chance to get used to the warmer weather and have to change your exercise routines. If you get a chance to acclimatize, you can do all the same things in the heat than you do normally, you just make more of a point to offer water frequently and/or do activities where you can stop at a lake or river to cool off if needed.

I have lived in Europe for many years and most European homes DO NOT have air conditioning, nor do many other places in Europe such as schools, for example. Amazingly, the people and dogs over there manage to survive the summers ... they get acclimatized to the weather.

A lot of it has to do with knowing your dogs and knowing when they are overheating or when / how often you need to stop to water. Letting them set the pace on warm days really helps when you're out training or walking, because you can slow down or take a break when the dog starts to slow or lag. Cool off and then go back to what you were doing.

As for dogs' paw pads on asphalt ... well, it's not really like walking barefoot on asphalt yourself. Most of us wear shoes all day outside, so our feet never toughen up and develop calluses that would allow us to walk on warm surfaces. There are tons of people in other parts of the world who go barefoot on hot sand, hot asphalt, rocks, pebbles, etc. without any trouble - no cut feet, no burns, etc. - because their feet are used to it and callused from use. Dogs' paw pads are more like their feet than they are like ours and not nearly as sensitive to warm surfaces, rocks, etc. as our feet are.

I'm not saying go for a bike ride with your dog when it's 120 degrees on nothing but asphalt, by all means. Use your common sense. But I am saying that it's not nearly as big a deal to be outside when it's hot as a lot of people seem to think. At least it isn't for my dogs and I. 

(On a side note, being in northern New York, we've also felt the heat wave ... it was 105 yesterday. We don't have air conditioning, by the way.)


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