What’s with the competitive hysteria around walking dogs on nice days?

Posted by Proper_Emu_2296@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 47 comments

Having a dog I’m in several dog-related groups and they lose their heads on days like this to the extent I have to avoid them.

Look, I do not advocate walking dogs in inappropriate heat, but there are people saying they won’t go out if it’s 18 degrees or more! And there’s this odd competitive edge like “well my cut-off is 17!”

How do they think people in European countries even manage to own dogs?

Not to mention, it’s not as simple as one number. Are you having them lie under scorching sun in a beer garden? Or are you taking them in shady woodland with streams to cool off in? Is it full sun or in or out of cloud? Is there a breeze? Are you letting them potter and set the pace or taking them for a full pelt run and chucking balls for them?

Honestly what happened to just exercising a little judgement?

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Few_Respect_5469@reddit

Some of these people put coats on their dogs too I wouldn’t listen to any of them.

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SlavyanskiShillbane@reddit

Wait until you have a 14 year old arthritic Jack Russell Terrier and live in Scotland.

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signpostlake@reddit

A coat for your dog seems common sense to me.

I've got a large breed with long hair. We have to be really careful with him in heatwaves. Nobody has told me I'm being stupid for putting a sprinkler and pool in the garden. Or buying an extra large cooling mat for him to lay on. Or making up freezer bowls, freezing carrots and whatever else. I even buy him dog safe ice cream to help him stay comfy.

Always a bit of a double standard though between large dogs and small dogs. If it's not stupid to keep your dog cool, why is it stupid to keep them from freezing?

I'm in the north too. Right near the coast. Winter walks can be brutal.

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SlavyanskiShillbane@reddit

He deleted his comment. I assume he felt a bit ashamed.

Kind of cowardly to just delete it with no mea culpa though.

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dogtrousers@reddit

Or a chihuahua who feels the cold.

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exhausted-pangolin@reddit

I'm getting a coat for my retriever before next winter. He's like a sponge in the rain and anything to help him avoid getting wet in the first place would be a huge win

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fightclub246011@reddit

These kind of groups, and Internet / social media dialogue in general, don’t value nuance. It’s all or nothing.

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Nikotelec@reddit

It's all or nothing

OH NO IT ISN'T

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PreferenceAnxious449@reddit

So you're saying its okay to kidnap children??

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Nikotelec@reddit

OH YES IT IS (especially if the little shits make noise in the quiet carriage)

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Emergency_Cellist754@reddit

Every time it's warm there's a bandwagon of "look after your dog in hot weather" posts that a lot of dog owners jump on to.

I think a lot of it is social media content from places like the southern US where heat is a serious issue, but people in the UK retweet it and hop on board.

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lunchbox3@reddit

Yeh I agree. Unless something is clearly wrong people should mind their own business. We put the ball away, walk in the mornings and go for shady routes with water. But the thing is my dog doesn’t get the memo about looking after himself and as soon as he gets home he flops in the garden in the patch of brightest sun he can find until he can’t bear it anymore then he potters inside for a drink. Best I can do is spray him with the hose every now and again but the boy is a sun seeker. To be clear he has tonnes of shade, cool tiles, a cool mat and water available he’s just not interested!

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Dr_Custard@reddit

As soon as ours is done for a walk, it's lollop on the decking in direct sunshine time

Then when he gets hot, it's lollop on the shaded tile kitchen floor to cool off lmao

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Ultimate_os@reddit

My dog does that too. I bring her in if she’s been out too long.

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CaterpillarLake@reddit

I went to the forest today and it was fucking lush. It was roughly 12 degrees in there. Compared to my house which reached 29 degrees inside with all the blinds down

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No-Photograph3463@reddit

I think also it doesn't help that the UK especially during heatwaves has such a huge variation on temperature, so doing like you have and putting the actual temperature is useful for context.

For example I'm on the south coast and the Air Temperature is 29 degC in the shade in a forest so it would sound insane to me to do anything with a dog that isn't sat in AC or with a fan.

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LilacScentedStoat@reddit

https://goodtowalk.co.uk/

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eca3617@reddit

That's actually brilliant.

Cheers for sharing. I find things like this fascinating.

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nevynxxx@reddit

I have a rain avoidant boarder collie. Snow, fine, sun, fine. Mud? Awesome! But rain? No thanks Dad.

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dogtrousers@reddit

Thanks for posting that, I shall be bookmarking it for future use!

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okwhateveryouwin8@reddit

If it's too hot for the owner to wear the dry robe then the dog stays inside

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Witty-Ad5286@reddit

Just got back from Cambridge in the 28/29 heat and people had their dogs in the city.

Bang out of order TBH. The pavement gets so hot that’s what annoys me.

However peak retard was the lady that was chatting having coffee with her child in one of those bike trailer things.. the bloody thing was zipped up - the kid was dripping in sweat and crying.

Only when someone shouted at her did she open it up.

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SituationMundane5452@reddit

Modern day nonsense. The same as the news scaremongering with yellow and red heat warnings all over the media.

Dogs were around in the 90s when none of this was a thing.

At the end of the day it’s about being sensible and just caring and keeping an eye on your dog.

I walked mine today (26 degrees). Not as long as usual, made sure she had lots of water and kept on grass and woodland. She walked on some pavements but not for that long.

When we got home she chose to lay in the sun on the back lawn. No problems, she come inside or lays in the shade if she’s too hot, she’s not an idiot she knows the difference between hot and cool

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Curly1109@reddit

Probably due to the rise of short snout dogs.

My African Lionhound is doing fine, just be sensible obviously

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starfishwantscoffee@reddit

Tbf there’s a big difference between taking your dog out in +20 Celsius humid heavy UK heat, ignoring that they have no choice to stop, no way to tell you they’re struggling, have fur, no shade, nothing to protect them or their feet from the heat and are generally so loyal they’ll walk til they literally collapse vs a quick loop of some cool shady woods with plenty of water on offer.

It’s the former that’s the problem and absolutely deserves to be called out.

Our vet has always said any temperature above 17/18c for any breed is when you should consider whether it’s actually worth the risk.

I’d rather not stick to the walk routine and go out very early or very late so they a stay healthy and alive than risk taking them for a walk and they get sick or worse.

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CTLeafez@reddit

Not to judge people but saw several people taking their flat face dogs eg. Pugs up Mam Tor yesterday. Never seen dogs panting so much.

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ritasuenbobtoo@reddit

I think we should judge

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External-Praline-451@reddit

My vet shares warnings every year, because they see multiple dogs die every year. Someone's dog even died last year from being walked in the shade in a wood, the same thing people claim is fine. The vets have to see the awful, preventable reality and it must be so heartbreaking and horrible being faced with idiots who think they know better, kill their pets.

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dogtrousers@reddit

I took my dog out today for a walk to a craft fair (no running, mostly on grass) and it was between 21 and 24 degrees according to various forecasts for my area. I put her in a cooling coat, and she stayed at a good temperature. She didn't pant even once! I can thoroughly recommend them. https://www.animed.co.uk/animate-cooling-dog-coat-navy

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Jimeeh@reddit

My wife is Romanian and I go there a lot you will see street dogs in 40c running around fucking fighting and foraging

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Few_Respect_5469@reddit

But Judy and Clive who sit on Faceache all day know better.

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AirFew7700@reddit

I think this is less about the dogs and more about “how can I tell everyone I’m better than everyone else”?

As you say, it turns into a competition where the next person in the comment section has a lower cut off point for the temperature and in that moment they then become the top animal welfare advocate.

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Ultimate_os@reddit

Everything is a competition haha

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MrHlk2020@reddit

I don't walk mine unless it's 10 and falling.

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Asleep-Software-4160@reddit

Surely they are exercising judgement? They've chosen a cutoff at which the dog isn't going out. Not all dogs need to go out every day, it's fine for a dog to chill out.

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Unable_Obligation_73@reddit

One that does wind me up is people buying arctic dogs and running them around in the middle of the day in August I tend to monitor the pavement and if I can't put my bare foot down comfortably then it is in the car to the forest

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Historical_Cobbler@reddit

People often forget that dogs are different, I’ve got sports dogs, they raced in the summer so extremely fit and hit tolerant , so whilst I’d avoid the pavement, I would take them on a forest walk with shade when it’s hot.

My van has got AC, and they’ve got cooling mats and coats, but yes I get grief for having dogs in a carpark on a hot day.

Lazy feckless owners make excuses very quickly.

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RBisoldandtired@reddit

Cos social media gives the dumbest fucks on the planet a platform and then they fight to be top of pile.

Now excuse me, I have to go argue with a bot about spelling, grammar, pedantry and semantics.

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Psychological-Bag272@reddit

Personally, if I wouldn’t be comfortable walking barefoot outside while wearing a jacket, then I think it’s too hot to be walking the dog. Missing a couple of days of walks has never killed a dog, but heatstroke absolutely can. Anything above 20°C starts becoming risky, although it ultimately depends on the breed and your dog’s individual tolerance.

People also keep bringing up how dogs live in much hotter countries, which I find a bit amusing. I’m from Thailand myself, and I’ve rarely seen anyone walking their dog during the hottest parts of the day. In fact, many people even install air conditioning at home specifically for their dogs.

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ShufflingToGlory@reddit

Can't believe there are people here who walk their dogs when it's double digits outside. Scum of the earth the lot of you.

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YouCanShoveYourMagic@reddit

Hottest day of the year if you're walking in the woods. Otherwise go out early or late and avoid the heat.

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Psychological-Bag272@reddit

Personally if I am not going to walk barefeet with a jacket then it is too hot to be walking the dog. No dogs ever die from missing a couple of days of walking but many do pass from heatstroke. Anything above 20 degrees become really risky but ultimately it depends on the breed and your dog's tolerance.

People keep bringing up about dogs surviving in a much hotter country, which I find rather amusing. I am from Thailand myself and have never seen anyone there walking their dog on a hot day... in fact many do install A/C in their home for their dog.

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Lenske97@reddit

The sun brings out the owners who don’t walk their dogs all year, then as soon as it gets boiling, they decide to take their bulldog on a 5-mile walk. That’s why
People in Europe usually walk in the mornings to or late at night.

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TapeDeckSlick@reddit

If someone said that to me I'd probably laugh and go okay mate

Obviously just make sure your dog is safe and don't do a massive walk

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