Is It Safe to Walk Your Dog in This Heat? What Owners Get Wrong

Most people check the weather, see “85,” and assume a dog walk is safe. We don’t. Shannon and Tanya from Hound Therapy explain why heat safety starts with the heat index, humidity, and the surface under your dog’s paws, because hot asphalt and concrete can turn a normal route into a high-risk situation fast. We also talk about the trap of “just around the block” and how excitement, pulling, and a quick chat with a neighbor can quietly stretch a short outing into a dangerous one.

We get specific about what to watch on your dog, not your clock. Some dogs won’t clearly tell you they’re overheating, so we share real-world signals like heavy panting, sudden slowing, laying down, and the “tongue thermometer” moment when the tongue looks unusually long or different from normal. You’ll also hear our timing advice for summer in North Texas, including why mid to late afternoon is typically the worst window and why early morning or after sunset stacks the odds in your favor.

If it’s too hot to walk, we still want your dog to get exercise and enrichment. We swap in safer ideas like sprinkler play, kiddie pools done the right way, and DIY frozen treats using dog-safe ingredients. Then we answer a big question pet owners ask every summer: can grooming choices help a dog handle high temperatures? We explain how matting and impacted undercoat affect cooling, what shaving can and can’t do, and why flat-faced breeds and medically fragile dogs need extra caution no matter the haircut.

If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a fellow dog owner, and leave a review so more people can keep their dogs safe in extreme heat. What’s the hottest-weather rule you wish every dog owner followed?

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

Transcript

Welcome And The Big Question

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Tale Talk Grooming Chronicles with Health Therapy, the podcast where we talk all things pet grooming, daycare, academy, and more. Hosted by Shannon and Tanya of Health Therapy, serving pet owners across North Texas. We're here to share expert tips, hilarious pet stories, and the inside scoop on keeping your furry friends happy and healthy. Our motto, humanity over vanity. And don't worry, we don't fight. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Most dog owners think they know when it's too hot. But today we're breaking down the biggest mistakes owners make and how to keep your dog safe in extreme temperatures. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Sophia Yuvett, co-host and producer, back in the studio with professional groomers at Home Therapy, Shannon and Tanya. Hi, ladies, great to be back with you today. How is it going? It's great. Great, great. Now it really is great to see you both. So let's go ahead and jump right in. Today's question is: Is it safe to walk your dog in this heat? And what do owners often get wrong? So I'll let you both take it from here.

Heat Index Beats Air Temperature

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Um and that it's a great question. So let's it's I would say don't look at the temperature. Don't just look at the temperature. It's it's it's 85 degrees to you. You know, you we our bodies again, we we cool down much faster and easier than dogs. We're not walking on the hot concrete. Um, there are, you know, a lot of different mistakes that you know we make because we we push that humanization on on our pets, and they are still still pets. I mean, they might they might seem like our human children, but they're animals. And it it's we do have to look out for them. We have to still advocate for them. Um a couple just really quick things. Uh like I mentioned before, just you know, don't just look at the water at the at the app and it's like it's only 85 degrees. You've got to look at the heat index, the humidity, you know, you've got to look at all of the stuff. You know, it's it's about 30, 30 degrees hotter or so for a dog. Yeah. And then you've got asphalt. So where are you walking? Are you walking, you know, in a shaded, grassy area? Do you have a park that's got uh, you know, like a cool crete type of thing, or you know, are you walking on, you know, something that's just gonna really reflect and radiate on just a regular basic concrete floor?

SPEAKER_03 2:40

Um could be a great opportunity for like a hiking trail.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Yeah, great opportunity for that. And you know, your your neighborhood matters more than you think. Uh again, like we just talked about. Is it gravel, is it asphalt? So you might want to drive somewhere um just to to check it out. Sometimes changing the location is a little safier than changing the day. So um, you know, it's kind of a fun way to think about it. Like, you know, it's uh a little adventure. Um the only you know, just we're just going around the block. Well, a lot of things can happen around the block. Uh you know, it it's the problem is all in your pet. You know, you they can get excited, which is gonna start more if they're pulling and tugging. If another dog is walking by, you stop and talk to your neighbor, you look up, and you're just around the block is oh, we've been out for over an hour. So uh you know you've got to kind of walk that.

Spot Overheating Before It’s Serious

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Um dogs don't often tell you that they're too hot. So mine doesn't. That tongue, watch the tongue. Mine's the tongue thermometer. That's what I when that my dog is a she's a panther and a drooler, but when she's really hot, her tongue will like touch.

SPEAKER_03 3:56

Mine will do the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

And I'm like, where did all that? It just like stretches out. It's like gum.

SPEAKER_03 4:02

It's like I didn't know your tongue was that long.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

So, you know, I that's my dog's indicator for me when you know she's not telling me she's still panting, she's still hot, she's warm to the touch. But when that tongue gets like obsessively long compared to what it normally looks like for her, I'm like, ooh, we need to cool down. Uh have some have some water with you too.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

For my dog, it's when he um lays down because he never stops moving. And if he lays down, he's hot.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Yeah. Uh Attila, her dog's name is Attila. He uh uh he's definitely a go-go go kind of all the time. Um so we don't want them to be overwhelmed before the walk even starts, and we don't want to um walk them, you know, uh right in the middle of the day. Uh hottest part of the day here in Texas is believe it or not, it's mid-afternoon, mid to late afternoon. So first time first thing in the morning or when the sun goes down are some good times to to walk. But you know, anytime between three and you know, six o'clock, usually are the worst times to walk. Um watch your dog, not the clock. You know, if your dog is telling you, like, you know, again, it you it may only be 10 minutes, but if your dog is acting like it's excessively hot or doing something weird or, you know, just not acting right, then you know, just go back, maybe walk a different day uh or pick a different time.

Cooler Outdoor Play And Hydration

SPEAKER_02 5:29

Um let's let's talk about some things that you can do with your dog outside because your dog does need exercise. I'll let Tanya take this because she spent a lot of time explaining this to me today.

SPEAKER_03 5:41

If it's too hot to simply go on a walk and you know walk on hot concrete, I don't want to be out there either. It's hot. So, like you could do a sprinkler party in the backyard, just hook up the sprinkler. Everybody play in the sprinkler. It's a good way to cool everybody.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Yeah, kids, dogs, you play the rep house, you can toss the toy around. Um slices, some snacks you can make, some homemade snacks, um, like a pumpkin puree, you can freeze it. Uh, my dog loves ice cubes, so we play the ice cube catch. That kind of is fun for her. Uh seedless watermelon. My dog is is really big about snacks. We have Vishless. So it's fine.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

So yeah, Vishlas is they're they're they're real big about the snack venture part of I usually get the popsicle molts and do like a peanut butter, blueberry, chicken broth kind of a mixture and give it to him when it's hot and he loves it.

SPEAKER_02 6:39

Um the kitty pools, those little hard plastic pools that you have, you can fill those up. Um, one thing you don't want to do is have stagnant water laying around because they will get into that. So those are the really light, those I I've seen people get the big troughs and the pools, those heat up pretty well. It's not gonna help them cool down if you've got a hot tub situation working in your backyard. Plus, you don't want to uh entice more mosquitoes uh and bugs around. So make sure that you have something that you can interchange that water out with pretty quickly. Uh and keep in mind if you're just gonna throw the hose in there right away, if your hose is sitting in the sun, let some of that water run out so they can have the cool water versus the warm water. Um, but a few inches of water can definitely make a big difference. Um, another thing I do with my dog is I use the chamois, like the car chamis. They do make these specifically for dogs, but I can buy them at Walmart and they're easy for me. Uh, they don't carry a lot of bacteria, they're easy to clean. I will just loop it in some cold water, stick it in the refrigerator. And if I know we're gonna go out for a long walk, I just kind of wrap that around your neck and I tie it on like a bandana, and it kind of keeps that cool in. Yeah. So do you have any um inquisitive questions uh for us to answer? I could go on all day on some fun facts of water, outdoor water sports with the dogs.

Grooming Choices That Affect Cooling

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Yes, well, one question for you both is can grooming choices impact how well a dog handles high temperatures? Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Yeah, a hundred percent. Um, and I know we've mentioned this multiple times, but uh a matted dog cannot regulate himself uh or herself to uh to basically keep their core temperature what they need it to be. So if you've got matting or compaction, uh you need to either be brushing your dog daily at home to pull the dead hair and uh remove all of that undercoat out. Um shaving your dog will help. Know that if you've just shaved your dog and knowing what blade it's shaved in, if you're shaving, if you're doing home shaving and you get that 10 or that 30 that's in there, your dog can get sunburned. But it it also can't really, you know, regulate what it's doing. So you don't want to be in direct heat pretty much anywhere around. As far as grooming goes, um if if your dog has got an excessive amount of hair that's not taken care of, if your dog limps or is a slow walker, uh, if your dog is older with medical conditions, heat is not for if you have the flat-faced, you know, dogs, this it there is almost no situation where your dog should be out walking even down the street. Um, you know, that's short outdoor breaks, that's night breaks, early morning breaks. Um, but we you do not those those dogs will overheat quickly and fast. So um, you know, grooming, no amount of grooming is gonna help that particular situation. Yeah. But coats themselves, cocker spaniels, uh dogs that are shaved, you know, on the top, underneath. Uh, you know, as we mentioned, we do tunneling, but you definitely need to provide that dog with its proper um coat maintenance on a regular basis uh before you can just, you know, take them out into the heat and expect them, their bodies to do what they've, you know, would normally do in a 75 or lowered, you know, air-conditioned house. So it's it's it it makes a big difference.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Well, thank you both. That was incredibly helpful. We appreciate your insights and we will see everyone back here next time.

Quick Wrap Up And Booking Info

SPEAKER_00 10:19

That's a wrap for this episode of Tale Talk with Hound Therapy. Ready to book your pet's next groom daycare stay or grooming academy tour? Call us at 469-367-0009. That's 469-367-0009. To schedule an appointment or visit us online at www.houndtherapy.com, serving North Texas with expert bed care. Until next time, keep those tails waxed.