In Los Angeles, we are experiencing high temperatures this Spring that feel more like July than March. Both today and tomorrow will be over 90 degrees in Sherman Oaks, when the average temperature for this time of year is in the 70’s. When walking dogs on hot weather days, there are precautions we should all take to help keep our dogs cool on walks in the heat. Otherwise, you may put your dogs at risk for overheating or burning their paw pads. Some dogs have better heat tolerance than others but it is still important to take precautions for the safety of our dogs.
5 ways to help keep our dogs cool on walks in the heat
- If possible, avoid walking dogs midday or in the afternoons during high heat. Walk dogs in the early to mid-morning hours or after the sun goes down in the evening.
- Find areas that have lots of shade on the sidewalk or street even if this mean driving your dog to a different neighborhood.
- Bring water and a portable water bowl allowing your dog to hydrate and take rest breaks on the walk. I like bringing the Handi Drink Water Bottle on walks in the heat. The bottle for the water fits nicely into a plastic carrier that then serves as the bowl. The Handi Drink Water Bottle also comes with a strap to carry it over your shoulder or a clip to attach to your belt loop.
- Get summer booties to protect your dogs’ paw pads from the hot ground. If the ground is hot to your hand when touching it then it is too hot for your dogs’ paw pads. To see a variety of summer dog booties available for purchase, check out this selection of dog summer booties at AllDogBoots.com.
- Bring a wet towel or spray bottle filled with cool water to place or spray on your dogs. Or, if you find a lawn with sprinklers running or that looks real wet, see if your dogs want to run through sprinklers or roll on the wet grass to cool them down.
Do you have other ideas for how to keep our dogs cool on walks in the heat?