Summer heat and dog exercise

As soon as the temperature climbs, the way I plan every single walk changes. Running DogTrek across Hackney, Victoria Park, Wanstead Park and the Lea Valley means I'm outside with dogs most days of the week, and summer heat isn't an abstract risk to me — it's something I have to actively manage on every single outing. Here's how I actually do it, and what I think most dog owners get wrong.

Why I stopped doing afternoon walks in summer

Afternoon walks have become the real problem. Once the sun's been up for a few hours, the ground heats up, the air gets thick, and dogs that were perfectly happy at 9am start to flag by 2pm. Rather than push through it and hope for the best, I've simply stopped offering afternoon slots when the weather is hot and moved everything to mornings — sometimes starting extra early if the forecast looks like a scorcher.

That shift created its own problem, because a lot of my regulars only had afternoon slots booked in. So I opened up new morning availability on Mondays and Wednesdays specifically to absorb that demand. It's a small operational change, but it's made a real difference to how comfortable the dogs are on their walks, and it's the single biggest thing I've changed about how I run DogTrek because of the heat.

And I'll be honest, it isn't purely a dog welfare decision, I feel this heat just as much as they do. There's nothing pleasant about trudging around Hackney Marshes with a group of dogs at 2pm in the height of summer, so getting everyone out early is as much for my own sanity as it is for theirs.

The signs I'm watching for on every walk

Once we're out, I'm constantly reading the dogs rather than the clock. The things I look for are heavy panting, a dog slowing down or lagging behind the group, and dogs actively seeking out shade instead of sniffing around in the open. Any one of those is a sign to ease off.

What we actually do about it

On hot days I make sure there's plenty of water available throughout the walk, and I'll choose routes that stay in the shade rather than the open fields we might use on a cooler day. We drop the pace right down and take things a lot easier generally, but I don't stop a dog having its high-energy moments if it genuinely wants one. It's about reading each dog rather than applying a blanket rule.

Some dogs need far more care than others

Not every dog handles heat the same way, and this is something I take seriously enough that I'm currently studying for an Ofqual Level 2 Award in Canine Care & Welfare to back up what I've learned on the ground.

Brachycephalic breeds - pugs, French bulldogs, bulldogs, and similar flat-faced dogs - genuinely shouldn't be walked in very high temperatures. Their shorter airways make panting, which is a dog's main way of cooling down, far less effective. The RSPCA lists flat-faced breeds alongside overweight dogs, dogs with heart or respiratory conditions, and thick-coated breeds as being at the highest risk of heatstroke, and that lines up exactly with what I see in the parks (RSPCA: Dogs Die on Hot Walks). If you own one of these breeds, hot weather isn't the day to push for a big walk, no matter how much they might want to go.

The mistake I see owners make most often

Honestly, the most common thing I see is owners walking their dogs in hot weather because they fancy a walk themselves, without really clocking how quickly a dog can overheat. It happens especially with small dogs, which people tend to assume are lower risk simply because of their size. A short-legged, close-to-the-tarmac dog is dealing with radiant heat off the pavement as well as air temperature, and that combination can catch owners out fast.

A simple check I'd recommend to any dog owner, not just my clients, is to press the back of your hand against the pavement for five seconds. If it's too hot for your hand, it's too hot for your dog's paws, and that's usually a good sign the whole walk needs rethinking, not just the route.

How I decide whether it's actually safe to walk

I check the weather forecast the night before, not the morning of, so I can plan properly rather than react. If it's looking hot, I'll arrange an early pickup so we're out and back before the real heat builds up. That one habit — planning the night before instead of on the day — is what lets me keep offering a full dog walking service in East London right through summer, rather than cancelling walks last minute or pushing dogs to exercise in conditions that aren't fair on them.

Get in touch

If you're not sure whether your dog's current walking routine is right for the summer months, or you want a dog walker who actually adjusts plans around the weather rather than sticking rigidly to a schedule, I'm always happy to chat. Get in touch to check availability for morning walks across Hackney, Victoria Park, Wanstead Park and the Lea Valley.