24/05/2026
🔥Bank Holiday Monday🔥
There will be NO walks on Monday after 9am
The weather next week remains high. The discrepancy between weather apps is driving us absolutely barmy, but when it's a possibility of 26 degrees at 10am, we just can't take the risk! Please remember that every dog is different and temperature dangers can vary by breed, age, and weight! What is safe for one, may not be safe for others and anything above 21 degrees is considered risky for the majority of our pups! For our flat faces, we seriously consider the safety at 18 degrees. Please believe us when we say, we do not want to cancel walks, Summer brings new levels of stress for dog walkers as we try to manage those pups who normally walk with friends, whose owners are not home during the day. What normally takes us two hours in safe, group walk conditions now takes us four, and that's just the dogs we can see. Owners at home get cancelled, social pups miss out, and the dogs home alone aren't the only one's needing enrichment. Frankly, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself!
We're taking it day by day, hour by hour. As always, please, please let us know if you are home during a heatwave and keep an eye on the temperatures yourselves! For pups that we know are usually home alone, we make them our priority and their walks will be replaced with garden play so if you're home and don't need your replacement service, let us know ASAP!
✨ Now for a small public service announcement on behalf of the team and our other wonderful professional services in the area!✨
🔥 It's not because we're lazy!
When you look at the forecast and think, it's probably fine, we look at all of the factors;
🐶 We look at the dogs. Are they old? Overweight? Not as fit as we'd hope? Are they a flat-faced breed? Are they single coated or double coated? Are they light or dark?
🕒 We look at the time. It's not just about what time the walk starts, it's also about what time the walk ends. One hour can change the game entirely, meaning 20 degrees at 9am but 24 degrees at 10am might mean a walk cut short or simply cancelled. We won't risk it!
☀️ We look at the position of the sun. Would the walk be in direct sunlight? Do we have access to shade and water? Is it cooler now but it wasn't two hours ago and the pavements are still cooking eggs? We'll have no burnt paws on our watch!
🌬️ We look at other factors in the weather. It's not just the temperature. If there's a breeze dispersing that heat, we might have a lovely walk! No breeze = high humidity and that humidity can be a silent precursor to serious heatstroke! If you don't fancy a stroll, fully dressed (no shorts, full sleeves) then we can't expect our pups to do it in a fur coat!
🚙 We look at the car. Now, we all have lovely air conditioning in the car and sometimes this can lead us to thinking that the outside temperature is cooler than it is! But most of our pups are social stars and come out with us to meet their friends! Can we safely pick up four dogs, leaving pups waiting for us to run inside and grab another, knowing that they won't overheat? Or do we leave the car running, reaping the benefits of that air con but risking theft? Absolutely not! ❌
🗺️ We look at acclimatisation... Until we don't. We've all heard it! Dogs in other countries still get walked in the heat so why can't our dogs? Because they're not used to it! The UK is not a tropical climate year round, our temperatures swing from extreme highs to extreme lows and sometimes in the same week! Dogs (and humans!) cannot acclimate to hot weather in the UK because it just isn't our standard! It can take up to two months of constant heat to acclimate, and even then, this must be done slowly and safely! It's not going to happen by Monday.
Please remember that we are professionals, if we can't walk, we lose as well. Safety comes above all other factors and if we've cancelled, there is a reason! 🔥🔥🔥
