24/05/2026
Nobody needs another post on how important it is not to take your dog out on a hot day, so here are Milo's tips for hot weather outings!
Milo refuses to toilet in the garden. He's been with me 12 years. The one time I tried giving him no choice he got an off tummy and ended up with colitis and at the vets 🫠 So yes. We walk in the heat.
Not far. But we do.
So... Moo's top 3 tips are: Shade. Grassy surfaces. Steady pace.
Then if course we have: Hydration. Cooling coat. Short outing for toileting and gentle sniffs. No fast paced nonsense. (This is where your teenage loons with no off switch or sense do better skipping the outing!).
If your dog likes water, somewhere wooded with a stream or river. But again, remember we're aiming for chilled and steady, not vigorous exercise, even if swimming! 👌
Think less about exercise and more about mooching, or calm people watching from one location.
Air con if travelling in the car, with windows covers for shade. Do NOT leave your dog in the car unattended. Not even for a couple of minutes.
Hydration? And a cooling coat! I repeat, Hydration and a cooling coat!!!
If your dog is floofy and they, like Milo, need to get out on hot days to toilet, or just to avoid them imploading, then speak to your groomer about shaving them.
And most importantly keep a check on their vitals as you go, constantly, moment to moment. Heart and breath rate. Gum colour. How much they're panting. KNOW the small signs that suggest heat is getting to them and at the first sign of them getting a bit too hot call it quits and help them actively cool down.
You only really need to be out if your dog is like Milo and needs to toilet out on a walk. Exercise is still better done early and late, or in air con if you're lucky enough to have that!
Unable to switch off and over heating anyway from going stir crazy? Sniffy scent games, teach new low impact tricks or obedience skills to work their brain and of course, crating/tethering are always good back ups if they wont/cant switch off and chill out!
Theres no 2 ways about it. Heat kills. Often. If you dont NEED to be out in it, dont be! But, if you have a dog like Milo hopefully this helps
