04/07/2026
A very well written post which sums up how a lot of dog walkers are feeling right now! Just when we get a bit of normality back, weโve got to reschedule walks and contact clients over the weekend again to make sure all your pups are safe.
More frequent and extreme heatwaves means we lose income, but ultimately, weโd rather put your petsโ safety and welfare first, even if it means we lose money and sleep from all the early mornings!
Are we about to lose some of our best dog professionals?
This week I came across a post from another dog walker that really stopped me scrolling.
The comments underneath were heartbreaking.
Dog walkers. Trainers. Pet professionals.
People who have spent years building businesses they love, quietly talking about leaving the industry altogether.
Not because they donโt love dogs.
Not because they donโt want to do the job anymore.
Because theyโre struggling to make it financially viable.
The latest heatwave is just one part of it.
Summer is already one of the hardest times of year for many of us. Families go on holiday, teachers are off for six weeks and donโt always need regular walks, routines change and diaries become quieter.
Then the heat arrives.
As self-employed dog professionals, we donโt get paid when itโs unsafe to work. Thereโs no sick pay. No weather pay. No company absorbing the loss.
Every cancelled walk is money gone.
For trainers, itโs often even more difficult. A cancelled class doesnโt just mean losing one eveningโs income. It pushes the whole course back, delays the next intake and creates a domino effect that can take weeks, sometimes months, to recover from.
Most of us arenโt looking for excuses not to work.
Weโre setting alarms for 5am. Rearranging our entire day. Walking dogs before most people have had their first coffee because thatโs when itโs safest.
Weโre grouping compatible dogs together, reshuffling routes, swapping walks for drop-ins and constantly checking the forecast to work out how we can still give dogs the exercise, enrichment and care they need without compromising their welfare.
Weโre not charging โunsociable hoursโ rates.
Weโre doing it because we still want your dogs to get out, have fun and enjoy their dayโbut they need to do it safely.
And when the temperature reaches the point where even an early morning walk isnโt safe, thatโs when we make the difficult decision to cancel.
Not because we donโt want to work.
Because your dogโs welfare has to come first.
โBut dogs live in Spain and Australiaโฆโ
I hear this every summer.
The difference is that those dogs are acclimatised to living in hot climates. Their daily routines are built around the heat, theyโre exercised at cooler times of the day, and theyโve adapted over time to those conditions.
Our dogs havenโt.
Most UK dogs spend the majority of the year in temperatures somewhere between 5ยฐC and 18ยฐC. Then, almost overnight, theyโre expected to exercise in temperatures pushing 25-30ยฐC, often with high humidity and very little shade.
Dogs donโt cool themselves like we do. They rely mainly on panting, and once they begin to overheat, things can deteriorate frighteningly quickly.
Heatstroke isnโt just โgetting a bit too warm.โ
Itโs a medical emergency that can cause organ failure, brain damage and, in some cases, can be fatal.
Thatโs why so many of us are changing how we work.
For me, that means earlier walks where itโs safe, grouping compatible dogs together, drop-in visits instead of walks on the hottest days, or postponing walks altogether if there simply isnโt a safe option.
In six years of running my business, Iโd never cancelled a walk because of the heat until last week.
But Iโd rather disappoint a client for one day than risk a dogโs life.
โธป
Ironically, dog walkers spend half the year moaning about the rain, mud and endless wet weather.
But give most of us the choice?
Weโll take the rain every single time.
Rain is uncomfortable.
Mud is messy.
Heat can kill.
We can dry off after getting soaked through. We can wash muddy paws and waterproofs. We canโt undo heatstroke.
โธป
If youโre able to support your dog walker through the hotter days, there are ways to do it that genuinely help.
If your dog doesnโt need a visit because someone is home, consider treating a cancelled walk as an advance rather than cancelling it altogether.
Youโve already budgeted for your dogโs care that week. Paying your walker as normal helps keep their income stable, and they can repay that by fitting in an extra walk once the weather is safe again.
Most of us would much rather give you an extra walk in September than risk your dog in July.
If your walker offers a drop-in instead, please donโt think youโre getting โless.โ
When itโs 28-30ยฐC, most dogs donโt want an hour of activity. They want fresh water, the chance to toilet, a bit of company, maybe a game or some enrichment, and then to stretch out somewhere cool.
Your walker may also have another 25 or 30 dogs to get to that day. Spending an hour in every home simply isnโt possible, but making sure every dog is safe, comfortable and cared for absolutely is.
โธป
If your dog walker messages next week to rearrange a walk because of the heat, remember this:
Theyโre probably losing money by making that decision.
They arenโt doing it because itโs easier.
Theyโre doing it because itโs the right thing for your dog.
A little patience, understanding and flexibility goes a very long way.
Because the reality is that more and more experienced dog professionals are questioning whether they can afford to stay in this industry.
Support the professionals who put your dogโs welfare before their own earnings. Theyโre the people worth keeping.
๐พ๐ฉท๐พ
