01/07/2026
Dont panic, im not going anywhere 🩷
This post was written so eloquently I couldn't not share it - they are spot on! 🙌🏻
I was due to have a week off next week but ive decided to cancel and keep working because we are due another heatwave - thats 3 so far and we are only just in July as of today! So it is just not feasible to lose more money by being off for the week when we realistically have another 2 months of potential hot weather affecting my income.
I adore my job and I love looking after and walking all my dogs every single day! The heat is the downside of being a dog walker and I will continue to do my best to reschedule walks at the crack of dawn and pop in at lunchtimes.
Before we know it, itll be winter and all us dog walkers can relax.. and embrace the mud again 🤣🫠
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 don’t love dogs.
Not because they don’t want to do the job anymore.
Because they’re 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 don’t always need regular walks, routines change and diaries become quieter.
Then the heat arrives.
As self-employed dog professionals, we don’t get paid when it’s unsafe to work. There’s no sick pay. No weather pay. No company absorbing the loss.
Every cancelled walk is money gone.
For trainers, it’s often even more difficult. A cancelled class doesn’t just mean losing one evening’s 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 aren’t looking for excuses not to work.
We’re setting alarms for 5am. Rearranging our entire day. Walking dogs before most people have had their first coffee because that’s when it’s safest.
We’re 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.
We’re not charging “unsociable hours” rates.
We’re doing it because we still want your dogs to get out, have fun and enjoy their day—but they need to do it safely.
And when the temperature reaches the point where even an early morning walk isn’t safe, that’s when we make the difficult decision to cancel.
Not because we don’t want to work.
Because your dog’s welfare has to come first.
“But dogs live in Spain and Australia…”
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, they’re exercised at cooler times of the day, and they’ve adapted over time to those conditions.
Our dogs haven’t.
Most UK dogs spend the majority of the year in temperatures somewhere between 5°C and 18°C. Then, almost overnight, they’re expected to exercise in temperatures pushing 25-30°C, often with high humidity and very little shade.
Dogs don’t cool themselves like we do. They rely mainly on panting, and once they begin to overheat, things can deteriorate frighteningly quickly.
Heatstroke isn’t just “getting a bit too warm.”
It’s a medical emergency that can cause organ failure, brain damage and, in some cases, can be fatal.
That’s why so many of us are changing how we work.
For me, that means earlier walks where it’s safe, grouping compatible dogs together, drop-in visits instead of walks on the hottest days, or postponing walks altogether if there simply isn’t a safe option.
In six years of running my business, I’d never cancelled a walk because of the heat until last week.
But I’d rather disappoint a client for one day than risk a dog’s life.
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Ironically, dog walkers spend half the year moaning about the rain, mud and endless wet weather.
But give most of us the choice?
We’ll 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 can’t undo heatstroke.
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If you’re able to support your dog walker through the hotter days, there are ways to do it that genuinely help.
If your dog doesn’t need a visit because someone is home, consider treating a cancelled walk as an advance rather than cancelling it altogether.
You’ve already budgeted for your dog’s 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 don’t think you’re getting “less.”
When it’s 28-30°C, most dogs don’t 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 isn’t possible, but making sure every dog is safe, comfortable and cared for absolutely is.
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If your dog walker messages next week to rearrange a walk because of the heat, remember this:
They’re probably losing money by making that decision.
They aren’t doing it because it’s easier.
They’re doing it because it’s 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 dog’s welfare before their own earnings. They’re the people worth keeping.
🐾🩷🐾
