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What Is The Maximum Temperature For Walking A Husky?


Pawbla

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Hello!

 

My mom owns a Husky mix (very Husky-ish though, a very similar build and very similar hair type). He's the typical dog that won't care about freezing temperatures, so I want to be very careful regarding summer temperatures. It's summer where I live and since my mom hardly walks him, every time I come here for the holidays I try to walk him at least every other day (because there are a lot of dogs and they don't all behave when being walked together).

 

My questions are mainly two:

  • What temperature is too hot for a husky when walking in the shade?
  • What temperature is too hot when walking in the sun?

 

I'd be very grateful if you could answer these. Thanks a lot!

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Hey Paula, welcome on board. My Husky lives in a tropical country where it's perpetually above 25C. That does not mean he doesn't get walked. Though there's no fixed temperature guidelines, my general rule of thumb is to touch the pavement with the back of my hand. If it's too hot, then the walk is pushed back. If it's been a particularly hot day, try walking early in the morning or after sundown. There are also musher socks and all those paw protection gears to keep your dog walking during summer.

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It also depends on the duration of the walk. Temperatures were up at 44C yesterday where I am - although it is rare to get that hot, summer temps are frequently above 35C. Ronin will get a walk in the morning at around 20C and in the evening which can still be 30+. Yesterday he had two shorter 1km walks in the late afternoon early evening. I stick to the shade and carry water for him. The temp was 32 at that time so we took it slow and had stops for water. The overnight minimum was 25C so sometimes you need to make a judgement on whether a small slightly uncomfortable short walk or two is better than the dog going nuts from have no exercise  ;)

 

I would never take Ronin out for a walk in the middle of a Western Australian summer day. 

 

So it is hard to give better advice without knowing what your temperatures are like, your dogs condition (weight/fitness) and your intended duration of the walk. 

 

You are right to be careful with walking in heat as heat stress or heat stroke is very dangerous.

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Hello and welcome.

I would be mindful when walking in the heat due to heat exhaustion, the road/foot paths etc heat up and you don't want to damage his paws, check the floor if it has been hot with your hand...actually there are a number of different things to consider when doing it in the heat.

We're having 35-42degree heat here and i will not walk my dogs in it let alone leave them in the yard in it, it is only 34.1 degrees here today and they are inside, last night i walked them at 9:30pm when it was much cooler.

I'd suggest mentioning to your mum about walking him as all dogs deserve to go for a walk at lest once a day, if it is medical as to why she cannot walk him then suggest a dog walker and the days you are there you walk him. 

My two go out and free run everyday and they absolutely love it  :D  

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I live in a subtropical climate and have determined that it's never really too hot. The question is when does my dog decide it's too hot?

 

Before her 3/4 acre was fenced I took her to a baseball field to run in the late evening, along with a full gallon of cool water. She usually spent an hour at the baseball field, and drank most of that gallon of water in the meantime. Once her tongue was bright red and she was sitting in the shade for a full five minutes, it was time to go home.

 

I didn't walk her on cement sidewalks or anything like that but if you can't walk barefoot on it, your dog shouldn't either.

 

And if you need a laugh, here's how Sarah once decided to cool off during one of her baseball field summer days. I don't recommend this method, it took days to get the crud out of her coat.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jv1TMUWLCY

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The reason is behavioural, that's why I'll be walking her dogs to re-train them (besides getting him the much needed excercise).

 

Sarah is hilarious :D. My mom's dog doesn't like water very much. I once took him to the beach, and with much encouragement he got his paws in the sea ^_^. But in summer we can't because dogs are not actually allowed on the beach.

 

How do I know if the pavement is too hot? I obsessively check it but I don't know if it's too hot or I'm just over cautious. Does it have to be okay for walking long periods of time? I tried finding doggy shoes but all they have where I live are doggy socks.

 

If it was up to him, he'd walk on the hot pavement and in 35 degrees Celcius (no way on earth I'd go for a walk in 35 degrees Celcius though). I usually take water but I think he's too overexcited to drink. I always offer it to him but he never does. I don't want him to get a heat stroke just because he's overexcited.

 

Here the temperatures range around from 5 (41F, at night) to 35 degrees (95F) in summer, and from -15 (5F, at night) to 15 (59F) degrees in winter.

Usually the maximum temp is between 22 (71.6F) and 35 degrees in summer.

Also the temperature is very stable, it rises quickly from night temp to day temp and stays more or less the same throughout the day.

 

The problem is that I can't walk him at night or at certain times of the day (which would make this easier) because of the high crime rate around these parts. So while in my city I'd be comfortable walking at 8-9 pm with the dog, I'm not comfortable doing that here. They even steal dogs here, so I never walk my dog beyond 6pm and only in some parts. And I have some sleeping problems so I do most of my sleeping at morning (between 8am and 11am is when I sleep best). So while I'm trying to change my sleeping schedule, I'd like knowing if I can walk him meanwhile haha. I also have to walk my own dog and sometimes I walk the rest of her dogs so I have to split my time between them.

 

I also don't drive so I can't just take them to some open space. They have a big fenced yard but it's hardly any mental stimulation for them.

 

The walking distance for each dog is from 1 to 8 km depending on various factors (temperature is one, and how many dogs I've walked is another one haha).

 

How can I calculate? Or what should I watch out for? Sorry for the vagueness of my question, but it's been two 35 degrees days now and I haven't walked the dogs because I'm afraid it'll be bad for them.

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