Dogs cool themselves mainly by panting, which works poorly in humid air and hardly at all in a hot car. They do not sweat in any meaningful way. That single physiological fact explains almost everything about summer management, including why a dog can be in serious trouble on a day that feels merely pleasant to you.
Timing and ground
On warm days walk before eight in the morning and after nine in the evening. The middle of the day is for a short toilet break in shade, not for exercise, and a dog that misses a walk on the hottest afternoon of the year loses nothing.
Tarmac holds heat long after the air has cooled. Place the back of your hand on the surface and hold it for seven seconds: if you cannot, neither can your dog's pads, and burns from hot asphalt are a genuine summer presentation at veterinary practices. Grass, forest track and shaded valley paths are all substantially cooler than an open square in the upper town.
The car is the single most dangerous place. Interior temperatures rise dramatically within minutes, and cracked windows or shade do not prevent it. There is no version of this that is safe, including a quick errand.
Dogs with less margin
- Flat-faced breeds, bulldogs, French bulldogs, pugs, boxers: shortened airways make panting far less efficient, and they overheat at temperatures other dogs tolerate
- Elderly dogs and puppies, whose temperature regulation is less reliable
- Overweight dogs, where insulation and effort both work against them
- Thick or dark coats, which absorb and retain more heat
- Dogs with heart or airway disease, where the additional load is the problem
If your dog is in two of those categories, treat any day above the mid-twenties as a day for short shaded outings only.
Recognising heatstroke
Early: heavy, frantic panting, bright red gums, thick drool, a dog that is restless and cannot settle. Progressing: staggering, weakness, vomiting or diarrhoea, confusion, collapse, seizures. Body temperature in these cases is far above the normal range of roughly 38 to 39 degrees.
This is a medical emergency with a short window. Damage to the gut, kidneys and clotting system can continue after the dog appears to have recovered, which is why every case should be seen by a vet even if the dog seems better.
What to do, in order
- Move the dog into shade or an air-conditioned space immediately
- Pour or spray cool water over the whole body, particularly the neck, armpits, groin and paws, and keep it moving rather than leaving wet fur to insulate
- Use air movement, a fan, an open window in a moving car, to accelerate evaporation
- Offer small amounts of cool water if the dog is conscious and able to drink
- Telephone the vet while cooling is underway, and travel with the cooling continuing
Do not use ice-cold water to submerge a collapsed dog, and do not wrap the animal in wet towels that then sit warm against the skin. Cooling on the way to the clinic is the part that saves dogs.
Practical summer management
The shape of a summer day is different. Walk early and late, keep the middle of the day for indoor scent work and chews, and accept that on the hottest days the walk is replaced rather than shortened. Test the ground with the back of your hand before you set off: if you cannot hold it there for seven seconds, it is too hot for a dog that has no shoes.
Indoors, most flats here have no air conditioning, so close shutters and windows during the day and ventilate at night. Leave water in more than one place, give the dog access to the coolest floor in the flat, usually tiles in a bathroom or a hallway, and set that up before you leave rather than when you get home.
On walks, carry water and a collapsible bowl, choose shaded valley routes over open pavement, and skip the ball entirely: a dog will chase itself into heatstroke because you threw something. And the rule that has no exceptions, in any season and for any length of time, is that the dog does not wait in a parked car.
Travel and terraces
If you are travelling in summer, plan stops in shade, keep the air conditioning on the dog rather than the windscreen, and never leave the animal in the vehicle while you eat. On a terrace, ask for a shaded table, take water, and check the ground the dog is lying on: paving in full sun is hotter than the air by a wide margin.
Water hazards
Swimming is excellent exercise in hot weather, with three cautions. Blue-green algae blooms in still water in warm weather and is potentially fatal if a dog drinks or licks its coat afterwards: avoid water with discoloured scum and respect posted warnings. Rivers move faster than they look after summer storms. And a dog that drinks large amounts of water while swimming can develop serious problems, so break up long retrieving sessions.
Cooling that works, and cooling that does not
What works: moving the dog into shade or air conditioning immediately, pouring cool, not iced, water over the body with the emphasis on the neck, chest, belly and inside of the legs, a fan on wet fur, and letting the dog drink small amounts if it wants to.
What does not, and can make things worse: ice baths and iced water, which cause the surface blood vessels to constrict and slow heat loss, and covering the dog with a wet towel and leaving it in place, which traps heat once it warms up. If you use a towel, keep rewetting it. Cooling mats and cool coats are useful for prevention rather than for an emergency.
Never leave a dog in a parked car, not even for a few minutes with the window open, and not in an underground car park in the belief that it is cooler. The interior temperature rises far faster than most people expect, and it is the single most avoidable cause of fatal heatstroke.
Inside the flat
Most Luxembourg apartments have no air conditioning, and a top-floor flat in July can be hotter at four in the afternoon than the street. Close the shutters and windows during the day and ventilate at night, leave water in at least two places, and give the dog access to the coolest floor in the flat, usually tiles in a bathroom or a hallway. A dog left alone through the hottest hours needs that arrangement in place before you leave, not when you come home.
What to ask of anyone walking your dog
A professional adjusts rather than delivers the advertised distance regardless. That means moving walks earlier and later, choosing shaded routes, carrying water, shortening the outing, and on the worst days converting a walk into an indoor visit with a toilet break.
That is the standing policy at PAWLY: above roughly twenty-five degrees, walks move to shaded valley routes and become shorter, and on the hottest afternoons the booking becomes a home visit instead. The report says what was decided and why, so you know what your dog actually did.
General information for dog owners in Luxembourg, not veterinary or legal advice. For your own dog, ask your vet, a qualified behaviourist or your commune. How this journal is written and checked.
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