Heat, Humidity, and Your Dog’s Walk

June 29, 2026

Ryan

Baltimore summers are not subtle. By July, the air sits on you like a wet blanket, the pavement radiates heat you can feel through your shoes, and a walk that felt fine in May becomes something you have to think about carefully.

Your dog can’t tell you when they’re struggling. That’s on us.

Start with the pavement

Before you leave the house, press the back of your hand flat against the sidewalk and hold it there for seven seconds. If you can’t keep it there comfortably, your dog can’t walk on it comfortably either. Asphalt can reach 140°F on a hot day — enough to cause burns in under a minute.

Walk early or walk late. Before 9am or after 7pm is the rule in a Baltimore summer. Midday walks aren’t walks, they’re an endurance test nobody asked your dog to take. When it’s particularly hot out even Deez Muttz specifically leaves to walk your dog earlier in the day to avoid the height of the day’s temperatures.

If you’re caught out in the heat, stick to grass when you can. Parks, tree lines, the shaded side of the street. Oso has strong opinions about this. He will route himself toward shade without being asked, and his routine route takes us through Druid Hill Park’s Forest Drive section anyway.

Water is not optional

Bring more than you think you need. A dog can become dehydrated faster than you’d expect in high heat, especially on a longer walk or a co-walk where the energy stays up. Collapsible bowls are light and take up negligible space. There’s no good reason not to have one.

Signs your dog needs water now:

excessive panting
a dry nose
visible fatigue
losing interest in the walk

That last one is the clearest signal — a dog who suddenly doesn’t want to move anymore is a dog who is telling you something.

Whenever we return from a walk on a summer day we add ice to your pup’s water dish and refill it. We also hang out with them for a bit to ensure they’ve cooled down and are comfortable before we leave.

Know the signs of heat exhaustion

Heat exhaustion in dogs moves fast. Watch for:

Heavy, labored panting that doesn’t slow down
Drooling more than usual
Bright red or pale gums
Stumbling or disorientation
Vomiting

If you’re seeing any of these, get your dog out of the sun immediately. Wet their paws and belly with cool — not cold — water. Offer water to drink but don’t force it. Get them to a vet as fast as you can. Heat stroke kills dogs. It is not a wait-and-see situation.

What we do on hot days

Our walks get shorter in July and August. Not because we’re cutting corners — because a 20-minute walk in 90-degree heat with 80% humidity is harder on your dog than a 45-minute run in October. We carry water, we stick to shade, we read how the dog is doing and adjust accordingly.

Oso and Thumper get checked on paws-to-pavement before we go anywhere. Oso’s low to the ground and darker-colored, which means he absorbs heat faster than a bigger dog might. And while Oso will, Thumper has approximately zero interest in powering through discomfort, which makes him an excellent barometer. We try to let your dog lead the way. Get out, get the main business accomplished quickly if we can, and then back into the comfort of the house, iced down water dish and access to a room with A/C.

End on a high note: Frosty Paws

Here’s the thing about a Baltimore summer walk done right — it ends with a treat.

Oso loves Frosty Paws. If you haven’t encountered them, they’re frozen dog treats that look like tiny ice cream cups and cause a level of excitement in a Pomeranian that verges on violence. We’ve started checking whether the snowball stand or the ice cream spot I choose keeps them in stock, and we go out of our way to get them. It’s becoming a thing. Tropicool Italian Ice up on Falls Road has them and we sometimes make the trek up via light rail just to indulge ourselves a bit.