How long can a dog safely lay in the hot sun?

[DanielleDL]

Bobby loves laying in the midday sun, but it's 87 degrees today. How long is safe to let him lay out there (on a concrete patio, btw)? Can I just trust that when he gets too hot, he'll either move to the shade or come inside? Or do we have to limit his time out there?

 

[aruna]

Great question, @DanielleDL ! We have a great resource on heat stroke that covers a little bit of that and could be a great thing to learn about now that it's getting hot - you can find the Heatstroke HMDM handout by clicking here and scrolling to handout section.

 

[DanielleDL]

@aruna - Great! Thanks so much! I'll check it out.

 

[aruna]

@Dr. Jeff, any input on this?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks for pointing out Danielle's post Aruna.

How long he can lie out will depend on his individual heat tolerance. If he has access to cool water the length of time will be longer than if he doesnt.

However, it's probably best to not take walks for more than a few minutes or to play with him in this heat. Especially if it is also very humid.