04/07/2026
A very well written post which sums up how a lot of dog walkers are feeling right now! Just when we get a bit of normality back, weβve got to reschedule walks and contact clients over the weekend again to make sure all your pups are safe.
More frequent and extreme heatwaves means we lose income, but ultimately, weβd rather put your petsβ safety and welfare first, even if it means we lose money and sleep from all the early mornings!
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 donβt love dogs.
Not because they donβt want to do the job anymore.
Because theyβre 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 donβt always need regular walks, routines change and diaries become quieter.
Then the heat arrives.
As self-employed dog professionals, we donβt get paid when itβs unsafe to work. Thereβs no sick pay. No weather pay. No company absorbing the loss.
Every cancelled walk is money gone.
For trainers, itβs often even more difficult. A cancelled class doesnβt just mean losing one eveningβs 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 arenβt looking for excuses not to work.
Weβre setting alarms for 5am. Rearranging our entire day. Walking dogs before most people have had their first coffee because thatβs when itβs safest.
Weβre 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.
Weβre not charging βunsociable hoursβ rates.
Weβre doing it because we still want your dogs to get out, have fun and enjoy their dayβbut they need to do it safely.
And when the temperature reaches the point where even an early morning walk isnβt safe, thatβs when we make the difficult decision to cancel.
Not because we donβt want to work.
Because your dogβs welfare has to come first.
βBut dogs live in Spain and Australiaβ¦β
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, theyβre exercised at cooler times of the day, and theyβve adapted over time to those conditions.
Our dogs havenβt.
Most UK dogs spend the majority of the year in temperatures somewhere between 5Β°C and 18Β°C. Then, almost overnight, theyβre expected to exercise in temperatures pushing 25-30Β°C, often with high humidity and very little shade.
Dogs donβt cool themselves like we do. They rely mainly on panting, and once they begin to overheat, things can deteriorate frighteningly quickly.
Heatstroke isnβt just βgetting a bit too warm.β
Itβs a medical emergency that can cause organ failure, brain damage and, in some cases, can be fatal.
Thatβs why so many of us are changing how we work.
For me, that means earlier walks where itβs safe, grouping compatible dogs together, drop-in visits instead of walks on the hottest days, or postponing walks altogether if there simply isnβt a safe option.
In six years of running my business, Iβd never cancelled a walk because of the heat until last week.
But Iβd rather disappoint a client for one day than risk a dogβs life.
βΈ»
Ironically, dog walkers spend half the year moaning about the rain, mud and endless wet weather.
But give most of us the choice?
Weβll 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 canβt undo heatstroke.
βΈ»
If youβre able to support your dog walker through the hotter days, there are ways to do it that genuinely help.
If your dog doesnβt need a visit because someone is home, consider treating a cancelled walk as an advance rather than cancelling it altogether.
Youβve already budgeted for your dogβs 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 donβt think youβre getting βless.β
When itβs 28-30Β°C, most dogs donβt 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 isnβt possible, but making sure every dog is safe, comfortable and cared for absolutely is.
βΈ»
If your dog walker messages next week to rearrange a walk because of the heat, remember this:
Theyβre probably losing money by making that decision.
They arenβt doing it because itβs easier.
Theyβre doing it because itβs 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 dogβs welfare before their own earnings. Theyβre the people worth keeping.
πΎπ©·πΎ
