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About Dog Heat Notes
Dog Heat Notes is a small, free library about one thing: keeping dogs safe in hot weather. It's written for ordinary dog households - clear steps, no jargon, no miracle promises - and it's made by the team behind PawLine, a research-based dog and cat Q&A app. PawLine app, patent pending.
How the guides are written
Each guide starts from the questions people actually ask, then gets built from peer-reviewed open-access research and public health agencies, linked below. We keep wording neutral, name the source when a claim matters, and avoid invented statistics - every temperature on this site traces to a named source. These guides are general information, not veterinary advice - your vet knows your dog.
Sources
- Dogs Don't Die Just in Hot Cars - Exertional Heat-Related Illness (Heatstroke) Is a Greater Threat to UK Dogs - Hall, Carter & O'Neill, Animals 2020 (open access, CC BY 4.0): what actually triggers heat illness in dogs (exercise 74%, environment 13%, hot cars 5%), which breeds and skull shapes carry the highest odds, and why heat illness is a year-round risk.
- Incidence and risk factors for heat-related illness (heatstroke) in UK dogs - Hall, Carter & O'Neill, Scientific Reports 2020 (open access, CC BY 4.0): how common heat illness is, the roughly 1-in-7 fatality rate, and the breed, weight and age factors that raise risk.
- Hall et al. 2022, Veterinary Sciences 9(5):231 In the UK study, the median maximum daily WBGT on heat-related illness event days was 16.9°C (62°F). WBGT is a heat-stress index combining air temperature, radiant heat, humidity and wind, not an ordinary air temperature or a safety limit. The researchers used the nearest available weather station for each event day. No number or checklist can confirm that a walk is safe. Choose cooler hours, shade, grass and gentle activity; stop if your dog seems unwell. If heat illness is suspected, start cooling and call a vet immediately. Do not delay urgent veterinary care to take a temperature.
- Cooling Methods Used to Manage Heat-Related Illness in Dogs - Hall et al., Veterinary Sciences 2023 (open access, CC BY 4.0): "cool first, transport second", the two recommended cooling methods (immersion, or water plus moving air), and why wet towels and rubbing alcohol fall short.
- Heat stroke in dogs: literature review - Caldas et al., Veterinární Medicína 2022 (open access): the clinical picture - body-temperature thresholds, signs, complications, and why organ damage can surface days later.
- Heat stress from enclosed vehicles - McLaren, Null & Quinn, Pediatrics 2005: the primary study behind the parked-car temperature-rise figures, measured on 16 clear days between 72 and 96°F.
- Heat-induced illness in dogs: 42 cases - Drobatz & Macintire, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 1996: the classic case series on survival and outcomes.
- Heat and Pets - US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (public domain): why a parked car's interior can rise almost 20°F in the first 10 minutes, windows cracked or not.
- Children, Pets and Vehicles - US National Weather Service (public domain): never leave a pet in a parked vehicle - hyperthermia can strike even on a mild day.
- Travel Training for You and Your Pets - US Food and Drug Administration (public domain): on an 80°F day, a car's interior can reach 114°F in 30 minutes.
- Heat and pets - Agriculture Victoria, Australia: government animal-welfare guidance on hot-weather care, hot surfaces, and the legal line Victoria draws at 28°C (82°F) for dogs left in cars.
PawLine, the app behind this site
PawLine answers dog and cat questions with research-based responses tailored to your pet's breed, age, history and situation - including hot-weather questions about your own dog's build and routine. Free to download; see the store listing for current offers, pricing and trial terms.