Pavement Paws Is the ground too hot to walk?
Pavement Paws estimates how hot the ground gets in full sun today and tells you when to walk your dog. It turns the local forecast into a plan for asphalt, concrete, artificial turf and grass, rates the heat and the cold for each of your dogs, and can give you a heads-up on hot days.
Guides
- Getting started with Pavement Paws Let it find you, pick what you walk on, plan the day, and tell it about your dog.
- How your dog's heat and cold risk works Why the ground and your dog are two different questions, how the heat risk and the winter cold bands are worked out, and where the numbers come from.
When to walk, not just how hot
Pavement Paws turns the local forecast into a plan for the day: "Walkies before 12:00 or after 17:00". The chart shows how the ground heats up through the day, how long it stays too hot for paws, and why the pavement is still warm in the evening after the air has cooled.
Asphalt, concrete, turf or grass
Pick the ground you walk on. Dark asphalt gets hottest, artificial turf even more, concrete a little less, and real grass stays close to the air. On a day when the street says Quick sniff only, the park can still be Happy paws.
Your dogs in the cold
In winter each dog gets a band for the day, from Fine and Coat on to Short walks and Quick breaks only, with the best time to go. It counts wind and sun the way the weather feels for people outdoors, so an icy wind shows up, and small, young and old dogs feel it sooner. When the ground freezes, it says when the ice goes.
A heads-up and two widgets
Switch on a morning heads-up and Pavement Paws tells you on hot days only, early enough to walk before the heat. An evening one tells you when the ground cools down. The ground widget and the Dog heat risk widget keep the answer a glance away, for one dog or all of them together.
Pavement Paws gives an estimate for pavement in full sun, not a measurement. Shade stays closer to the air temperature, and you see the ground in front of you. When in doubt, put the back of your hand on the pavement: if you can't hold it there for 7 seconds, it's too hot for paws.