It is warm, your dog is bouncing at the door, and skipping the walk feels like the wrong answer. On a hot day it is often the right one.
Adolescent dogs are poor judges of this. They are fit, they are keen, and they will chase a ball in heat that has already stopped being safe.
Test the pavement, not the forecast
Air temperature tells you less than the ground does. Tarmac and paving hold heat long after the air has started to cool, and your dog walks on it with bare feet.
Press the back of your hand flat on the pavement and hold it there for 7 seconds.
If you want to lift your hand off before 7 seconds, the walk is off, or it moves to grass and shade only.
Check the stretch you actually walk on, not the shaded patch by your front door.
Move the walk, then shorten it
Walk early, before the ground has taken the sun, or late, once it has given the heat back.
Choose shade and grass over open pavement, even if it means a duller route.
Carry water and offer it every 10 minutes or so, before your dog looks like they need it.
Cut the distance rather than the pace. A short sniffing walk in the shade does more for an adolescent dog than a long one in the sun.
Leave the ball at home on hot days. Fast repetitive running is the part that overheats a dog fastest.
Days to skip the walk entirely
On the hottest days, no version of the walk is a good one, and a missed walk costs your dog nothing. Replace it indoors instead.
A scatter feed across the kitchen floor, or their whole meal in a food puzzle.
A chew on a mat for a settled 10 to 20 minutes.
Two or three minutes of easy training in the coolest room in the house.
Behaviour change is built from management plus reinforcement together, and a skipped walk on a hot day is management.
Safety note
Heatstroke is an emergency. Stop everything if your dog is panting hard and cannot settle, is drooling heavily, or seems unsteady, confused or weak. The same goes for a dog who collapses or vomits after being in the heat. Move them into shade, offer water, cool them with tap-temperature water on their body, and call your veterinarian immediately. Call on the way rather than waiting to see if it passes. Flat-faced dogs, very large dogs, overweight dogs and dogs with a heart or airway condition cope less well with heat. Speak to your veterinarian about what is reasonable for your dog before the hot weather arrives. Never leave your dog in a parked car, with the windows open or otherwise.
What to expect
The first few skipped or shortened walks are harder on you than on your dog. An adolescent dog who gets sniffing, chewing and food puzzles instead usually settles about as well as they would after a normal walk.
Today's version, in one line: hand on the pavement for 7 seconds before you clip the lead on, and move tomorrow's walk to 7am.