The answer
Yes. In this footage heat is not background weather; it is the ceiling on the session, and in summer on the whole program. It decides where the trainers work (shade, grass rather than blacktop, a park with shaded paths, shaded trails because dogs 'get hotter faster than we do'; the facility keeps artificial turf to a minimum because it can run 60 to 70 degrees hotter than the ground, and on hot concrete Kalypso wears dog socks), when they work (the cooler part of the day: 'a little later in the day'; one trainer's summer routine is outside in the morning, inside at peak heat, outside again when it cools, Fiona), how many repetitions they run, and when they stop.
The trainers name signs that end a session, and they are things an owner can see or hear. Drooling: 'if he were to like start drooling or anything we would be done immediately' (Deuce), and drooling in direct sun is called 'a very early sign of a dog getting a little too hot' (Chunk). Tongues out: 'get another rep or two in and then put them up', because after that the return 'goes in the toilet' (Sage's group). Breathing: 'I can hear her breathing' (Stormie); sneezing and heavy breathing cap a dog at 'a couple at a time' (Savage). Slowing down and losing interest: a bully breed 'moving at a slower' pace (Stormie), a dog who does not care about the toy 'because of the heat' (Reaper Wolf). Red or glassy eyes: 'his eyes are like already getting red' (Titan); after about fifteen minutes Chunk's eyes glaze and he 'disassociates'. And the one Dutchess's trainer treats as the rule: when the dog stops paying attention, the session is over.
Bully and flat-faced breeds get a hard ceiling with the reason attached. One trainer keeps them to 'no more than 20 to 30 minutes' on a walk because of how they take in air (Dutchess); others get about fifteen minutes out of a heat-sensitive dog (Titan, Chunk). The trainers say the handler's own endurance is not the measure: 'i can put up with a lot more than the dog can' (Stormie). Two trainers say they have had heat exhaustion or heat stroke themselves from not stopping (Rocky, Madam); Rocky's trainer's rule is that a dog who looks tired or hot goes straight back to shade and water. And heat changes the diagnosis, not just the dose: a husky who keeps lying down when asked to sit is judged to be hot, not disobedient, because indoors he stays sitting; a looser sit on a hot day is put down to the heat rather than the dog (Dutchess).
The cap is set by the weather, not fixed to the dog: Stormi's trainer usually cannot do 'more than 15 minutes with her a day', but on a cooled-off day in the shade he can work her longer, and Mazi's trainer says the same of a cooler week ('these sessions i'm doing can be a little longer'). When Stormi is hot and tiring, her trainer still asks for one more sit before ending, so the session does not close on a command she skipped (Kelton has ruled that finishing a command or stopping at once is judged on the dog and the day). The trainers also work around it. Shade 'extends the training session' (Kodak). Water is carried on a 94-degree day because 'even the healthiest, strongest dogs' can succumb to heat exhaustion (Reaper Wolf). A cool-down in the air-conditioned car is planned in (Stormie). A tiring game is run in small sets and moved to the cooler part of the day (Pepper). Summer is 'the worst time to be a dog trainer' (Dolce).
A different kind of heat is handled another way: a female in season has her session lightened, not only stopped. Dolce is worked on reduced demand rather than rested ('I won't push you too hard'), with the change in her read as slight. Callie's day-two session, as she comes out of her heat, is kept 'light' rather than cancelled - loose walking, recall and the 'yes' marker. Her go-home trainer adds the other side from memory: the day before the heat she had little motivation, and during it she was 'walking all funny' - 'not a good time to train'. Kelton's answer (23 Sep) is that heat handling is all context dependent: how far to lighten, or whether to pause, is judged on the dog in front of you.
No single number from these sessions is a safe limit for another dog on another day; the minutes vary by dog, and the trainers stop on the signs. Our inference, not said on film: that is why so much summer footage is short, and why a session that ends after ten minutes is not a failed session.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
Test hot ground with your hand before asking for a sit or down (watch 11:21), and with a bully or flat-faced breed keep walks short (watch 23:05). If your female is in season, lighten the session rather than push her; how much is judged dog by dog (watch 08:42; watch 03:17).
What the trainers say
he's just working um if he were to like start drooling or anything we would be done immediately
I don't want to work him in the sun though. That just feels cruel.
Yeah, so when all the punks are out, that's when you know, like, okay. Yeah, like if you wanna do another, like one more rep, if you can, you can, or if you think you already got what you wanted out of it, you're good. Yeah, get another rep or two in and then put them up. Because otherwise, the ROI goes, the ROI goes in the toilet for it.
i actually today i had a dog we only worked for 10 minutes because she got hot and i was like all right we're done yeah i'm not once they're not paying attention
doing like a walk i try not to keep them out for more than 20 to 30 minutes because the flat like the flat base They take in air.
i'm tired but you know i can put up with a lot more than the dog can in terms of once they're actually hot they're done
it's funny you really have to think about their biological um status like like and and like how their psychological status is affecting their biological status but also how the environment is affecting it as an example if they are overwhelmed or scared or anxious that can shorten training sessions right
a strategy that can be helpful on sunny days where it's hot is to take them to a place like this and stay in the shade as much of the time as possible because that extends the training session
but that's a very early sign of a dog
a very healthy, very strong dog. But even the healthiest, strongest dogs and healthiest,
The worst time to be a dog trainer is the summer, the second worst time is the winter.
like even most of my sessions right now we've had to like cut him up in bits just because he gets hot so fast and like i don't i don't want to be that like evil dog trainer
Callie is just coming out of her heat cycle so we're gonna keep it light today
walking all funny I'm like oh my god this is not a good time to train poor baby
lot of the dogs they get hot easy stormy gets hot really fast so i i really haven't been able to do more than 15 minutes with her a day um but today it's nice and cooled off a little bit especially in the shade so like i can work her more than i usually would
It's pretty hot out here, so I'm gonna try to make her sit one more time, just because I don't want to end the session on a note where she feels like, oh, I don't gotta sit, right?
It is pretty hot though, so. Can't wait till it cools down. I don't have to worry about a dog, you know, giving out if I accidentally spend a little too much time.
it's cooler outside so these sessions i'm doing can be a little longer
to go to trails that are shaded for me and for the dog yeah because for the dog it's like yeah they get hotter faster than we do normally
artificial turf at our facility but we kind of keep it to a minimum to be honest because people
what i was telling him what i've been doing is like i work with the dogs in the morning outside it's cool and then i work with the dogs inside during peak heat
Especially during the summer and stuff, obviously. Like, with heat, take that into account. Like, don't let her get too worked up in the heat, you know.
he's fine but it's just you know i don't want to risk it
avoid the dog getting too hot because uh i just don't if i notice they're like getting tired or hot i'm just saying take them back yeah get them in the shade and get them water and stuff
for they'll start to be a little longer once we uh once this weather cools down
it's it's warm outside so i just you can overwork a dog sometimes it can be hot but it's the heat combined with the intense activity basically you can sometimes overwork a dog
How it looks, dog by dog
Deuce
A bully breed worked through a hot summer. Every command goes on grass, shade is chosen for mentally draining work, and the trainer names a checkable stop sign: drooling ends the session at once, because a Rottweiler once sat down and refused to move on him. He will not work the dog in the sun when shade is there.
On film
he's just working um if he were to like start drooling or anything we would be done immediately
started sitting and he was like i'm not moving and he was like drooling and stuff
we're kind of hanging out in this shaded area here because he's a bully breed
I want to try to keep him in a shaded area because the work that I'm trying to get him to do is mentally a little bit draining
Dutchess
A flat-faced bully breed whose whole program ran through a hot summer. Walks are capped at twenty to thirty minutes with the breathing reason attached, and the stopping rule is attention rather than the clock. Heat is also named as the cause of a looser sit rather than the dog being blamed, and on a hot day she is let into the water when she wants.
On film
doing like a walk i try not to keep them out for more than 20 to 30 minutes because the flat like the flat base They take in air.
i actually today i had a dog we only worked for 10 minutes because she got hot and i was like all right we're done
so that's the thing in the heat I've noticed that's a that just sit a little more of a tendency with her
And it's hot. So, if she wants to go into it in a minute, I'll let her.
Sage
A nervous dog who overheats fast, so heat had to be separated from her nerves. Outdoor sessions rarely passed thirty minutes because of it; shade is found at once; hot ground is tested by hand before a sit; and in her group the tongues-out rule is stated: one or two more repetitions, then put them up. A dog that has tapped out in the heat is rested, not worked again.
On film
most of the outdoor sessions don't take a lot of more longer than like 30 minutes i think there's like two that were longer than 30 minutes they were outdoors that's because of the heat
I know it's pretty hot out out here. Get into the shade ASAP.
Sage, sit. Sit. It's not that hot, I already tested it. Sit.
the only one I have not worked with is this dog here because apparently she tapped out earlier and was just like yeah she was down earlier
Stormie
Heat cuts an owner lesson short, explains a slowing tempo, buys a planned cool-down in the air-conditioned car, is read off her breathing, and on the last day caps the session at ten to fifteen minutes before it starts.
On film
any of the bully breed dogs like this like I talked about all the time especially this summer just because like you can see her moving at a slower
of hot. So we'll go, we're going to do a little cool down. Go chill in the car and hang out
The heat's definitely sucking her out though for sure. I can hear her breathing. She's not exhausted yet, but she's a little like that kind of thing. Tells me she's getting tired.
we really can only be out here for maybe 10-15 minutes because he kept that around 10-15 minutes anyways because because of the weather right now
Kodak
Psychological and physical state both cap a session and the environment acts on both, so route planning is training planning: a venue with shaded, branching paths extends the session; hot asphalt and fading light shorten it.
On film
it's funny you really have to think about their biological um status like like and and like how their psychological status is affecting their biological status
a strategy that can be helpful on sunny days where it's hot is to take them to a place like this and stay in the shade as much of the time as possible because that extends the training session
They get tired out quick when they're playing,
Chunk
About fifteen minutes before he overheats and his eyes glaze over, so sessions are sized to that; drooling in direct sun turns a walk back towards the car.
On film
video of it really funny yeah he does get hot really easily like most of my sessions with him
but that's a very early sign of a dog
Chunk the man himself. What's up chunk? It's a little hot out here
Titan
A heat-sensitive puppy: about fifteen minutes in the sun, red eyes read as the warning, shade sought, sessions broken up through the day, and a session opened with the plan explained first so the dog can decompress before work.
On film
All right, so we're starting a little differently today. So I have Titan Lamar. He's in the crate right there. Um, it's really hot. So he tires out in the heat really, really quickly.
not gonna lie he overheats easy his eyes are like already getting red so I don't
i mean he's very sensitive to the heat yeah so like i get like 15 minutes out of him
Kane
A bully breed whose first session is split and shortened for heat after about eighteen minutes of hard running, and whose training moves to cooler slots.
On film
because he's just I think that you know like that was about 18 minutes and for a bully breed like them with the activity levels that he was giving me you know he was super messed up running around a bunch that's plenty of time for him to get too hot
Shadow (Siberian Husky)
A heavy-coated dog in a Southern spring. Sessions are cut into pieces, a loop is skipped, and heat changes the diagnosis: his habit of lying down when asked to sit is put down to being hot, because indoors he stays sitting.
On film
like even most of my sessions right now we've had to like cut him up in bits just because he gets hot so fast
I passed this loop since it's kinda hot outside today.
conclusion with the sit thing i i noticed that when i'm inside anywhere he'll stay sitting
Savage
Sensitive to heat and humidity: sneezing and heavy breathing limit him to a couple of runs at a time, with sniff breaks and shade keeping the work going.
On film
So I've learned he's a little sensitive to the heat and the humidity um so that's what I was
saying like with the heat i'm only able to run a couple at a time usually uh because he starts
Reaper
A play test is dropped when he shows little interest in the toy, and heat is the suspected reason; on a 94-degree day water is taken on the walk.
On film
Doesn't seem to care about it that much right now. It might be just because of the heat.
as strong as people can succumb to heat-based exhaustion. So on days like today where it's 94,
Thor
An active, heavily muscled puppy whose sessions are shortened or broken for shade because he overheats quickly.
On film
Can't let him get overheated, you know?
all right so it's pretty hot um so we're i'm gonna wrap up this session already we're gonna
Teddy
The walk sized to Teddy's endurance is shortened for the less durable dogs coming next; heat ends riding in the truck bed and moves work into the shade.
On film
dogs here that I'm going to bring on this walk with me are not going to be quite as durable as Teddy they're not going to have quite as much endurance so definitely gonna have to shorten the walk by a little bit
It's getting too hot to carry a dog in the back of the truck.
Pepper
An active game is run in small sets because it burns energy, and it is moved to later in the day when it is cooler.
On film
energy and things like that, and it's very active, so I've got to wait until it's a little cooler out a little later in the day to do this set
Louie
Heat is named as the day's problem, and a slow down is solved by moving him off the blacktop onto grass.
On film
the heat is really rough today
Dolce
Both kinds of heat. Protection work in summer is capped at eight to ten minutes and a recall session is abandoned because the park is too hot. Separately, while in season she is worked on reduced demand rather than rested, and the change in her is reported as slight.
On film
and it like shortens the sessions because the dogs get tired it's too hot for them so they i can't do more than like for this kind of thing i couldn't do more than like maybe eight nine ten minutes
really hot over here I am not training a recall over here no no no
but she's tolerating things well so she's still doing good but she's been like slightly slightly different because of it but not not like a crazy difference that I see
I won't push you too hard. I won't push you too hard Cuz you're on your period. Okay mama. She's in heat
Callie
The other kind of heat. Callie, a working-line German Shepherd, came through a heat cycle during her program. On day two the trainer says she is just coming out of it and keeps the session light rather than cancelling it: the day's work is loose walking, recall, 'let's go' and the 'yes' marker. At the go-home lesson the trainer who first worked her the day before the heat began looks back on it: she had little motivation that day, and once the heat started she was 'walking all funny', which the trainer calls not a good time to train. Nothing on film says how many days were lightened or skipped.
On film
Callie is just coming out of her heat cycle so we're gonna keep it light today
I had trained her the day before she even had it,
was but she just didn't have a lot of motivation she was just like I was like girl are you okay
walking all funny I'm like oh my god this is not a good time to train poor baby
Stormi
Stormi (a young shepherd-type dog, not Stormie the pit mix above) was worked through the hot weeks of September by a trainer who says she 'gets hot really fast': on most days he has not been able to do more than fifteen minutes with her, and on a cooled-off day in the shade he says he can work her longer than usual. A session planned for about twenty minutes is cut short because she is 'already pretty hot' and 'pretty done' - 'gotta be reasonable'. He ties heat to what is being taught: learning a new command tires a dog faster than an ordinary walk, so on the day the heel is introduced he tries not to keep her out too long as it heats up. When she tires in the heat he does not simply stop. He asks for one more sit first, because ending on a command she got away with is 'how you erase progress rather rapidly'.
On film
lot of the dogs they get hot easy stormy gets hot really fast so i i really haven't been able to do more than 15 minutes with her a day
a little bit shorter of a session than i planned on working with her today but she's she's already pretty hot so we're just gonna chill off
with her but I'm be honest it's I think she's already pretty done so it's a fairly hot day so gotta be reasonable
And unfortunately, it's starting to heat back up again.
And of course, when you're like learning a new command, it does tire out the dog at an accelerated rate as if you were to compare it to like a normal walk
It's pretty hot out here, so I'm gonna try to make her sit one more time, just because I don't want to end the session on a note where she feels like, oh, I don't gotta sit, right?
that is not how i would want to end the session at all it's a bad idea and honestly that's how you erase progress rather rapidly
Mazi
Mazi, a young Rottweiler, on two downtown public-exposure walks a few days apart. On the hot one (Angier) the trainer keeps the outing short, heads for the park rather than looping, and looks for shade, saying it is pretty hot and that once it cools there will be no need to worry about a dog 'giving out' if a session runs a little too long. On the cooler one (Raleigh) the trainer says the sessions can now run a little longer.
On film
It is pretty hot though, so. Can't wait till it cools down. I don't have to worry about a dog, you know, giving out if I accidentally spend a little too much time.
hey you want to stay in the shade for a minute bro it's hot
it's cooler outside so these sessions i'm doing can be a little longer
Coco
Coco's outdoor sessions in mid and late September mention the heat several times, and on 25 Sep it decides where the walk goes: into the shade, because 'It's too hot'. In none of these sessions is heat given as the reason the session ended; on 15 Sep she is noted as getting 'a little hot', and the trainer wraps up because he is happy with her.
On film
Whatever we do, I want to do it in the shade. It's too hot.
It's really hot over here.
She's probably getting a little hot now.
Bandit
Protection work. After a second decoy run on a hot day gives 'a little bit less', the handler and the decoy put it away and plan a single run 'later on when it's cooler outside', aiming for a bigger bark. Here the stop is set by the falling returns; the heat sets when the next run happens.
On film
now and then um like later on when it's cooler outside we try one more and just like keep it to one and see if we can get a bigger bark out of it
yeah you get a little bit less so we'll put it away and we'll do we'll just do one next time
Baxter
Talking routes with Baxter's family, the trainer says he always tries to pick shaded trails, for himself and for the dog, because dogs get hotter faster than people do.
On film
to go to trails that are shaded for me and for the dog yeah because for the dog it's like yeah they get hotter faster than we do normally
Bernie
Proofing Bernie in public, the trainer explains why the facility keeps artificial turf to a minimum: it can run 60 to 70 degrees hotter than the ground, worse than concrete, so he does not like dogs working on it much.
On film
always think artificial turf's great and it looks nice and stuff like that but it um it can get up to like 60 to 70 degrees hotter than like the ground
Fiona
On a hot day at Fiona's home-context session the staff watch both dogs 'wilt' and go inside. The trainer describes the summer schedule she has settled on: outside in the cool of the morning, inside during peak heat, back outside when it cools off.
On film
what i was telling him what i've been doing is like i work with the dogs in the morning
Kalypso
On hot concrete Kalypso is put in dog socks to protect her paws - the surface, not just the air, is part of the heat.
On film
Gotta protect those paws. Now the concrete's hot.
Madam
At go-home, discussing how much exercise Madam needs, the trainer adds the summer limit: take the heat into account and do not let her get too worked up in it. The trainer speaks from experience, having had heat stroke from not stopping work.
On film
Especially during the summer and stuff, obviously. Like, with heat, take that into account. Like, don't let her get too worked up in the heat, you know.
Milo
Before setting out on a trail with Milo and Josi, the trainer notes it is getting hot and offers both dogs water first.
On film
starting to get a little hot out here so i'll see if they want a little bit of water
Ozzy
At a check-in Ozzy is doing well, but his handler wants him in the car soon because of the heat - 'i don't want to risk it' - and adds the training reason: an exhausted dog cannot work.
On film
we should probably try to get him in the car soon i'm just with the heat yeah
Like, if, uh, if he gets exhausted, then he can't get work.
Rocky
At Rocky's follow-up the trainer describes his rule with every boarding dog: as soon as one looks tired or hot, take him back to shade and water. The trainer mentions having had heat exhaustion, and says the harder problem is scheduling - there is no gap between one hot dog and the next.
On film
avoid the dog getting too hot because uh i just don't if i notice they're like getting tired or hot i'm just saying take them back yeah get them in the shade and get them water and stuff
Shadow (German Shepherd puppy)
Connor shortens all of Shadow's sets because it is hot, and says they will lengthen to 30 minutes once the weather cools. In another session he ends the work when she is hot and keeps heading for the car: 'it's probably a good thing we stopped right now'.
On film
sit good job baby you're so smart good job it's pretty hot so all of my sets are a little
Shadow, hey, it's okay, nope, uh-uh, all right, hey, oh, she wanted to go to the car, all right, Shadow, hey, yeah, she hot, it's probably a good thing we stopped right now, because you can see she really wants in the car really bad
Simba
After a couple of heels the trainer lets Simba chill, and gives the reason in one line: it is warm, and overwork comes from heat combined with intense activity, not from either alone.
On film
it's it's warm outside so i just you can overwork a dog sometimes it can be hot but it's the heat combined with the intense activity basically you can sometimes overwork a dog
Why it works
As the trainers explain it: a hot dog is a tired dog, and tired dogs stop learning, so repetitions past the signs have little return (watch 20:26) and 'once they're actually hot they're done' (watch 16:22). The load is the product of the two: 'it's the heat combined with the intense activity' that overworks a dog (watch 19:25), and 'if he gets exhausted, then he can't get work' (watch 17:20). Flat-faced breeds are capped harder because of how they take in air (watch 23:05). Physical and psychological state interact, and the environment acts on both, so a scared dog in the heat has an even shorter usable session (watch 12:18). Shade lengthens the usable session (watch 02:49). Inferred, not stated: because heat and fear produce some of the same signs (lying down, slowing, losing interest), the trainers check heat first before reading a behaviour as refusal, as with the husky's downs and Dutchess's loose sit.
Common owner mistakes
- Using the handler's own comfort as the limit.
On film
i'm tired but you know i can put up with a lot more than the dog can in terms of once they're actually hot they're done
Watch at 16:22 ↗ - Reading a hot dog's lying down or sloppy sit as disobedience.
On film
so i think that down thing he's doing is just him like being hot like just him being tired
Watch at 0:22 ↗ so that's the thing in the heat I've noticed that's a that just sit a little more of a tendency with her
Watch at 5:55 ↗ - Asking for a sit or down on hot pavement or blacktop.
On film
Sage, sit. Sit. It's not that hot, I already tested it. Sit.
Watch at 11:21 ↗
Questions owners ask
How do I know it is time to stop?
The trainers stop on signs they can see and hear: drooling ('we would be done immediately'), tongues out (one or two more repetitions, then done), heavy breathing, slowing down, red or glassy eyes, and above all a dog who has stopped paying attention.
On film
he's just working um if he were to like start drooling or anything we would be done immediately
i actually today i had a dog we only worked for 10 minutes because she got hot and i was like all right we're done
The heat's definitely sucking her out though for sure. I can hear her breathing.
How long can I train on a hot day?
There is no single number on film. For flat-faced bully breeds one trainer keeps walks to twenty to thirty minutes; heat-sensitive dogs are given about fifteen; on the hottest days ten to fifteen. Shade lengthens it; the signs shorten it.
On film
doing like a walk i try not to keep them out for more than 20 to 30 minutes
i mean he's very sensitive to the heat yeah so like i get like 15 minutes out of him
a strategy that can be helpful on sunny days where it's hot is to take them to a place like this and stay in the shade
lot of the dogs they get hot easy stormy gets hot really fast so i i really haven't been able to do more than 15 minutes with her a day
it's cooler outside so these sessions i'm doing can be a little longer
Should I still train my female when she is in season?
Lighter, not necessarily stopped. In Dolce's case she was worked on reduced demand rather than rested, and the trainer reports only a slight difference in her; Callie's session as she came out of her heat was kept 'light'. Callie's trainer also recalls a day when she was flat and then 'walking all funny' - 'not a good time to train'. Kelton's view is that it is all context dependent: how much to ask of a female in season is judged on the dog. That is a different kind of heat from the weather and is handled differently.
On film
I won't push you too hard. I won't push you too hard Cuz you're on your period.
but she's tolerating things well so she's still doing good
Callie is just coming out of her heat cycle so we're gonna keep it light today
walking all funny I'm like oh my god this is not a good time to train poor baby
The lesson
The goal
Plan and end summer sessions by the dog's heat tolerance: shade, surface, time of day, short sets, and stop signs.
Learn first
The drill
As run on film: pick a shaded venue, test the ground by hand before any sit or down (watch 11:21), carry water (watch 58:01), work in short sets (watch 09:30), and at the first drooling, lolling tongue or loss of attention, finish one easy repetition and end with a cool-down (watch 12:09).
Watch out for
- Working in full sun when shade is available (watch 14:57).
- Judging the session by the handler's stamina (watch 16:22).
- Treating a heat-tired dog's slow or sloppy position as refusal (watch 00:22).
- Asking full demand of a female in season (watch 08:42; watch 03:17).
- Ending a hot session on a command the dog skipped, rather than on one more completed sit (watch 10:06).
Check yourself
Twelve minutes into a sunny session your bulldog's tongue is out and he is slowing down. What do you do next?