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Pavement is too hot for your dog’s paws when you cannot hold the back of your hand against it for seven seconds. That is the test from Dr. Raelynn Farnsworth of the Washington State University veterinary teaching hospital, and it is more reliable than guessing from the weather app. If the surface fails the test, skip it, or find grass, shade, or a different time of day.
City dogs have it worse than suburban ones. A dog in a yard steps on lawn. A dog in an apartment building does the whole walk on concrete, asphalt, brick and metal, often with no shade, and the first and last stretch of every outing is a sidewalk. This article covers what the numbers actually are, how to adjust your routine, and what a burned pad looks like.
How hot pavement gets
Washington State University’s veterinary hospital published the figures its staff work from. When the air temperature is 77 degrees F, asphalt can reach 125 degrees F. At an air temperature of 86 degrees, asphalt can reach 135 degrees, and at 87 degrees it can reach 143. The numbers come from the WSU release and are stated as asphalt readings under summer sun, so they describe the worst of the surfaces you will cross, not every sidewalk.
The release also cites Arizona research finding that second-degree burns can occur in as little as 35 seconds of contact with hot pavement. Thirty-five seconds is shorter than the time it takes to cross a wide avenue with a distracted dog, wait for the light, and cross back.
Notice that 77 degrees is not a heat wave. Plenty of people think of that as a pleasant day. The problem is that dark asphalt in direct sun heats well beyond the air around it, so a mild afternoon can still produce a surface that hurts.
The seven-second test, and where it falls short
Press the back of your hand flat on the surface. Count to seven. If you have to pull away before you finish, the pavement is too hot for your dog. Use the back of the hand, not the palm, and keep it flat instead of tapping.
The test is useful, but it has limits. Your skin is thicker in some places than others, and the test only checks the spot you pressed. A sidewalk can be shaded for ten feet and baking for the next ten, so test again when the surface changes. Also remember that your dog is much closer to the ground than your hand is when you stand, and a dog’s paws stay in contact with the surface the whole time he walks. A test you passed at 8 a.m. does not hold at 3 p.m.
I would also treat any dark, sun-facing surface with suspicion regardless of the number. A black rubber mat or a metal grate in full afternoon sun is not going to behave like a concrete slab in the shade. I have not found a published temperature figure for those specific surfaces, so I will not give you one. The seven-second test is the answer, every time.
Route and timing changes that actually help
The WSU guidance is plain: walk pets on grass or soil instead of pavement when you can, and shift walks to early morning or late evening. In a city that takes planning.
- Map the shade. Pick the side of the street that is shaded at the hour you walk. In many cities, buildings throw shadow on one side of a block for most of the afternoon.
- Find your nearest patch of real ground. A tree pit, a park lawn, a dirt strip beside a path. Use the pavement only to get there. If the nearest grass is five blocks away, that tells you the midday walk needs to move.
- Do the long walk early or late, and keep midday outings to a quick bathroom trip on the shortest route.
- Carry small dogs through the worst stretch. A good carrier or a sling makes this realistic; we covered options in our carrier guide for city living.
WSU also warns against tethering a pet on hot pavement or leaving one in a truck bed, and against stepping where hot tar can cling to paws. Road work in summer is a real hazard in a city: fresh patches and sealed lots can stick to a paw.
On those paw boots
Some owners reach for dog boots in summer. They can help against ground heat, but I would not lean on them as a substitute for the test, because most dogs take time to accept them and a boot that rubs or twists is its own problem. If you want to try, introduce them indoors for short stretches first, and still check the surface. I have not seen a published rating of how much heat any particular boot blocks, so do not treat the claims on a product page as measured.
What a burned paw pad looks like
WSU describes the top layer of the pad blistering and wanting to peel, or already missing. Dogs with burned pads often lick their paws over and over, which can make things worse, and they tend to limp or refuse to walk.
If you see any of this, stop the walk and get your dog off the hot surface. Call your vet the same day, because a burned pad can open the way to infection and is painful. Do not wait to see if it heals on its own. Do not put home remedies on an open pad. And if your dog is licking his paws for another reason entirely, our guide to dogs who lick their paws until they are red covers what else to look at.
Heat is also a whole-body problem
Paw burns are one risk on a hot day, and overheating is another. A dog who is panting hard, drooling heavily, or slowing down on a walk needs shade and water immediately, whatever the pavement is doing. For the indoor side of this, including how to keep a dog comfortable when the air conditioning is weak or absent, see how to keep a dog cool in an apartment.
The same logic applies in winter, only the hazard changes. Rock salt and ice damage pads in a different way, and we have a separate piece on protecting your dog’s paws from winter salt.
A simple summer routine for a building with no yard
- First walk before the sun is high. Test the surface on the way out the door.
- Midday: a short potty trip on the shaded side, grass if you can reach it.
- Indoors in the heat of the day, with water down and a cool spot to lie on.
- Evening walk once the sidewalk has cooled. Test again, because brick and concrete hold their heat after sunset.
That last point comes from basic physics and my own caution, not from a source I can cite, so check it with your hand and not with my word.
Source
Washington State University, Protect your pet’s feet from heat, burns (July 2017 news release, Dr. Raelynn Farnsworth, WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital).
This is general information, not veterinary advice. If your dog’s pads are blistered, raw or bleeding, call a vet.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my dog licking their paws so much?
Allergies come first, then irritants picked up on walks. The rust-colored stain on the fur is yeast fed by saliva, which means the licking has been going on for weeks, not days.
How often should dog nails be trimmed?
Every three to four weeks for most dogs. If you hear clicking on a hard floor, they are already long enough to push the toes out of alignment.
Do dogs need paw protection in winter?
In a salted city, yes. Either a balm before the walk or a rinse in lukewarm water after it, because road salt burns the pads and dogs then lick it off.
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