With extreme heat scorching much of North America this summer, it can be too dangerous to safely walk dogs outside. So there’s no time like the present to explore local possibilities for indoor walks and outings with your dog.
The key is to research nearby options before showing up with your dog — and be respectful once you and your dog arrive, according to Beth Miller, founder of Wagtown, a nonprofit that works with communities to become more dog friendly.
“It’s something that requires that we be the very best humans we can be and definitely be the best dog parents because their happiness and their life of enrichment and wonderful experiences and being able to go with you to things really does depend on how you approach the situation, prepare for it and be responsible about it,” she said.
To that end, Miller recommends packing a “go bag” with any supplies you might need, including water, a collapsible water bowl, poop bags, paper towels and high value treats that will help keep dogs on their best behavior.
Where To Walk Your Dog Indoors
If you’ve visited a home improvement store like Lowe’s or Home Depot this summer, you’ve likely seen people shopping or simply walking with their dogs. The aisles are long and easy to clean in case of accidents.
Whether or not a business welcomes dogs depends on the city, state and company rules, but a good place to start looking can be businesses that sponsor or host events for local animal shelters and rescue organizations. So one company quickly leapt to Miller’s mind.
“I would say you’re probably good to go in any Subaru dealership,” she said of the company that’s donated over $70 million to pet-focused organizations like animal shelters and the ASPCA.
Indoor malls are another strong option, which also have easy-to-clean floors. Just keep an eye out for discarded food on the ground and avoid escalators.
“Sometimes dogs can be very wary — justifiably — about escalators,” Miller said. “So I would just kind of avoid that unless your dog has been trained to be comfortable with that.”
Pet stores are an obvious option, and employees will be eager to pet your dog and probably offer a treat. Banks can also be welcoming — just call ahead or ask while you’re in the drive-through with your dog.
Also call ahead to real estate offices, according to Miller.
“They’re usually very well air conditioned. They’re going to have a closing space, but remember that there’s a good chance that they also have client meetings and closings. And so you could be walking in with your Airedale and someone is in there who doesn’t like dogs at all, and you don’t want to create a problem for the business that you’re going into,” she said. “But if you called ahead, you could say, ‘Do you have any appointments this afternoon? We’d love to bring our dog in to meet you guys. We’re working on socialization.’ If you include the business and their team in the process, most people like dogs, and most people want to meet your dog, especially if they’re friendly.”
Community centers sometimes host dog-friendly events and even swim days, Miller noted.
“Especially around this time of year when schools are getting ready to start and we’re approaching Labor Day, a lot of community pools, before they drain their pool, they’ll have a dog day,” she said. “So you can go and the dogs swim and it’s so crazy and insane. It’s fun.”
Often dogs aren’t allowed indoors where food is served, but breweries that don’t serve food can be a refreshing indoor option with dogs. Or head to a street with local shops and look for water bowls out front.
“The dog bowls are a great way to look for a green flag of, ‘Dogs are welcome here. They’re celebrated here,’” Miller said. “But do not let your dog drink out of that bowl. Just one slurp of a dog that has parvo, and it could be really very bad.”
Depending on the size and temperament of the dog, other potential places to walk a dog indoors include dog-friendly hotels or shoe stores — though not for dogs who love to chew on shoes. As Miller quipped, “It might be like me going to an ice cream shop. ‘I’ll take one of everything.’”
Liquor stores will also really depend on the individual dog.
“When you get into liquor stores, if you have a Great Dane or a Lab that has a pretty lethal tail, you can end up with a bottle of tequila smashing to the ground,” she said.
The couches in a furniture store would prove too tempting for most dogs, she added.
It’s also worth researching any dog-friendly businesses that host events within an hour or two of your home, which can be a fun summer activity. For instance, Miller has taken her golden retriever, Harper, and mixed-breed dog, Sesto, to an indoor dock diving facility, which they love.
REI stores only allow service animals. While it may be tempting to try to pass your dog off as a service dog, it is unethical and can create barriers to access for people with disabilities. Instead, try Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shops, where pets are typically allowed depending on state and local regulations.
Tips For Indoor Dog Walking Adventures
In addition to packing a go bag with anything you might need, asking permission and being respectful, Miller said it’s critically important to avoid parking too far away from the front door of a business, especially if you don’t use covered parking.
“Realize that if you’re going there because it is 115 degrees that day, if you’re willing to take your shoes off and walk slowly across the blacktop parking lot to get into the mall, that’s probably not what you want to do, right? Well, your dog is doing that,” she said. “So don’t drag them 500 feet across really hot black asphalt parking spaces because you’re going to burn their feet going in.”
Ideally, a friend or partner could drop you and the dog at the entrance and then park the car (and later, get the air conditioning running in the vehicle before picking you up afterward). Otherwise, carry your dog or make sure they’re wearing booties, she said.
Never leave a dog alone in a parked car, which can prove fatal — even in the shade, or with the windows cracked.
If there’s no time to find a new place to walk your dog indoors, you can set up your home as the destination, Miller said.
“It could be temporary — maybe move the furniture around a little bit,” she said. “You could create an enrichment course. You could practice walking in figure eights and around different pieces of furniture that you have. You could create a room-to-room scent trail. You could have your dog’s meal be sort of throughout the home. You could play hide and seek with your dog. Don’t jump out at them though. People post that on TikTok all the time and I’m like, ‘Stop it. The dog is clearly terrified.’ You can practice recall where you tell your kids to go hide and then they call the dog and they go find them. So you can kind of convert your home from being their crash pad place that they hang out to a fun place.”
Ultimately, Miller recommends knowing your dog and knowing your community — and maintaining a list of local indoor possibilities for when the weather is unbearably hot.
“Do an evaluation of your community, find out what’s available and then do a little digging to see what’s happening because the temperatures are going to continue to get high. We’re probably going to have more smoke exposure from wildfires. It’s not going to get better than this,” she said. “You just have to think outside the box and just look at yourself as you’re advocating for a good life experience for your dog that you can do repeatedly so that they have things to look forward to even if the weather gets bad.”
