Stay Safe Walking Your Dog in Windy Weather

Stay safe when walking your dog in winter weather

We are so lucky in the UK to have some amazing places to take our dogs for walks. Here in Maerdy I am just a hop skip and a jump away from a beautiful river walk near the Little Rhondda River. However, when we get storms and extreme weather warnings we must be careful to protect ourselves and our doggies.

There are a number of things to consider, such as:

debris flying in the wind,

swollen rivers ,

dogs jumping in the rivers,

fallen fences,

stray objects in your garden

Here are just a few tips to keep you and your dog safe in the windy weather.

My personal rule of safety is that I do not walk my dogs if there is an Amber or above weather warning. This is for two reasons:

1. I or my dogs may get injured by flying debris.

2. Amber weather warnings mean that our emergency response teams will be working harder than normal, so we need to do all we can to minisimize their responses.

I am lucky as my dogs have a walled in garden to exercise in. If I feel they need to go for a walk I just take them on a much shorter ON LEAD walk. Again, being mindful of stray debris etc.

Some dogs just LOVE water! In fact it can be hard too keep the out of it. The sight of a swollen running river may be too much to ignore. This can mean your dog is swept away in the river which also puts you at risk when you try and fish them out.

Also remember, if a river is swollen, the river bank will be less stable than usual.

Before you let your dog out in your garden, do a quick perimeter check. Are all your fences still standing? Are there any items that have blown in to your garden which may harm your dog? Is the the trampoline still there?

What do you do when the weather is bad and you cant take your dog on it’s normal walk? Let me know in the comments below: