The first day of summer is approaching, which means more fun in the sun for both dogs and their humans. But it also inevitably means an added risk of overheating, and searing hot pavement that can burn their bare puppy paws. Outside air temperatures measuring 85 degree Fahrenheit translates to 135 degrees on asphalt surface. As a general rule, prolonged temperatures hovering above 85 degrees are too dangerous for most dogs to walk on, even briefly.
Thankfully, a new iPhone app released by a fellow dog owner is taking some of the guesswork out of when it’s safe for a walk around the block. Called NorthPaw, the app looks at a user’s localized weather report and combines it with details about their dog’s specific breed and biology to create a daily report offering safe windows for when and where to walk. The app’s creator, a machine learning engineer named Chris Fiegel, says he was inspired to make the app after reading about a similar, vibe-coded website called Pawometer on the news site Boing Boing. He used his coding expertise to take that foundation and expand on it, creating a more fully featured mobile experience dog owners can turn to every day.
NorthPaw uses breed and weather data. Image: Popular Science.
NorthPaw asks users for their current location as well as their dog’s coat type, snout profile, and activity level. With those inputs, the tool uses a “deterministic risk engine” to create a tailored NorthPaw Index. The app reportedly measures heat and humidity and estimates asphalt, concrete, and sand temperatures as they fluctuate hour by hour.
“NorthPaw estimates surface temperatures using local air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, and solar load from sky cover,” the app’s website reads.
It’s also not trying to annoyingly spy on your dog. Fiegel told Boing Boing it’s able to run offline and that “no data actually leaves [a user’s] device.”
Putting NorthPaw to the test
The app was naturally appealing to me, as the owner of a thick-coated black lab in sweaty Austin, Texas. Once loaded onto my phone, NorthPaw asked for my dog’s name so it could personalize each screen to her. It then asked for a photo, which I happily provided.
With those personal details out of the way, the app asks the user to identify the dog’s breed, snout description, and coat type (single, double, or hairless), as well as what her typical daily activity looks like. In Billie’s case, that consists mostly of neighborhood walks and the occasional hiking trail.
Early mornings and evenings are often the safest times for walks during the summer. Image: Popular Science.
NorthPaw took that information and created a profile which shows Billie’s photo surrounded by a circular ring. When the ring is green, it means the app estimates that it’s currently safe to take her for a walk. A red ring means it’s time to stay inside or stick to cooler grass. Below that, the app shows an hour-by-hour timeline also color-coded with the times of day best suited for walks. In the blazing Texas summer, that typically means early morning and evening outings. NorthPaw app also sends daily morning briefings that provides an estimate of safe walking windows throughout the day, which could come in handy for dog owners looking to plan ahead.
The post Hot pavement can burn your dog’s paws appeared first on Popular Science.
Hot pavement can burn your dog’s paws
