How hot it gets at dog height
These are hours above 30°C between 8am and 10pm, averaged across 104 English towns. Glass roofs are the worst. The floor in a patch of sun can run hotter still, especially stone or ceramic, which soaks up the heat and holds it for hours. The Comfort Calendar marks the risky months and hours for wherever you live.
- 714
- hours a year above 30°C under a glass roof
- 556
- hours above 30°C under polycarbonate
- 34
- hours above 30°C under an insulated panel roof
Why a dog feels it before you do
People sweat all over and can walk out when they have had enough. Dogs lose heat mainly by panting and through their paw pads, which works poorly when the air itself is hot and still. A fur coat that keeps them warm in January works against them in July. Older dogs, heavy dogs, thick coated breeds and flat faced breeds such as pugs and bulldogs struggle soonest.
A dog asleep in a sunny conservatory may not move until it is already too hot. Assume it will not take itself off somewhere cooler.
Which pets are most at risk
Dogs get the attention, but smaller animals kept in conservatories are often in more danger, because they live in a cage or tank they cannot leave.
| Pet | Why it is at risk | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dogs | Pant to cool, cannot open doors | Give them a way back into the house, never shut them in |
| Cats | Seek out sun and doze in it | Leave an escape route to a cooler room |
| Rabbits and guinea pigs | Very poor at shedding heat | Move hutches out of the conservatory from spring |
| Caged birds | Cannot move away from the sun | Keep cages in a shaded room with steady air |
| Fish and reptiles | Tanks and heaters overshoot in sun | Keep tanks out of direct light, check the water temperature |
A safe summer routine
- Morning: blinds down and a high vent open first thing, before the room starts to climb.
- Midday to late afternoon: treat the conservatory as off limits for pets on any clear day. Shut the door from the house side, with the animals on the house side of it.
- Water: a full bowl wherever the pet can reach, topped up through the day.
- Evening: open up once the sun is off the roof, so the floor sheds its stored heat before anyone sleeps in there.
Signs a pet is getting too hot
Heavy panting that does not settle, drooling, restlessness or seeming dazed, unsteady on its feet, or unusually red gums. Move the animal somewhere cool and shaded, offer water, and ring your vet straight away for advice. Heatstroke in dogs can come on fast, and a vet will tell you what to do next.
Does a solid roof make it safe?
Safer, not safe. Time spent above 30°C falls from 556 to 34 waking hours a year in our model with a 75 mm insulated roof, and the July afternoon from 33°C to 25°C. That makes it a far kinder room for a dog bed. But low sun still comes through the glass walls, and a shut room on a heatwave day still gets warm. Shade, water and an open door stay part of the routine. There is more on the roof itself in how an insulated roof keeps the room cool.
