Hold your hand on the pavement for seven seconds
A walk window is a forecast, not a promise. The hand test is the last check before paws hit asphalt.
Washington State University cited a 1970 burn study when it told dog owners that 77°F air can mean about 125°F on sunlit asphalt, with no wind. At 86°F the same note puts the surface near 135°F, and at 87°F near 143°F. BravoPet’s Paw Forecast follows that scale. The number is an estimate.
What to do at the curb
- Press the back of your hand flat on the pavement.
- If you cannot hold it there for seven seconds, stay on grass or wait.
- A cloudy hour and a night hour run cooler than the full-sun figure. The dog still decides.
The card on the site is guidance, not veterinary advice. If a dog limps, licks a paw, or refuses the surface, that is the reading that matters.
The Paw Forecast is the place to start before you leave the driveway.