Mobile dog gym keeps paws off hot pavement during Las Vegas summers

By JC Fernandez

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — During scorching summer days, it’s often too hot to walk a dog because animals can burn their paw pads, or potentially suffer heat exhaustion or worse, heat stroke.

Run Dawg Mobile Dog Gym offers a solution to keep dogs fit. They have an air-conditioned van filled with non-motorized slatmills designed to keep pups active, safe, and healthy, even in the Las Vegas valley heat.

Owners Ray Santopietro and Jen Stricos created Run Dawg to give dogs a safe way to exercise without the dangers of hot pavement. Santopietro said when the air temperature hits 100 degrees, asphalt can reach 150 degrees or higher, which is hot enough to burn a dog’s paws. He also pointed out that the heat radiating off the pavement can harm a dog’s stomach and heat up their core.

Run Dawg brings the gym to you. Inside the mobile unit are non-motorized treadmills called slatmills, where dogs run at their own pace without motors. It allows dogs to control their own pace.

The company works with dogs of all sizes, from two pounds up to 150 pounds. Each 30-minute session is fully supervised, and it usually takes just one visit for dogs to get used to the equipment.

“Most pups can’t wait to hop into the van and start running,” Santopietro said.

Dogs with special needs like “seniors, dogs with mobility issues, or even blind or three-legged dogs who can’t safely run outside,” he said. It’s also an alternative for owners who may struggle to walk their dogs daily.

Run Dawg never puts unfamiliar dogs together in the van. All the equipment is sanitized between appointments.