Right now in Dallas, the air is about 85°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 113°F — a gap of roughly 28°F, because a mix of sun and cloud is still loading heat into the asphalt. That reading puts Dallas in the caution range, where short, shade-hugging walks are the most a paw should take. Humidity is nudging the human "feels-like" to about 89°F, which matters for your dog too: muggy air makes it harder for a panting dog to shed heat, so treat a borderline reading as the hotter of the two.
Across the 11 hours left today, the pavement in Dallas is projected to top out near 123°F around 2 PM, when the air will be about 87°F — a 36°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is holding roughly flat over the next three hours, so there is no meaningfully cooler hour coming soon — choose shade and grass rather than waiting it out.
In an average October, Dallas sees highs around 80°F and overnight lows near 60°F. Those are forgiving numbers, but don't let them lull you — a sunny, still afternoon can still heat dark asphalt far above the air, especially for low-riding or short-coated dogs. For this month the normals suggest pavement rarely reaches unsafe temperatures here, but the seven-second hand test is still the final word on any given day.
Dallas loses its all-day safe window in 5 months of the year — May through September — and October is not one of them. The year peaks in August at an average high of 96°F against 57°F in January, a 40°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
Dallas sits about 9 miles from Irving, close enough that the two usually run within a degree or two of each other — if your walk crosses between them, either page answers the question. Street-level conditions still differ more than city-level ones do: a shaded side street and an open parking lot half a block apart can be twenty degrees apart underfoot.
Whatever the number says, confirm it with your hand: press the back of it flat on the pavement for seven seconds. If you can't hold it there, neither can your dog. On a day reading this warm in Dallas, flat-faced breeds like pugs and bulldogs, plus seniors and young puppies with thinner pads, should sit out the heat entirely — subtract about 10°F from any safe threshold for them. If you must cross hot ground, protective booties or a quick coat of paw wax are the only real barrier between paw pads and the asphalt.