Yeah, I'd rather live in Washington that Alaska! I would miss the sun....I did when I lived there....but the Puget sound area is still gorgeous! (And I love Alaska, but 20 years was enough).
I agree with everyone moving to Washington. I like the weather in the pacific northwest. Walking in the rain is fantastic, especially when it is sideways rain and you get blinded by it. Just saying. At least it was humorous when it happened to me.
I was excited that we were only up to 98 today... under 100?? happy about that???... craziness, I tell you!!! Anyway, our dogs have to be pushed to go out to potty when it's this hot - I couldn't get them to go on a hike or walk or really, anything unless I was willing to carry them all the way, or unless I had Lady Gaga's meat dress on.. lol The crazies start when the sun starts to go down.. so we have about 3 hours of non-stop rough housing, ball chasing and tug of waring going on here around that time... lol We are really dry here, so hosing off works nicely. We'd also love to have a small kids pool for them to crawl into but with our dust and dirt it gets dirty in half a second. In very humid areas I would caution with hosing off and leaving out in the humid heat - that can cause problems as the water wont evaporate properly and can cause overheating in and of itself.... We are so dry here that that isn't an issue for us personally.
It has been extremely hot here so the dogs go out for quick potty breaks throughout the day but get their walks really early in the morning and/or later at night when it cools off. Kuma seems a lot more inclined to nap on the air vent more than normal (her favorite vent is in the dining room and she is too cute trying to fit as much of herself as possible on the vent lol)
It's about 90 today, maybe a little cooler. I was at the farmer's market buying some beer and tea and I told the tea lady that I've got some yard work to do and that the tea (a sun tea) would be good for today since I can let it brew while I'm working. She was like "You'd better get it done quick! It's supposed to be hot today." I thought that was funny, since 90's is GORGEOUS to me and is perfect weather for yard work. I guess most people here aren't from the southwest, where hot is actually very, very hot, so 90's does seem like an extreme temperature to them.
So, what do you guys suggest for me? Most of the days I work, my shift is 6pm-2:30am. So, the hours I'm awake and not at work are the hottest hours. I generally try to fall asleep as soon as I get home and sleep until noon-ish, then work again at 6. I could walk the dogs when I get home at 3am but a) the later I go to sleep, the later I wake up (which is a real issue on days when Noah works at 6am and I have to at least be half awake starting at 7-8am) and b) it's maybe not the safest time to go walking.
@Hondru- could you let the dogs out in your yard to play in early AM without disturbing your neighbors--then go back to bed for another couple of hours of sleep???
It's 76 here & awesome! Crazy as a friend of mine told me it's 106 in Minnesota where she lives!!!
But, it's been raining like crazy, so not much walking is getting done. Wraith hates the rain. [ but the NK don't mind it, so weird! ]
Heidi - Personally, I've made space in my house where I moved out all the furniture so the pups would have a cool area to play, run around, & wrestle. Maybe do something like that? ~
We have house and yard space for playing and Noah or I can let the dogs out in the morning and Noah can let them out in the evening. I guess I just feel like they need a walk, too. I did take them on a short walk on a hot afternoon and they did not appreciate it at all! I guess we'll just stick to yard play and lots of chews and frozen treats on those super hot days.
I have also felt that same pressure, Heidi- that they must have at least a leash walk in the evening and go somewhere besides our yard, but I get out there and it's hot and buggy and they've got woodflies trying to bite their ears and I'm trying to hurry them up so none of us are having fun, we're all panting and then I think: "They dont actually want THIS... the yard (which isnt very buggy somehow- due to the dragonflies I guess!) is fine." Hiking we move fast, so that's different, but I also see them get hot or wet (the swim must have been nice but they'll take forever to dry in the humidity) and try to keep it short. There are plenty of crisp, windy, cool or downright COLD days to do the long work, and they dont need the stressful walks just to get one everyday. We only did yard today. No hike. But the good news is the heat breaks tonight!
One more thing to add for those of you who live in cities or walk on concrete/pavement:
While dogs primarily vent heat through their panting, they do have sweat glands in their pads. These sweat glands are not for thermoregulation, but are believed to help condition the skin. If a dog's pads are too hot, they may sweat to prevent pad damage. So on a hot day if you see little moist paw prints on the ground it's a safe bet your dog is too hot.
I think Kaiya might be weird. If we take her out to go pee on a really hot afternoon, she will head straight to the car so we will take her to the park. As long as she can be in the shade or near the water, she wants to stay and do a whole hike. We take LOTS of water and do LOTS of wading in the bay to cool off, but she seems to like to be in the woods any time, even when its hot out!
Yeah, Sosuke loves to swim, so he's pretty easy to take down to the river and let him cool off and exercise at the same time. Rakka will only wade, though, and it doesn't seem to cool her off enough. She has a thicker coat, too, so sometimes she just stays home. She doesn't seem to mind. She just wants to lay down with a chew on hot days anyway. Which I guess is okay. I'm usually paranoid that I'm not exercising my dogs enough, lol.
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It was 98 here yesterday.
I was just in the Bend Oregon area, it was mid 70's. Very nice.
We are really dry here, so hosing off works nicely. We'd also love to have a small kids pool for them to crawl into but with our dust and dirt it gets dirty in half a second. In very humid areas I would caution with hosing off and leaving out in the humid heat - that can cause problems as the water wont evaporate properly and can cause overheating in and of itself.... We are so dry here that that isn't an issue for us personally.
Hiro quickly does his business and runs back to our door....I really can't blame him.
Hope everyone stays cool today!
What should I do?
But, it's been raining like crazy, so not much walking is getting done. Wraith hates the rain. [ but the NK don't mind it, so weird! ]
Heidi - Personally, I've made space in my house where I moved out all the furniture so the pups would have a cool area to play, run around, & wrestle. Maybe do something like that? ~
While dogs primarily vent heat through their panting, they do have sweat glands in their pads. These sweat glands are not for thermoregulation, but are believed to help condition the skin. If a dog's pads are too hot, they may sweat to prevent pad damage. So on a hot day if you see little moist paw prints on the ground it's a safe bet your dog is too hot.