It all boils down to common sense: If you are hot, so is your dog.
Normally, a newspaper reporter might seek expert opinions on a subject like this.
Not this time.
I’ve been walking dogs in Texas for almost 70 years, nearly 40 of those in Austin.
Along the way, I’ve picked up a thing or two. Yet whenever a question comes up about how to walk your pup during our tropical summers, I fall back on the emotional wisdom of inter-species empathy.
That and the unmistakable evidence of a dog’s current physical condition.
Without further ceremony, I offer 5 tips for keeping your hound healthy and safe when the mercury rises to unprecedented heights:
1. In the summer, timing is everything
Visual test: If street tar is shimmering like black gold, it is not time to walk your dog. Keep in mind the title of the 1980 comedy classic, “9 to 5.” Don’t leave the house for a walk after 9 a.m. or before 5 p.m. In fact, because our 4-year-old hound-retriever mixes are black, pointed with white, I push back the morning walks to 8 a.m. or even 7 a.m. as the summer progresses. Depending on your circadian rhythms, that might mean going to bed an hour earlier, but you will thank your sleepy self if the temps are still in the 70s when you exit the front door.
2. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
What goes for hominids, goes for canines. Dogs need water. Cool water. Replace that big bowl of agua at least twice a day. Keep it in the shade. Test the temps with your fingers. Make sure your pets have access to their preferred watering hole as soon as they return from their walks. Dogs don’t use water directly to cool off their core organs — that’s what vasodilation and their panting tongues do — but if their tongues are curled up like ribbons, they need a drink, too.
3. On the shady side of the street
Shade can reduce the temperature of the surrounding air by 6 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. (See, I did use an expert.) The psychological benefits can seem even more valuable. As any walker knows, the long shadows at dawn quickly shift around as the sun rises, then lengthen as the sun sets, oh so slowly. Map out the deviating shade of your walking district and plan accordingly.
4. Steady as they go
Just as ultra-fit Austinites jog at noon on summer days, there are those runners who bring along their doggies, who, one hopes, are also ultra-fit. Too often, they don’t seem to be doing well. A dog heaving and panting behind a bicyclist or runner can appear, at least from a distance, to be the victim of animal cruelty. As for pup’s padded paws, if the ground is too hot for your bare feet, it is too hot for canine twinkle toes.
5. Bring them home, bring them home
Austin would not be a big place today, much less an international metropolis, without air-conditioning. Your pooches deserve to soak up some of that AC. Even if your dogs live outside, bring them in after their walks. When they return to the yard, use a hose, sprinkler or doggie pool for a deep cooling.
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