It’s been incredibly hot and humid in the northeast the last three or four days which makes exercising the dogs pretty challenging. I haven’t been able to find any areas of water they can swim in and Sampson is not a big swimmer anyway, so we stuck to our walks.
I generally keep their walks short in this type of weather, anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes,because I worry about heat stroke. If I have the time in the morning before the heat of the day catches up, I like to take advantage of it. Such was the case the past couple of days.
Yesterday I decided to take the dogs down to the back part of the woods. This is an area I generally don’t go to for a number of reasons 1) the scare I had back there last year, 2) the path has very easy access to a much larger park so there are generally more people and dogs down there and 3) the path down and back is very steep.
It was only about 9:15 am, but it was already warm and very humid. There is a lovely little brook (when we have our fair share of rain) down there and it gives the dogs a little drink and a place to cool off. Plus there is less sun busting through the trees which it makes the hiking somewhat comfortable.
As Kristine indicated last week, The Leaves Are Back In Town which means when you are walking your dog off-leash it’s not as easy to see approaching people or dogs.
The nice thing about this area is there are a number of options for walking, one of which is a lovely wash, that is fairly wide (in terms of hiking trails) with quite a good view of the trail ahead.
Very good visibility.
We walked for about 10 to 12 minutes up the wash, then I turned around and headed back. I knew this would be the toughest part due to the steepness of the climb.
Luckily there are lots of stones, both small and large embedded in the ground, as well as some areas where tree roots are exposed. I use these stones and roots as a way to secure myself to keep from slipping and falling.
Almost like stairs.
When we are heading down these steep areas, I usually say, “Easy Delilah, Easy” and she actually does very little pulling and waits very patiently for me.
On the way back up however I have been heard to say, “Pull Delilah Pull.” 🙂
Delilah is spectacular on the hills. She is also great on the giant rocks, sometimes I actually think she is part Mountain Goat as I have literally seen her go straight up the face of a rock.
We’d been out about 35 minutes by the time we reached the top of the cliff, and yes I’m calling that a cliff, so shut it.
I swear the picture doesn’t do it justice!
By the time we got back to the car it had been about 45 minutes, that coupled with the fact that they were sniffing and exploring a new area, helped tire them out. After a quick cool off in the pool, they each found a comfy spot and settled in for a well deserved snooze.
Whoo, that was a tough one!
You can say that again!
Delilah did rally a little bit later to play a couple of rounds of fetch to help us make a showing in K-9 Kamp, but for the most part they had a pretty mellow, relaxing day. 🙂
Do you modify your dog’s exercise when it’s hot and/or humid? If so, what types of things do you do?
I can’t help but notice that you made Sampson’s bed so there will be no uncomfortable lumps or anything. So thoughtful.
What a beautiful place to walk! Yes, we try to get Lila to take it easy on warm days too!
The photo of Samson sleeping brought a smile to my face! They are both so cute. As I think we have “discussed” via comments, I just love the sight of a sleeping dog.
I, too, am such a worry rat when it comes to their physical activity in this heat — and it isn’t even June yet! Much like you, I keep the walks or the visits to the park brief and always carry a bottle of water and am probably going to start carrying two bottles just to be sure. When we are at the park, after playing fetch for awhile, Samson will usually find some shade and gravitate over and lie down — that is usually my cue to slow things down and get ready to head in. I have been thinking of purchasing one of those cooling devices for him to wear around his neck. May try that this summer.
By the way, ya’ll are lucky to have such easy access to that trail — and to that CLIFF! 🙂
When it is hot and humid my mom won’t let Ernie and Me go down to my favorite Maple tree to dig and stuffs. Sometimes she will let us go there to pee in the big shade puddle butt not to play and stuffs. THEN when we come back up the hill we get nice cool Flavor Ice.
I looked at that picture… I agree that is a CLIFF fur SURE.
That cliff was steep. I’m serious. You are one brave woman!
I don’t do too much with the Newfs in the heat of the summer. We play fetch in the house with the air conditioner on, and go for short walks if the night cools down enough. They basically hibernate through the summer.
The weather was so hot the day Thunder ran that Finished test. My hubbie was a bit worried about him. He made sure to dry him off after the water portion and to put fans on him after the land portion. We always bring a pop up tent for extra shade. It will be nice when we get the trailer because there will be a ventilation system.
On Monday we were able to get out first thing in the morning to train. Now that was nice. It would be great to do that everyday, but darn we need to work.
Your trails look very nice. I like that there is a lot of shade. On hot days we try to find shade to train in.
Yeah I officially have dog envy. Im lazy. Ive thought about changing my blog name to Lazy Hound Girl, ha. If I could get my hands on a golf cart and walk my dogs I would. Ive almost asked the kids on my street to let me borrow their motorized scooters to walk the dog 🙂
To be honest I was way more into walking when Fred was alive, there was something about him that made him the happiest dog in the earth if he could be out walking, maybe it was his nose but he changed the second we were out of the house. Some of my best memories are of Fred and I walking – the things we encountered, the people we met and the things I told him while walking that no one else knows about – it was our time. He helped me acheive peace on alot of our walks.
Haylie – she cant walk over 2 miles with her hips in one day – its too much on her – she will start to swag. She tends to get her walks in just the neighborhood since they are short and sweet.
The summer time I do alot of walking with the dogs at places – like the plant nursery, inside lowes since it has a/c 🙂 and going to the farmers market etc, its a win-win ecxcercise plus training!
Doggy would love that little trail.
Here we are already on the 100’s, not so good for my furry beast, I keep doing the same. Eventually I’ll have to change our routine once he hit 110-120 in July. As for now he’s happy rolling on any available puddle and drinking plenty of water, when he has had enough he goes under a tree and stays there till he’s ok to play again.
To be sure. Shiva isn’t overly sensitive to heat but when she starts to pant heavily, I try to be conscious of her hydration and get her to some water. She has suffered from mild heat stroke in the past and I don’t want to put her though that again. We normally walk in the early morning and late evening which tend to be cooler times of day. If it’s too hot – a rare event in Nova Scotia – we definitely cut the walk short.
That forest looks like a lovely place to walk. I wish there was more nearby that didn’t require driving. Our little park is fine but it doesn’t provide a lot in the way of fun cliffs like yours.
Wow – you guys sure are pooped!! My Mum asks me to pull her up the hills when we run sometimes too, but I usually get her to pull me up!! Tee Hee
It’s gonna get really hot here too, but luckily not humid – we go early and via the water fountain in the Park on our Summer runs 🙂
Have fun guys,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
You must be exhausted! That cliff looked like a great workout!
I definitely worry about over heating in he summer, especially with Kolchak. That short Puggle snout of his doesn’t give the air much time to cool off before it hits his lungs. We try to do shorter walks & runs, more often in the summer and I have been known to set the alarm for sunrise, so we can get out and have a good solid run/walk at least a couple times a week. It’s not the same, but I figure they get more fetch/tug of war/walking up and down the deck steps to get to the BBQ in the summer so it all evens out.
I think it’s great that you’ve found a way to make the most of Delilah’s mountain goat skills along with giving her a chance to give you a pull up. Good job tiring everyone out.
I always carry water on long, hot weather walks. We’re lucky that many of our local walks bring us alongside water so we can always wade to cool down. I love living in a city with easy water access.
BTW, thanks for stopping over at my BlogPaws interview to say hi. I plan to post a lot of information from my talk on Something Wagging. Or maybe I’ll start a BlogPaws group on finding time. Hopefully we can all encourage and learn from each other.
I definitely modify my dog Mazzie’s walking schedule when it’s hot and humid because she just can’t take being outside otherwise.
I try to start our long AM walks earlier and aim to stay out an extra 20 – 30 minutes, as well as try and tack some extra time on to our long PM walks.
Also, while Mazzie would also normally be walked for an hour around 2 each day when I’m at work, I tell her walker to take her to a nearby park and sit in the shade with a bowl of water. This way she can people and squirrel watch without overheating, as well as take care of her business.
I also ALWAYS walk Mazzie on the shady side of the street when it’s sunny and hot so that she doesn’t burn her paws. It’s amazing how hot NYC street and sidewalks can get (put your hand down for a few minutes and you’ll see for yourself).
I’d consider it a cliff with the way this humidity has been too! They look quite comfy relaxing afterwards. I’m careful with the dogs in the heat and don’t allow them to play as much and don’t take walks during the hottest hours of the day. I’m especially careful with Leah, due to her age, and Toby, as he always seems to overheat easily. He’s just never been a summer dog.