Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Beating the Heat

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Exercising Tips to Beat the Heat:

In New England our really hot, humid days arrive towards the end of July, and really nail us hard in August.  I can’t really complain about the weather we’ve had thus far because we’ve had some really beautiful days.

The last couple of days though, we’ve had some hot (upper 80’s, low 90’s) humid days,  which makes exercising the pups challenging.  No worries on this end, we’re used to dealing with challenges.

I thought I’d share some of our tips for beating the heat with you.

The morning walk is fairly comfortable because we leave the house between 6:00 and 6:10.  Even if it’s a tad humid, it’s not uncomfortable. If I had my druthers (and Sampson didn’t need the second walk) I’d make this walk the ‘walk’ and extend it to half an hour or so.    It’s so quiet and peaceful, we rarely run into dogs never mind people.  (I probably just jinxed myself.)

The afternoon walk is harder.  We have no sidewalks in our neighborhood so we walk on the road.  The road that has been sitting in the hot sun all day.  Because of this I encourage the dogs to walk on the grass as much as possible.

This grass is nice and soft and very cool on my paws.

This grass is nice and soft and very cool on my paws.

Since I know the area, I guide the dogs to take the shadier route.  The route where more trees line the road, shading it from the hot afternoon sun, because we live in an elevated area, there is often a gentle breeze blowing.

If we head uphill, we get to the shady part of the street.

It could almost be Mayberry, no?

Keep our walks short. 

For our morning walk, I set the timer on my phone for 11 minutes, when the alarm goes off, we turn around and head for home.  The afternoon is slightly different because Sampson and Delilah get separate walks.  Because I walk the area so much, I have a general idea of what constitutes a quick walk for Delilah.  For Sampson I set the timer on my phone for 9 minutes and turn around when it goes off.   I know those are odd increments of time, but for Sampson I am trying to keep his walks to between 15 and 20 minutes, leaning more towards the 15 if possible.  The extra time in there accounts for sniffing and time to do their business.

I know I don’t need to say this, but make sure your dog has access to water.  They can get heatstroke just like we can!  Always check with your Vet if you have concerns about your pet and what type of exercise is best for them.

Indoor fun

Sometimes on really hot days, we will have a heat warning and be advised to stay indoors.  That’s when I have to find some fun things to do inside.  

I’m sure you know this but I’ll say it anyway, switching things up for your pet can be as tiring as a long walk.  Making them use their brains to think also has the same affect and can actual tire them more.

Sometimes I’ll hide some carrots around the house and let them run about finding them.  We also have some boxes saved for scent work, or we can work on cavalettis, trick training or basic obedience.  Don’t be afraid to mix it up, especially when it’s really hot.

 

I prefer to be outside. Please and thank you!

I prefer to be outside. Please and thank you!

Interview:

I was super excited to be invited for an interview on Confessions of a Rescue Mom yet?  It’s good practice for me for when I finally get that book finished. 😉 If you didn’t see my post on Facebook and you’re interested  you can read it HERE.

 

Heart Like a Dog

Welcome to Thursday’s Barks and Bytes Blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dogs and Heart Like a Dog.

The Barks and Bytes hop is for anything at all and all bloggers are welcome.  You don’t have to be a dog blog to join. 

For new blog hoppers, a blog hop is list of links that is shared on multiple blogs.  In order to be fair to all participants we ask you to please use the linky list.  If your blog does not support a linky list, please link back to your hosts.

Determination Can Find a Way

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Yesterday I told you I have plans to take Sampson up to the woods for walks.  I figure it will be challenging based upon the folks that let their dogs run off-leash up there, but if I plan carefully and take precautions I think it’s doable.

Saturday I set off for the woods.  We walked up the hill and into the park.  I’ve taken Sampson up here a couple of times, but during those times I’ve only gone into the field and walked him around.

Our park has a three or four different colored trails.  Saturday I chose the orange trail, which is (IMO) the hardest trail, because there are areas where it is very steep.  If you follow the entire trail (which we didn’t) you will encounter these challenging areas at a minimum of three or four times.

Sampson and I caught the orange trail right inside the park.  This particular trail starts off up hill but it levels out at the top, and it intersects with the yellow trail, which is very wide and the main trail into the park.  It’s also all down hill from where we picked it up. My thought process was all uphill for the beginning of the walk when we were fresh with lots of energy, then all down hill on the way home.

Follow me Mama, I haven't forgotten.

Follow me Mama, I haven’t forgotten.

The other reason I chose the this particular section of the orange trail was for the height.  This trail runs parallel with the yellow trail, so while the trees are full, I still have a great advantage to keep an eye out for people and off-leash dogs and that gives me the option of tightening my grip on Sampson, or turning around to avoid the conflict.

I’m not sure if it was the time of day, the fact it was a holiday weekend or we maybe the universe was just giving us a lovely walk, but we didn’t encounter another dog or person. 

 

Just like I remember.

Just like I remember.

He remembered all the spots we usually run into someone too!  

The Heart Like a Dog Lesson: Even when something seems impossible, determination can find a way. 

Do-Don’t, Will-Won’t

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I’ve been getting some conflicting opinions on how to deal with Sampson’s recovery from ACL surgery.  The problem is the complication of the Iliospsoas Muscle strain/tear.  

DO:

When our vet saw him a couple of weeks ago she told me to help heal the strain/tear I should be stretching Sampson’s leg out.

DON’T:

When I saw the physical therapist last week, she told me you do not stretch a muscle that is strained.

DO:

The physical therapist was using the underwater treadmill with Sampson once a week and didn’t have a problem with Sampson walking for 1/2 an hour twice a day.

DON’T:

My vet said his walks could be between 15 to 20 minutes, but at a very slow pace.

DO:

When I met with the surgeon last week, I was telling him how much Sampson loved his wood walks and how I was afraid to take him up there because I was afraid he would slip in the dried leaves.  The surgeon said, don’t worry about the leaves, take him up there, let him have his wood walks.

DON’T:

I told him my concern with the wood walks was the off-leash dogs and how excited Sampson is when he sees a person or dog.  The surgeon said, don’t let him get excited and bounce around like a ping pong ball.

MY WAY

I started thinking about the time that Hubby tore a muscle in his back.  And how incapacitated he was for almost a full week while that muscle began healing.  For the first couple of days he couldn’t move at all, then gradually he began limited movement by using a walker.

I thought about what made sense to me in terms of dealing with a muscle strain, I talked it over with Hubby and we decided a course of action.

WILL:

I will continue to walk Sampson, but the walks will be very, very slow and limited in time.  I will strive to keep his walks to between 15 to 20 minutes twice a day.

WON’T:

I won’t have Sampson use the underwater treadmill.  I spoke to the physical therapist and we swapped the treadmill out for cold laser therapy.  Once the package is up, which is the end of this month, I can continue taking Sampson to our own vet to continue the cold laser.

WILL:

Once a week I will take Sampson up to his beloved woods for a walk.

That WILL be lovely Mama. The field is nice, but I LOVE my woods.

That WILL be lovely Mama. The field is nice, but I LOVE my woods.

WON’T:

I will try to choose a path in the woods where I can see people/dogs approaching and do my best to not let him get too excited.

WILL:

As soon as I can schedule it, I will set Sampson up with some more acupuncture treatments.

I will also work on getting my DIY cavaletti’s made so in a couple of weeks we can begin building his muscle up again.

I’m not sure this is the right course of action, but to me it makes sense.

I’d be interested to hear what you all think, especially if you’ve had a pet with these issues or work in the veterinary field.

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