Summer is in full swing which means lots of outdoor activities, and if you're like me, more things to do with your pup!
But to me that means all the more reason to be responsible, and to make good judgment calls when it comes to Layla and helping her stay cool. If you don't know about her already, which is probably really hard since I talk about her ALL.THE.TIME hehehe, but she's a golden retriever. A.k.a. my little cuddly polar bear.
She has lots of thick fluffy fur which is A+ conditions for snuggling but not so much when it comes to 90 degree heat. So, I do all that I can to make the summer comfortable for her and to avoid dangerous situations like dehydration and heat stroke.
Let's break it down in three basic scenarios.
Walking
I just started my staycation this morning which is good news for Layla since she gets two walks a day especially since the rain is finally letting up! After legs this morning at the gym, I took her for a quick walk this morning to stretch out my legs and hers. It was about 10am and maybe 60 degrees which is unusually cool. Hey, I'm not complaining though!
My point is, I was okay with taking her a bit later in the morning since it was still pretty cool, and I knew she'd be okay. I never, ever, ever walk her in the heat of the day. What I usually do is take her after dinner around 7-8pm when the main heat of the day has cooled off.
The other option when I run her is I do it before 6am. I still make sure to be careful because there are some mornings when it's very, very humid to the point where it's uncomfortable for me. If it's like that, I will not take Layla with me.
I keep her walks to about 20-30 minutes and that's pretty much all she needs because the heat drains her too. I even let her pick the routes because she knows our town very well at this point. It's hard not to since it's a square mile lolz. For example, this morning she only wanted to go for 20 minutes. I was planning on going a little farther but she would tug on certain turns that she knew would get us home sooner so I listened!
The general rule that you want to do to find out if it's too hot for your pup is the 5 second rule. If you can't hold your hand against the pavement for at least 5 seconds then it's not safe to walk your dog.
When we get back from a walk or run, I give Layla ice cubes which are her favorite! I give her plenty of fresh water, put in a few ice cubes, and then give her a couple to chew on to cool down.
This morning after our walk she even went around to all the water bowls and took those ice cubes out too!
Car Rides
I think everyone knows at this point that leaving a dog in a hot car with the windows closed is a deadly situation. I hear so many stories about dogs dying in cars because their owners left them in the car for hours at a time, and the poor things overheated.
Layla loves to go for car rides, and I often take her with me to go on quick errands where I know she won't have to stay long in the car by herself. Now that it's summer I don't think she should have to stay home and not come in the car, it just means I have to be more cautious.
I make sure to leave the windows down, and not just a crack. I will leave her several inches so her whole head can stick out. Not so much that she could jump out the window or anything but enough that she can neb around at everything, and possibly say hi to anyone walking by. She's definitely not a guard dog haha!
Usually what I do is on the way to wherever we're going is to have the air conditioner running so that the whole car cools down. I put the back windows down for her so she can stick her head out. I know it sounds like a waste to some people to have the ac on with the windows down but we're talking like 10 minute errands that I run. Not even leaving our town or anything! I never take Layla if it's a long trip where she'll have to stay in the car for most of the time by herself. That's not fun at all for her.
So by the time she has to stay in the car, it's already cooled down and then she has all four of the windows open. That way she can stay safe and cool!
She's never alone for more than a couple minutes because like I said, I won't take her for long errands. Even with the windows down, that doesn't guarantee that the car will stay cool all that long.
Hanging Outside
When we're outside I always make sure Layla has access to two very important things: water and shade. My aunt has a pool and back deck so we hang out there a lot but we make sure that Layla and Lola don't get too hot. We fill up a tupperware dish full of water and put ice cubes in it. There's also shaded parts of the deck since it's at the back of the house, and there's shade under the furniture too.
Both of them want to be outside with the rest of the family, and I don't think they should have to stay inside the whole time. We just keep tabs on them to see how they're doing. We'll often take breaks and go inside or make them go inside to cool off in the air conditioning for a bit.
I just bought Layla an inflatable baby pool for our backyard which I will most definitely be setting up for her this weekend. Now that it's finally sunny, I want her to be able to enjoy the summer too! True to her retriever nature, she is a water dog through and through. I can't wait to see how excited she gets with the pool haha!
Overall, just please make sure to keep your dog safe! Do some research and read up on warning signs to look for with dehydration and over-heating. You know your dog best so look out for anything out of the ordinary!
