Hot and Humid Weather - Page 1

Would like to know how you handle the this hot summer weather when it comes to training and ensuring that your dog get his or her daily routine in?

In early spring, it was not much of an issue.  Usually out the door before 630 am and after 7 pm at nite.  Now I find that even at 530-6 am, its pretty bleak.

Suggestions would be very helpful.


Don

early am and late evening training and kiddie pools for them to lay in to cool quickly... short multiple training sessions. If at the club training I place ice in a bowl in front of crate fan and let it blow over into the crate, make sure parked in shade and use the open crate instead of vari kennel.

I don't get off work until 11pm-1AM, so I do a big portion of my obedience late night. Anything done during the day is kept short enough to not over heat the dogs.

i live in Phx were its damn near impossible at toimes.  You gotta work them around5:30 am.  After 9 it is too hot.  In the evenining around 7:30pm its ok to train but even then it is around 102 at 7:30PM!!!!!  sometimes it is cooler but even still too hot for real work...usually just enough for a walk and then some OB.

Just too hot here.  During the day it gets to be 112 and it gets hotter as they day goes on.

Sounds uninhabitable to me, Ace. Not fit for anything but snakes and lizards that can hide under a rock.

We've been keeping things super short, and usually only in the night time (I work over nights anyway and she comes with). If we do anything in the day time it is really short, as I don't do well in the heat and humidity either! 90+ degrees with 90%+ Humidity - Nebraska sucks in the summer time!

I work my dog everyday in the heat.  I use a cooling vest on really hot days.  I do not have the luxury of picking when to work the dog or what activity we may be doing next.  I go from narcotics searches to tracks to building searches, apprehensions and back to narcotics searches and everything in between.    I feed twice a day, keep the dog fit and acclimated to the heat.  I monitor water intake after the dog exerts itself.  If I work the dog hard in the heat and put the dog away, he can drink water for about 10 seconds then I remove the bowl.  I wait several minutes before giving anymore water.  You really need to be careful with a dog gulping water on a hot day, too much water can cause the dog to "tank" a condition similar to bloat.  Do not give ice water or a bowl filled with ice and water as well.   I leave my car running all day with the AC on high.  If you do work you dog in the heat, keep the sessions short.  Learn to recognize the signs of heat stroke and stop working the dog before it is "gassed out."  Never hose or wet your dog down and then place it in a plastic crate in your car. The dog will heat up the crate and raise the humidity in the crate causing it to be stifling.  If you think your dog is overheated, walk the dog in a cool are and stay with the dog.  Do not put the dog back ina  car and leave it alone.  On very hot days, you need to check on your dog constantly when out.  I never go more than 10 minutes with out checking on my dog in the car and I have heat alarms on the car.  

Just a few ideas.