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?
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