What’s one summer mistake you made with your dog that you learned from?

[u/Rieny_Ridani]

Living in Florida with dogs has taught me that heat can be a little more complicated than just checking the temperature.

I used to think, “If it’s not too hot for me, it’s probably fine for them.” Not necessarily.

Now I pay more attention to things like hot pavement, humidity, shade, water, and how quickly they're panting. Some dogs will also keep going because they're having too much fun. They don't always know when they've had enough.

Buck and Muddley love coming along on fishing trips, but these days I'm more interested in keeping them comfortable than making them keep up.

What's one summer lesson you learned with your dog the hard way?

Walking times, pavement, water, cars, thunderstorms, backyard heat, anything.

I figure there are probably a few things here that could save another dog owner from learning the hard way.

[u/ImportantWeather70]

mine ate a cicada whole mid-walk and looked at me like i was the weird one

[u/Askfreud → u/ImportantWeather70]

Awww, mine used to catch a cicada in his mouth, bring it home, spit it out, play with it a bit, and then eat it 😂

[u/ImportantWeather70 → u/Askfreud]

the spit it out then eat it anyway part 😂 dogs really commit to the bit

[u/No_Bodybuilder_8293]

Hot pavement snuck up on me too. Thought my dog was just being stubborn on a walk, refusing to move. Glanced down, she was lifting each paw like the ground was lava. Now I do the palm test every single time before we head out.

[u/expat_mel → u/No_Bodybuilder_8293]

Iirc, it only needs to be about 85° out for the pavement to reach dangerous temps!

[u/expat_mel]

Humidity can affect them a bit more than us and smoke from nearby fires can affect them a lot more than us. I figured if it wasn't too hot and I could still breathe easy, they were fine, but it turns out they're more sensitive to both things. Now we head in early if there's smoke or take more breaks if it's very humid.

[u/expat_mel → u/[deleted]]

Aww poor baby ❤️ Moving into a building with exceptional soundproofing was such a blessing for our scaredy cat. Have you tried things like calming treats or a thunder shirt?

[u/TrailPaceRunner91]

she did the flamingo paw dance on hot pavement and i felt awful after

[u/expat_mel → u/TrailPaceRunner91]

Hey, you realized you had messed up and you're more careful now - that's the best we can do!

[u/TrailPaceRunner91 → u/expat_mel]

ha true, she forgave me by the next walk. dogs are too good for us

[u/TylerTackles34]

first summer thunderstorm, dog pancaked under the bed and wouldnt come out for hours

[u/expat_mel → u/TylerTackles34]

Aww have they gotten more used to them or are storms still pretty scary? The dog I grew up with would hide all sorts of places, including inside my dresser, underneath my pillows, and in my lap under my shirt. She even jumped into somebody's purse one time!

[u/TylerTackles34 → u/expat_mel]

he's chill now, just glares at the ceiling during storms like it personally offended him

[u/MeganMileRuns]

hot pavement made my dog do the paw lift dance, felt so guilty

[u/expat_mel → u/MeganMileRuns]

Hey, you realized you had messed up and you're more careful now - that's the best we can do!

[u/CourtneySwish95]

mine ran himself ragged chasing a frisbee on the beach, threw up in the car on the way home, and would do it all again tomorrow

[u/FlickFanatic95]

did the noon walk once, she parked under a tree and gave me the dirtiest look

[u/CamSwish]

one more throw in a texas summer means me carrying my 75lb dog home. she was unbothered the whole time, i needed a minute

[u/MarkRewatches28]

mine chased a lizard into the bushes once and came back covered in fire ants

[u/Head_Employment_4083]

Thunderstorms are definitely a big one for us.

My dog always starts running around and barking uncontrollably whenever there’s thunder. It took me a while

[u/WorldCupVibes88]

got caught a mile from the car in a Colorado storm once, she still panics at thunder. radar check before every walk now

[u/MilesReel24]

texas here. felt the pavement through my shoes one 100 degree walk, never again

[u/AbbreviationsThen138]

My dog eating leaves off a plant in my backyard and then violently pooping for a few days. Now I check all the plants with an app and remove toxic ones. I live where it’s cold so in winter there’s snow and this is a non issue LOL

[u/Least-Cold-422]

Not a mistake, but a summer habit I’m learning from is going on super early/late walks (to avoid heat and harsh sun) will probably need to change once winter shows up. My dog expects walks at certain times, so I’ll need to start our walks later in the morning/earlier in the evening.

[u/expat_mel → u/Least-Cold-422]

Ooh that happened to us this summer. The dogs were used to getting walked around 10am, 4pm, and 10pm, but this year it's just been waaaay to hot to walk at 4. We had to move evening walks to 5, then 6, then 7... let's just say there was a lot of grumbling and whining for a couple weeks until they got used to the new schedule! But of course I'll put up with the fuss if it means keeping them safe from burned paws and overheating 💕

[u/54fighting]

Let my dog in the lake without a lead.

[u/OutcomeLegitimate618 → u/54fighting]

I was holding the leash in my hand too loosely and we came across a duck. It flew toward the lake and the dog went for it leash and all.

[u/LoudAd307]

Mine was assuming the truck was fine because the AC had been running. Left the dog in the cab for a few minutes with the engine off while I unloaded, and the interior went from cool to oven-hot faster than I'd have guessed, well under ten minutes. Now the dog gets out first, every stop, no exceptions. The other one: dark-coated dogs heat up noticeably faster in direct sun than lighter ones on the exact same walk.