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BABY, IT’S GETTING HOT OUTSIDE!!
Hi,
this is Brophy again with another safety precaution –
Paw Protection. My mom took me for a walk the other day
at our usual time and I noticed it’s already starting to
heat up. She said we’re going to have to start going
out earlier in the day – which means less time for
drinking coffee!
Before we started out
on our walk, Mom bent down and put both hands on the
sidewalk. I thought something was wrong so I
immediately went to her assistance – actually, all I did
was knock her over. It was an accident, honest!
She told me she was
testing the temperature of the cement before we started
our walk – not for her benefit, but for mine. She said
if you can’t hold your bare hands, with pressure, on the
surface (cement or asphalt) for at least 5 seconds
then it is too hot for my paws. As the
temperatures start to rise, the sidewalks & roads will
stay hotter into the evening so just because the sun is
going down doesn’t mean it is cool enough for my tender
pads. If you humans can’t walk barefoot on the street
please don’t make me.
 And
what about those shoes? My friend Beau wears these
really hip dog shoes when he hikes in the desert and
when his mom has to take him across hot parking lots in
the summer. Mom says humans should use caution when
using dog shoes. We dogs can only cool ourselves
through the pads on our feet and by panting. So if
those shoes are kept on for too long we can overheat
very quickly. And, some of those shoes have rubber
soles – rubber gets pretty hot on asphalt that is 120 +
degrees! Ever have your flip flops melt? These shoes
are great for going across a hot surface such as from
the car to obedience class or to the vet. They are also
great for hiking in cooler climates – just remember to
remove them periodically if you think I’m getting hot.
Our humans need to
keep a close eye on us and provide lots of water, shade
and shorter walks as Mother Nature heats up. Remember,
I’m wearing a fur coat!
Be safe and have fun
out there before the dog days of summer arrive.
Love, Brophy
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