Too wet to plow and too windy to shingle, it's too hot for the garden and the dog what to do?

 I take my Heinz 57 border collie for a run 4-5 times a week, It's normally about 1/2 mile. We take a route from on top of our levee, run 1/4 mile along it (grass covered) then we go down the levee it's a hill, out on the road she runs in the weeds and grass next to the road. Then we run to the turnaround spot and do it one more time. I'm fortunate there is very little asphalt or paved services, we live in a hot climate during the summer months. I have in the yard several buckets of water, the wild critters and my dog all drink from it, I keep them filled.

Stay cool, stay cool. 

  It's vitally important when starting a supply such as the water buckets that I stay consistent, the animals do rely on it. I will go to the garden in the morning and notice tracks all around the bucket, even though the river is 50 yards away they still drink from it. It's shaded by a peach tree, on grass (I garden in raised beds) affording my dog and the critters a place to rest. Learn to set up a wild animal habitat here.
  I also know this is not advisable but I do it anyway, we grill a lot of turkey's, I will put the carcass in the garden and let the raccoons take it. If I don't the trash cans contents will be scattered all over the place. It's much less work to just let them have it, they will get it anyway they can. A short paper on the symptoms of rabies click here.
  We treated her for the seed ticks, they are history at least for this year, it was an ordeal to put it mildly. Then immediately she got infested with fleas, real bad. It is a real learning experience for me, the vet told me to look for the little black "specks" on her skin. That she said is tick feces, yes indeed, now hold your nose, that is what the ticks feed on partly. Flea treatment link here. They do feed on the dog's skin and such, but I will not rid of the ticks if the black specks are not washed off. When they are washed off, it appears the dog is bleeding, the feces is kind of red. The commercial flea treatment did not work on all dogs this year, but the pills do, I gave her the chew able pill and it is working so far. I put one in my dog emergency kit.
  I watched a red squirrel running across the asphalt roof of my neighbors house, the ambient temperature was around 100 degrees f. The dog's nemesis would take a few steps and lift it's feet up one at a time. Apparently the roof was hot and it was burning the apple thief's feet. The squirrel

Another fruit thief, it seem's they would be much fatter. 

dashed to a shady spot and appeared to get some relief. Which brings me to my main point of this blog, dog's feet need to be protected from the heat. There are a lot of ways to do it, check the temperature of the pavement. Place a hand or foot on the paved area, if it's too hot for your hand it's too hot for your pet. Go out early in the morning or late afternoon after the temps recede, and stay on the grass if possible. I will wet down the grass and weeds around my containers and let her cool her feet off, sometimes I will wet her down as well. We can buy "booties" for both cat's and dog's, we used them when I lived in the North during the winter and they are useful during the summer as well. Watch your pet, inspect their pads, if the animal is licking, chewing or paying an abnormal amount of attention to their paws take a look at them. If they are pinkish or red they may be burned, look for blisters, cuts and open sores. If there are any go directly to the vet to have them administered, or do it yourself by washing, drying, apply a antibiotic then complete it with a bandage. An interesting paper on dog's and pain is here. A paper on Cat's and pain here.

Just one more indignity foisted upon me. Couldn't he have chosen
a different color? I am a guard dog! 

From the moment we take on the responsibility of a pet, it is our responsibility to be sure they are doing well. Part of being self reliant is making sure our pet's are as self reliant as they can be as well, a huge part is making certain they are in good health. Thanks for reading, take a look at your pets pads, look for fleas and ticks, stay hydrated (everyone) and pay attention to them, they'll love you for it.

jimandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com  Dog Emergency Kit