This evening's walk, from Courthouse to Brett's & back.

We met lots of people on the walk, one even made a first guess that I was a Bouvier, then second was Black Russian. 

We met the Curl family, by Brett's.  They are visiting from South Carolina.

Met Lisa at Outback Steak House

Yesterday Ms. Poppy and I went to Outback Steak House for Dad's birthday.  While there several of the staff stopped by to say hello.

Ms. Lisa even wanted a picture with us.

On the way to Sound on Centre we met Leeynda and Melody.

We were on our way to listen to Ray, he owns the two wirehaired pointing griffons who sometimes take my ball at the dog park.  He is part of the band Honey Bagers who were playing at Sound on Center this month.

We met and made friends with Leeynda and Melody from Washington, DC.  Note they are color coordinated with our leashes.

Met Lexie H., Adi K. ,Brooke A. and Grayden visiting from Ohio

On our walk downtown Tuesday, the dog park closes on Tuesday, we met Lexie H., Adi K., Brooke A. and Grayden visiting from Ohio.  They were enjoying some frozen yogurt from Island Time, one of my pit stops on our walk, they put out a large bowl of water, and keep it filled, you can see it in the background, on the left.



                                   

Busy two days

Last night we went down to Petsmart River City, where Ms. Amber was giving the Canine Good Citizen Test.  Team Konna, Team Miki, Team Zoey and Team Dolly all  participated and passed.  Team Dolly got Star Puppy since Dolly wasn't one year old.  I was doing my bi-annual retest, not required for the title but recommended for doing therapy visits.

Then this morning Dad had to go to the bank, some low-life had cloned his credit card.  I didn't object since they give out cookies.  Then we took a walk downtown where we met Mac.

Then this afternoon Dad went to Bosque Bello Cemetery to check on the engraving he had done on the back of his mother's headstone, listing the family members.  After that we made another trip downtown where we met Diane, 'Kansas City BBQ Queen'.

and  later we met Zeke.

                                          

Met Steiger, a Bouv who is traveling up ICW from Key West to Virginia.

Ms. Poppy center front, Steiger center back, me on left, Dad, Mary Ellen, and Mom.

Dad had seen a post by Angel Fox on FB, Steiger's nom de plume, about their trip on the Intercoastal Waterway.  He invited them to stop by Fernandina and visit.

We met them and went downtown where Poppy, my Bouv housemate, introduced Steiger to La Torres, where we go a cookie.  Then we went back to the  pocket part were our humans had a drink from the coffee shop, and they sent out ice water for us.

Why I am not shaved for summer.

The thermal image of an Aussie, with a Lion cut, natural fur/hair in front, shaved in rear.  The bluer the image the colder,  The aussie is probably sitting on a table in an air conditioned exame room where the room temperature is colder than 75,  the dogs skin temperature (shaved area) is 86° F (30.8° C)  the coat area temperature is 75° F (24° C).  In this case protecting the Aussie from the cold ambient temperature, with an 11 degree difference.  The process also works in reverse, the coat would insulate the dog from a hot ambient temperature. 

From How Do Dogs Stay Cool During the Summer? .

Credits:Shevs/Shutterstock

Just Chill Out!

First of all, let’s tackle how humans keep cool. As we know, our bodies produce sweat when we become overheated. This is a very efficient mechanism by which the human body regulates its temperature. Sweat glands are the organs responsible for producing and secreting sweat, and are located all over our bodies. This effectively means that the cooling process takes place over a large surface area of the skin, which is definitely desirable, particularly after a vigorous workout. What about dogs though? Do they sweat in the same way?

When a dog gets excited, stressed, or has recently exercised, its body temperature naturally rises, so it needs to get rid of this extra heat. Unlike humans, dogs have very few sweat glands, with most of them located in the animal’s footpads. Dog owners have surely noticed that their pets often leave wet footprints behind on hard surfaces. Turns out that this is because your dog is sweating!

Is sweating from their paws the only way dogs keep cool?

No. Not even close.

Actually, the main way in which dogs regulate their body temperature is by panting with their mouths open. Some people are under the wrong impression that since dogs cool down by panting, their tongues must contain sweat glands too. This, however, is not the case.

Panting serves two main purposes in terms of cooling a dog down. Firstly, the moisture on the tongue evaporates while panting, while the heavy breathing allows moisture to evaporate from the moist lining of their lungs. Furthermore, dogs cool off via vasodilation. The blood vessels in their face and ears expand, enabling the blood to flow closer to the skin, allowing heat to be exchanged with the outside environment. Pretty cool!

Don’t Let Sparky Get Too Hot!

Despite their cool-down mechanisms, dogs are still prone to getting overheated (hyperthermia) and eventually suffering from heat strokes. Heat strokes are very dangerous, as they can cause brain damage and even death for your beloved pooch.