Help! It's Toby versus walking in the heat!

2645 Views 27 Replies 15 Participants Last post by pupluv168, Jul 8, 2012

pupluv168

Discussion Starter · Jul 8, 2012

I have a problem. Across the US, it has been ridiculously hot so I doubt I am the only person dealing with this, so I figured some of you guys would have some tips.

With the extreme heat in Florida (90-100 degrees plus 100% humidity, so heat index around 110 degrees), Toby is getting to the point where he doesn't want to walk for longer than a few minutes. He does 3, 1 hour walks a day during the week with me and 4, 1 hour walks on the weekends with my dad and I. Now, with the heat, he doesn't want to walk! He will literally turn around and try to walk home. That's not like him; heel was one of the first commands he mastered. He huffs and puffs constantly. We stop every 15-30 minutes depending on the time of day to give him water, but he has just lost all motivation to walk.

I worry about him not walking as much because he is extremely energetic and needs the energy outlet. But I don't want to torture him or anything either...

What do you guys think I should do? Should I keep walking with him, start doing more frequent, shorter walks, or what? Has anyone else dealt with this?

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 8, 2012

We play games in the house all day long. He lovessss fetch. No matter what I am doing, he will bring his toy to me, I will throw it over and over again. For hours. Maybe I will up his play time and minimize his afternoon walk.

I usually walk early am, mid-day, and evening. Maybe I should make the mid-day walk shorter? It is 90 degrees here from about 8am until 9pm, so it kind of restricts my times to walk. Plus, I live in a very rural area and feel uncomfortable walking in the dark. I wish I could let Toby run around in the hose, but we don't have a fenced yard, so off leash play is pretty impossible.

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 8, 2012

Therese, he walks mainly on the grass while I walk on the edge of the sidewalk. Sometimes he does walk right along on the sidewalk, but I encourage him to walk right next to me but on the grass for exactly that reason. I checked his pads, because that was what I suspected too. They seem fine, though. Thanks!

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 8, 2012

Pam, I think you're right. It's just too much right now, I think. I am going to minimize his afternoon walk, when it is SUPER hot, to just a shorter 15 minute potty break. Then I'll either make the other two a little longer when it is a bit cooler outside or I'll make it up with extra play time. I don't want to do anything to put him in peril, of course. Thank you, I think I will be taking your advice for a while at least.

Samantha, do you think a plastic child's swimming pool would be okay for him? I could buy a tie out type thing and let him go in the kiddie pool. I'll go in too, off course. Then he could swim his energy out!!!

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 8, 2012

Kay, that's why I try to make him walk on the grass. I don't want him to burn his little paws!

Also, are you talking about the Cape Coral, FL drowning? I didn't know that was a chi. Do you think it would be okay if I was in there with him? Or just not a good idea at all? I don't want anything to happen. I'd rather just keep him inside if it's that big of a risk, I just thought it would be a good way for us both to cool down and for him to get energy out.

I talked to my mom and she suggested that we could do our afternoon walk at Petco. Then we'd be inside in the ac. That could be a good way to make sure he still gets his exercise, maybe.

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #21 · Jul 8, 2012

We completely cut out the afternoon walks. We just go out for his potty and come back in. The other walks have been cut to 30 minutes. We increased our indoor play time to compensate.

I would never do anything to be cruel or harm my baby. I go by his body language and responses. He is extremely high energy, to the point where if he doesn't walk he gets destructive and gets into trouble. He LOVES his walks. Up until two days ago, he continued to bring me his leash and paw at the door to go walk. He loves his walks along the lake more than anything. I always make sure we take breaks under the large, shady trees, he gets lots of water, and I check his paws and body for any signs of problems.

As soon as he showed any signs of reacting to the heat, the walk was over. I didn't know how I should proceed from there, that is why I posted.

To be honest, I often do not want to walk that much. I do it because Toby requires it. That's it. It's for him, not me. If it was hurting him in any way, I would have never done it. That's why I stopped. I'm sorry if I didn't express myself as I wanted to. I was really looking for other ways to handle his energy. I have gotten some good suggestions and I will be doing many of those things. Thank you all.

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #23 · Jul 8, 2012

thatrandomgirl said:
I'd either walk early in the morning before the heat, or in the evening once it starts to cool down. You won't be able to walk as much, but at least he'd still be getting a walk.

Then I'd start looking for other ways to let him release energy. For Stella, I play with her in the house or yard. Or sometimes when it's really hot, I'll take her to a pet friendly store. It doesn't give as much physical stimulation, but plenty of mental stimulation. It usually tires her out pretty nicely.

This heat is a pain- I'm ready for winter! Good luck!

Thank you! My mom actually suggested taking him to Petco or other dog friendly store to walk. I think we may start doing that. Good luck to you too. Unfortunately where I live winter doesn't really exist. It is usually more like other places' spring time. 75-85 degrees on Christmas is not my idea of winter, LOL. Good luck to you too!

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #25 · Jul 8, 2012

KrystalLeigh said:
I think you're definitely doing the right thing by cutting the midday walks. He's still getting exercise in the morning and at night, and like you said, you play with him during the day. We were in Florida a couple of months ago, and it was not that hot and I was melting! I can't even imagine how hot it is now. We live in a semi-arid desert, where it gets up to 104 F, but it's dry. It's only supposed to get up to 90 today, and we wanted to hike, so we made sure we did it early. Odie was still panting and too hot, so we soaked her with our water bottle. She was not impressed, haha.

Yeah, the humidity is a killer!

I feel so bad. I just want to do what is best for my boy. If he had shown any signs of it bothering him before, I would have stopped sooner! It just recently got this hot though. I think it has gotten progressively warmer and it just got past the "Mommy, it's too hot" marker.

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pupluv168

Discussion Starter · #28 · Jul 8, 2012 (Edited)

Jayda said:
I have no doubt you luv your pup! Remember hour long walks at mid-day can be bad for humans in extreme heat.....as well as pets. Take care of both of you and stay out of the heat mid-day! Your Toby must be very high energy. I could not get Lady out at mid-day for a walk if my life depended on it.

Thanks! He is very high energy. I've never seen a dog with as much energy as him. It was worse when he was younger, at least now it's controllable, with massive amounts of exercise and play.

ljwilson said:
I don't see how you were doing it! It's so hot here that you almost feel like you're dying just walking to the car. It shows that you're a great mom for even trying! I think the idea of walking in the pet store is great. It's so funny how all of our dogs are so different. It's har enough getting Chloe to go on a 30 min walk a few times a week.

If that was all I walked Toby he would LITERALLY be chewing the walls (he used to do it before I started this routine!). I walk him because he BEGS FOR IT. LOL. He loves the exercise. Some dogs just have so much more energy than others. Rocky, my moms Chi, would kill me if I tried to do that much exercise with him... he barely wants to go out to go to the bathroom. And Toby is always in non-stop play mode. It annoys the other dogs. It's actually good Toby is like this, it's helped me lose some weight that really needed to come off and get a lot more active. When I start law school, he will be going to doggy day care 1-2 days a week to make up for my busier schedule.

Yeah, I figure that walking in the pet store will at least keep him mentally stimulated and give him a little exercise. I don't know if I'll be able to do it every day, though, it's kind of far away (about half an hour). But maybe a few days a week will be enough. Then we will do lots of playing and stuff to make up for minimizing the walking.

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