Dogs For All Seasons - Summer in Tucson

In the Summer, very few dogs stay outside during the day in my part of the country. They go out to pee and poop and even daily walks are almost always taken in the early morning hours as daytime is very hot and dusk is too warm for exercise. Frequently, snakes can be a problem.



Yet, one house where I sat was different. The dogs had a very large flat backyard, landscaped with stones, rocks and various desert plants. This was a home with two lovely energetic rat terriers. Paul, the male and Tina, the female. Those two little beings kept such good company and I enjoyed them the entire time I stayed there. But they could stay out doors all day in the Summer if wanted. I was concerned at first when their owners told me the dogs stayed in the back yard while both of them went off to work. But, soon found out that Paul and Tina did in fact enjoy the heat and seemed none the worse for wear. We would often sit in the back porch patio. Paul would patrol the perimeter of the walled yard, and Tina would stick close by me, wathcing the silly boy swagger around the yard.



I'd throw a ball for Tina. Quick as a flash she'd run after it out into the blazing sun. She was fast and loved retreiving. Her stubby tail would wag appreciatively and I felt blessed by her presence. But the heat never seemed to bother either one, and I too enjoyed a more natural way of enjoying the Summer.



Sometimes the three of us would go on an adventure together. They would follow me around while I watered the many palnts or hang up the fresh washed laundry. We all participated in dragging out the hose and spraying the sparkly drops around. The dogs played in the spray and seemed non the worst for wear. When I'd hang laundry, Paul and Tina watched my every move. I talked to them as an old friend would and we had a good time together.



At night, I'd drag one of the doggie beds into the bedroom, prepare myself for sleep while Paul and Tina watched me. Neither dog was willing to retire until I did. Then, once I was settled down, Tina would tunnel under the soft Summer sheets and Paul would burrow down into his blanketed doggie bed.



I learned later that rat terriers, chiuahuas and dashhunds all love to tunnel.

It was mid-Summer, Monsoon Season in Tucson and different dogs experience that phenonenom differently too. I sat for a storm adverse Laorador Retreiver during the monsoon season. This dog would not even go out of doors if the weather began to change and the clouds started rolling in. If thishappened, midway into our walk, He would turn around and there was no arguing with him. He was going home. His anxiety was so server he would dig in the corner of a closet or behind a chair so frantically, I could barely get him to stop.

I wound up sitting with him in a windowless laundry room, on the floor with the dryer going. I stroked him and reassured him while he stuck his nose betwen the washer and dryer. If the storm came at night, I would turn the tuv up, and talked to him for as long as he might need. Sometimes it worked, and we were able to forget the storm. Most of the time, he was shaking and panting the entire time.

If I left his side, he would immediately get more agitated and begin digging somewhere. My heart went out to him and I realized how important my job really was. Of course, the owners took him to a vet and he did receive a sedative for those times, but it was not enough and you really can't give a dog too much of such a medicine.