Heat

Summer heat.
You come up with ways to beat it.
Ice cream.
Melons.
A good rotating fan in the living room.

Close up the house in the early morning, capturing the cooler night air.
Open it up again in the evening.  Hoping it will cool off. 

But you want to stay fit, and you want to keep your dog in training. 
So you get up earlier - and then even earlier - for your daily jogging routine.
You hope it's cooled off a bit by the time your 4:00 lesson rolls around.

You save the gardening for the evening hours. 

You make sure your dogs have plenty of water. 
You get your dogs used to playing in the water.  You use the hose to get their feet, legs and bellies wet....it's the best way to keep them cool. 

If you can afford it, you build them a pool.  (If only...!)  You tell your husband it's for entertaining.  A pool is great for barbeques!  But really it's for the dogs. 

I've never seen a class at an agility trial cancelled because of heat.  I've been at a trial that registered 108 in the shade, two days in a row.  Classes ran all day, both days.  So did the cattle misters.  We were like cattle, at that show.  Moo-oo-ving slowly.

Agility lessons are rarely cancelled because of heat.  You just need to figure out how to handle it.

People wear shorts and sleeveless tops.
People set up little wading pools for the dogs.  Everyone tries to stay in the shade, even though the shade under a canopy is often crappy shade, it's better than nothing.  Give me a tree, if at all possible.  Give me a breeze...however slight. 

I have a lot of respect for agility trial judges who can stand in the heat all day, watching dogs run.

People wear sun hats.  People wear sun block and carry water bottles. 

People run their dogs as little as possible.

Some folks prefer heat to cold.
Arthritis prefers heat, for instance.
Skinny young people often prefer heat. 
Is it because their summer clothes are really cute?
I have arthritis, but I still prefer cold weather.
I like wearing long sleeves and thick socks.  I like baseball caps.

My border collies prefer cold weather.
Border collies were bred to work on chilly Scottish hillsides.

We've had some gorgeous weather here this summer, but it's been hot this week.
Weather is a bit unpredictable these days.  Have you noticed? 
Global warming, et al.  

So....we come up with ways to beat the heat. 

Like kickin' back.