[AbbyK9]

Although I am now living in the great frozen north (upstate New York) where people swear the world will end if it goes to 90 degrees in summer, as it has this week, we've spent many years living in hot/humid climates where it routinely topped 110+ degrees, sometimes 120 and with high humidity. So here are my two cents ...

ACCLIMATIZE! I seriously cannot stress this enough. Most dogs adjust really well to the warmer weather if they are given a chance to acclimatize through it by being exposed to it gradually as the weather gets warmer.

Most people don't go this route because going this route means keeping off the air conditioning and dealing with the warmer temperatures at home as well as outdoors. Most folks like to have their homes about the same temperature in summer and winter, so they and their dogs never get a chance to get used to warm (or cold) temperatures.

Where we lived before, the AC never went on unless it got over 100 degrees, but we did use ceiling and window fans when needed. Where we live now ... well, we don't have AC in the house at all.

I've found that, once my dogs are acclimatized, they don't mind the heat and we do all of the activities we do in any other weather in summer ... we train, we hike, we walk, we go places, we attend events, we ride in the car, we meet up with friends, etc. The pups don't mind.

I do make sure to have fresh, clean water on hand. I don't give ice cubes much but sometimes toss them into the dogs' water buckets to chase around. We do have a kiddy pool (an inflatable one the neighbor gave us) but only Abby likes to spend time in it. Not so much because of the heat, but because she likes to play in water. If there's 1/2" of mud somewhere, she'd be in it. Regardless of weather. But it's nice for her to play in and have a good time.

When the dogs are crated in the home, they are downstairs, which is the coolest area of the house. (We're in a split level, so it tends to be about 15 degrees cooler down there than it is upstairs.) Tough they probably wouldn't care if they were upstairs.