Are any of ya working your dogs this time of year? I' m in the SoutheasternOklahoma/Northestern Texas area and to be honest its hotter...na...red...fresh...f*@#%@... fox...in...a pepper...patch here these days. My dog will obey my command but looks at me like I' m crazy. We have been trying to limit working him for just a few minutes in the late evening around water every couple days or so. We have a big dove hunt coming up in Sept. so he needs some conditioning.

My setters are mostly couch potatoes these days. Oh, I do try and work them in a small field near a river once a week or so, just so they stay sharp, but even here in Seattle, which has about the coolest summer climate anywhere in the Lower 48, we' ve had several days over 90 degrees. Temperatures like that scare me because I' ve had too many buddies lose dogs to the heat...not because they are irresponsible owners/trainers, but because they (we) own high-powered dogs that love to go. On occasion, one gets away from its handler and runs itself to death.

I love my dogs too much to risk it.

I take my Lab out around 8:30, 9:00 PM just after it gets around 75 Degrees out... He looks forward to it every night. I swear he can tell time, he' ll go and sit in front of the closet where we keep his leash and whine, wanting to go. I take him down to the park and throw the ball for him and just let him run around. Usually we get lucky and they' ve put the sprinklers on by the time we get down there!

Daniel