Did you know the Dog Days of summer are here! It is from July 3rd to August 11th, the time of sweltering, sultry weather. I’m not sure how someone decided that – I thought dog days were every day, every season.
It was unnaturally hot here lately – we usually don’t get mid-nineties day after day, up here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain ranges. Even up here, we’ve been flirting with triple digits a few days!
But it is nowhere near as hot as I remember from the desert! 
Maybe it is named for us panting and looking for shade, for when our tongue hits the ground!
Farmers in North America associated the dog days of summer with their crops and even had a rhyme to predict how the rest of the year would go:
There are a lot of tales about the title. Some say it is when the dogs go off the porch and lay underneath. Some thought it was a time when dogs go mad, and attack more. ‘Course, maybe that bad temper came with being hot, tired, itchy – dogs get more hotspots and rashes this time of year.
DOG DAYS IN THE STARS
In fact, right now the sun is in the same area of the sky as Sirius, a very bright star and part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog. Sirius is called the Dog Star.
In the summer, Sirius rises and sets with the Sun. Because the star is so bright, the ancient Romans believed it actually gave off heat and added to the Sun’s warmth, accounting for the long stretch of sultry weather. So they called this time diēs caniculārēs, or “dog days.” But the heat is just the result of the Earth’s tilt.
Thus, the term Dog Days of Summer came to mean the 20 days before and 20 days after this alignment of Sirius with the Sun—July 3 to August 11 each year.
There you have it. A lesson in weather, astronomy and canine lore, all in one from a Heeler!
And yet, after a hot spell, this week the temperature dropped like a hot rock, with a few days of heavy rain and chilly-for-July highs.
Even though us cowdogs work in blizzards or sweltering sun, I like time on the porch, and less time all day trailing cows. As I lay in the cool shade of early morning, I came up with a list we dogs all can use to get through the Dog Days.
A Cowdog List for Dog Days Relief
- Shade – deep, cool shade, best under trees and heavy brush, but my breezy wide porch is great, too.
2. Dirt – We will dig our own hole and lay in the cool damp dirt – we dogs know how to pick the best spots. Sorry if it is your favorite garden spot, too!
3. Water – there is nothing like a spring-fed creek for wading, lapping, laying, swimming.
Any body of water will do though – a water trough, a pond, a lake. I don’t like the waves lapping on my legs, not crazy about the boat, but dad sure was happy when we were in it.
4. Ice – this makes a great chew toy. It keeps my paws and mouth cool, too. Sometimes I get special Pupsicles made with tasty juices!
5. Indoors – OK, when it’s really hot, this option works. I have a perfect spot between open windows, and under the ceiling fan. I think they put that up especially for me.
Being the joyful Heeler that I am, I know the most important thing is to just enjoy the summer.
Being from the hot desert, I don’t know much about winter, although I arrived in the spring and we had a few big snowstorms after that. It was baptism by snow for me!
And, even during these long and perfect days, I know winter will come again.
Sadly, the days are already losing daylight; around here, we’ll lose 50 minutes in July!
So right now, lets love Dog Days!
The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
Psalm 121:5-6
