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I have an 8yr old Belgian Malinois who normally stays outside during the day when I'm at work. He has a fenced backyard, plenty of water and food, and some big trees full of squirrels to harass. This summer has been brutal so far though with temps pushing 100 a few times with high humidity... And part of me wants to leave him inside on days like that, but he loves his backyard and keeping him in makes me feel guilty. I have no trouble leaving him inside in the winter though for some reason.. (?)
On the other hand I don't want him to suffer in the heat. He usually comes out from under the deck when I get home and I think it's cool for him there.
So what to do... Is he ok outside as long as he goes under the deck? Or should I bring him in?
IMO that is too hot and for too long, especially unsupervised.
I'm not a big fan of unsupervised working dogs (or any dogs for that matter) - for liability reasons, and they just get themselves into trouble. But that's your call.
Do you own the house? Is the dog good if left inside? Install a dog door and let the dog decide.
Unless you have a good air conditioner and leave it running, it is probably as cool under the deck as it is in the house.
make sure there is clean fresh water available and you can get into the habit of dropping a block of ice into the water in the morning before you leave for work, to keep the water cold longer.
Slightly unrelated story. I had two large German Shepherds and a dog door.
A friend warned me that it is unsafe to have a dog door that big because burglars can crawl through the dog door.
I replied that anyone who crawls through a dog door that big deserves whatever they get.
Haha... that's exactly what I've said! In fact even before I had a large dog, I always liked having a large dog door. Because anyone with half a brain would use caution, knowing what size dog MIGHT be on the other side.
Joke's on them, though. My bigger dog is the one who'll just awooo happily as he shows you where I keep everything. He's a husky, lol.
And to address OP now... is there a reason you can't have a dog door, thus giving him the freedom to decide for himself? Since we don't have A/C where I live (pretty rare here), my dogs have access to the deck when I'm at work. That way if it's too hot outside, they can come back inside and vice versa. For now the yard access is blocked, since I can't trust my husky not to find a way to escape. But the deck upstairs is nicely shaded, so they spend at least half of their days/nights out there.
And that's regardless of season/weather, but it's fairly mild here year-round.
Does he like the water? What about offering water in a plastic kiddie pool in partial shade where he can cool off? "Introduce" him to the pool so he can decide if he likes it. If he never uses it, he may be fine under the deck. I know you mentioned he has squirrels to harass when he's outdoors but exerting himself isn't exactly going to help him stay cooler.
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-23-2022 at 02:15 PM..
Before I left for work I looked out the kitchen window and saw him on his back with all four legs up in the air rolling around in the grass. Well that settles it, I thought... I can't leave him in when he looks so happy.
But then I came home yesterday evening, opened the door, he came out from under the deck, and went straight into the kitchen to his "inside" water bowl and drank a lot - with big gulps. Then he went into the bathroom and sprawled out on the floor... He always does that when he's hot because the tile is cool and feels good to lay down on.
So I'm pretty sure he'd had a rough day and was happy to get back inside his house. And that's where he'll stay for the rest of the summer... the squirrels will have to wait.
^^^ You made the right choice. I am with 1200RT all the way on this.
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