Beating the Heat

This has been one of our hottest weeks of the summer. We've got three strategies for beating the heat: early starts, shade, ice. 

We start the day by 6:00 a.m., mostly because that is the latest that Della and Serena will allow us to sleep. The puppies are happy to pour out of the shed, tumble down the steps, and make their way to the feeding trough.

The position under the birch trees provides shade for most of the day. However, late in the afternoon, when the sun is in the west it's beating down on the front of the shed. I plan to plant more trees, but for now we constructed a screen, composed of three, 6' x 10' kennel panels, stood on end and covered with a tarp. We set it up in front of the shed and it helps the air conditioner units keep the puppies cool in the afternoon.

On particularly hot days, a pan full of ice cubes makes a cool treat for the pups, inside or outside.

Puppy play is the most robust first thing in the morning. It's my most productive work period too, or at least it was before we had puppies.

I never tire of opening that door and seeing a dozen puppies pour out.

You can't even see it, but there's a pan full of ice cubes in the center of this mass of puppies.

Meanwhile, in the world of adult dogs, Maya and Della are beginning to learn to play together.