The summer season is one of the best times of the year. The weather is sunny and warm, and there are tons of activities going on around town. Let’s discuss some of our favorite ways to spend time with our dogs during Summer.
Remember to keep your dog safe in the summer heat with these hot weather tips!
6 Summer Activities to do with Your Dog
Take A Hike
Dog walks are fun around the neighborhood, but it is even better to get out of town a bit and take a walk on a less-traveled trail. If you do decide to take your pup for a hike this summer, try to go to a cooler area or go in the early morning before it is 85 degrees or higher.
The desert heat is dangerous for heat exhaustion and heat stroke, but the ground heats up too. The hot ground can burn your dog’s paws if you aren’t careful. If you want to make a trip out of it, you can always travel north from Phoenix to check out trails near Prescott and Flagstaff and escape the heat.
Some Dog-Friendly Hiking Areas Near Phoenix, AZ:
- Daisy Mountain Trailhead
- McDowell Mountain Regional Park
- Thunderbird Conservation Park
- Desert Vista Trailhead
As with any outing with your dog, be sure to pack enough water for them and bring doggie poop bags to clean up their waste along the trail properly.
Can’t get out and walk your dog as much as you’d like this summer? We can help! Book a dog walking appointment with one of our professional pet sitters.
Play In The Pool
Summer is the swimming season! Beat the Phoenix heat by giving your dog some pool time. Remember, not all dogs are great swimmers, so you should accompany them at all times in and around the pool for their safety. Also, provide them with plenty of fresh water to drink so they are not as tempted to drink the pool water.
To make things more fun, teach your dog some new pool games. Pool fetch is a classic game labs, retrievers, and many other breeds enjoy. You can also put a fun spin on fetch by playing keep-away with two people.
If your dog isn’t a swimmer by nature, you can get them a life vest and help them out with some raft riding. Anything flat, floaty, and strong enough for your dog to stand on is suitable for this. You can tow them around the pool and let them swim from time to time with your support.
Not all of us have pools, though. So, if you want a fun and inexpensive way to cool your dog down this summer, you can always get a kiddy pool for them to jump around in or sit in when they’re outside.
Create a Splash Zone
Another great way to beat the heat this summer without a pool is to create a splash zone in your yard. This is easy to do with a set of sprinklers. There are even dog-specific yard toys that combine the fun of a sprinkler system with the exercise of an agility course.
Another splash zone option is to get a splash pad.
Head To The Beach or a Swimming Hole
Although we live in the desert, there are still a few dog-friendly beaches for us to spend the day at in Arizona. The beach can be an excellent place for our dogs to burn off some energy and to stay cool on a hot summer day.
Arizona Dog-Friendly Beaches or Water Hikes:
- Tempe Beach Park, Tempe
- Gateway Park Beach, Yuma
- Buckskin Mountain State Park, Parker
- Lake Powell
- Water Wheel Falls, Payson
- Butcher Jones Recreation Site (dogs not allowed on all beaches here, but they can swim in some areas)
- Fossil Springs Creek Trail
Pack A Picnic
If you are looking for something more low-key to do this summer, find a shady area in a park and set up a picnic for you and your furry best friend. You can make a day of it by packing some of their favorite treats and bringing toys for them to play with at the park.
There’s nothing quite like sharing a meal with your pup on a summer day.
Work on Training or Tricks with Cool New Treats
Make training time fun, or give your pooch cool down treat after a long walk. Giving new treats and rewards can be very exciting for your dog, and they’re likely to find some new favorites. Here are some of our favorite easy summer doggie treat ideas:
Frozen Coconut Cups
This recipe is human friendly too!
Ingredients
*You can use corn or arrowroot starch as the thickener. If you do so, double the amount. Optional: 1 tbsp coconut oil |
Recipe
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Frozen Kong
One of the easiest cool down treats is a spin on an old favorite. Mix some peanut butter and broken up treats or kibble together, and then fill a kong bone with the mixture. Freeze the Kong bone with the mixture inside until frozen. Your dog will be busy with this frozen treat for quite some time!
This treat tends to be messy so I like to give this to my dog when he’s outside.
Frozen String Beans
Dogs love vegetables! Be careful only to feed the ones that are safe though. Some crowd favorites are broccoli, carrots, and string beans. While my dog loves all kinds of frozen vegetables as treats, string beans are his favorite. Find some in the discount produce area of your grocery store, wash them, and throw them in the freezer. Your dog will love this healthy cool down on a summer day.
Chicken Stock and Parsley Cubes
The last treat is another go-to recipe. My dog eats plant-based for allergy reasons so we use vegetable stock, but any kind of stock will do. Just make sure that it does not contain too much salt, and if you buy vegetable stock instead of making your own, avoid recipes that use onions.
Ingredients
* If you use a cube, use the appropriate amount of water. Usually 450 ml per cube is fine.
Variation: I’ve also made a version of these using applesauce and cinnamon instead of stock and parsley |
Recipe
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Tray these silicone freezer trays for easy summer treat making:
Can’t get out today because of the heat? Check out these great indoor activities to keep your dog entertained.
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I loved this article! Thank you for sharing!
Aw! Thank you so much for reading! Let us know which activities you and your pup are going to try out first!