Sky in the Summer

As you all know by now, I have a big fluffy monster who resides with me in my apartment. Rain or shine, hung over or not, I have to walk him every morning at 8AM for at least 40 minutes. In the summer, it's the worst for me since I have to expose my skin in the scorching heat until this big picky fur ball decides to go finish his business and do a Number 2. (for those who are not familiar with the American connotation, Number 1 is taking a wee and Number 2 is...? Ahhh, now you get it.)

Akita's are generally easy to maintain, they don't need to get a hair cut and they don't stink as much as other dogs do, at least that's my personal experience with Sky. He can go on for more than a month without a bath and he doesn't end up having the usual stench that dogs have. I always thought I'd have that awkward moment with Sky wherein people would be petting him and then they make that "EW Face" after getting a whiff out of him... you know, like this...

Image Credits: cdslug

We live in Southern California, so the daily temperatures can go up to a hundred degrees in the summer time. With Sky's thick fur, a regular fan just won't cut it so I usually have the airconditioning on for him most of the time until it hopefully cools down during night time. The worst part of summer is when he sheds off his under coat..completely. His undercoat is so thick that I could practically sell hundreds of stuffed toys using only his fur. Here is a picture of the fur I've plucked out off him in 5 minutes, without using any grooming tools.

It's so fun, it's like plucking out cotton candy off of him.

Skyler's mad at me for bugging him on his nap time. Sorry Sky, plucking your fur is so addicting! As you can see, it gets a little bit messy with all the fur flying around. Can you spot that one long strand that landed on his face? Haha.

Hopefully he's halfway through on his shedding! His coat is pretty thin and short now, so hopefully he feels cooler despite the scorching heat.

Don't forget, my fellow dog lovers, to make sure that water is ALWAYS available to your pets. Your dog might be dehydrated without even you knowing. I am a busy person and I can't be always there to fill up Sky's bowl, so I bought Sky a large water dispenser since he was a pup. It's just reassuring that his water bowl will never be empty while I am away for 8 hours.

via Petsmart

Also, remember to be mindful when you walk your dog during the day time. Sometimes the pavement can get too hot to walk on and burn your furry baby's paws. This was actually one of the things that I didn't consciously think of when I used to walk sky on a hot day. During one of our walks, he suddenly yelped and did the tippy-toes like we would if we were walking bare-footed.

Despite being able to know how to care for Sky during the summer, I still don't know how to react when I see him like this on the couch...

Do I shoo him away or do I just pretend that I don't see a big furry, shedding dog laying on my couch like he paid for it? Look at that solid gaze!

Have a Happy Monday! =)

Toodles! =)