The Dog Days or the dog days of summer are typically the hottest and most humid times of the year. They are a phenomenon of the northern hemisphere where they usually fall between July and early September but the actual days vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog days can also define a time period or event that is very hot and/or stagnant. Also many religious cultures believe that dog days are holy.

  
 

A hearty thank you to all who participated in our summer photo contest! It's so wonderful to see the happy faces of our readers! Honorary mentions!

Sadie
Photo courtesy of Loren Lloyd
Sadie is a 6 year old, female Brittany Spaniel Mix. Her favorite activity is hiking with her Dad Loren on the many trails in the San Francisco bay area. "My favorite toy is my stuffed toy squirrel I call "Bushy Tail", since I can't catch the real ones outside my front door. On hot summer days I like going into swimming pools, lakes and rivers."
Gabrielle
Photo courtesy of Colleen Lennon
Here I am. Look at me. My name is Gabrielle and I live in Atlantic City, NJ with my brother Andy. Andy and I are rescues. I am 4 years old. The beach is my favorite place to go in the summertime. There are these big rocks everywhere and I'm a good jumper. I like to go in the water too but only up to my knees. I bark at the waves all the time. It makes Mommy laugh.
   
Winston Churchill CGC, TDI, TDIA
Photo courtesy of Roberta Cerra
Winston was a therapy dog for 5 years and he really enjoyed going the nursing homes. Winston would bark to count. The residents would say a number from 1-10 and he would bark that many times.I was a school teacher when Winston & I first started going to the nursing homes. Then in November of 2005 I found out he had cancer. This is a picture of Winston on his very last summer vacation. I miss him so & am sending his picture to honor him.
William and Jesse
Photo courtesy of Roberta Cerra
They are each others best friend & mine. They love tennis balls & swimming. I am a certified vet tech & dog trainer. My boys are a very important part of my life and I spend almost all my spare time with them. When I am not with them I am helping other dogs either medically or behaviorly.
   
Shylo and Rookie
Photo courtesy of Lindsay Riggio
Both Siberian Huskies and both 5 years young. They are sisters (from different mothers) and best friends. Their favorite toys are another Siberian to
chase and chew on and of course cooling off in their pool.
Chase
Photo courtesy of Lindsay Riggio
Hi! My name's Chase. I am a 2 1/2 year old purebred yellow lab. In this picture I am at home in Fort Collins. I was pretty tired (as usual) and this is my favorite chair to sleep on. It is very comfortable and I get to bask in the sun!!
   
Lucy and Jillian
Photo courtesy of Loren Lloyd
This is a picture if of my dog, Lucy, (a three year old Leonberger) and my granddaughter, Jillian who was four at the time. Lucy is a female Leonberger, her favorite activity is playing with the grand kids or sitting on your lap. She loves the water, loves playing with the grand kids, especially if they are eating something. In this picture she saw Jillian drinking from a raised hose and came over to join her. Took 20 continuous pictures and this one came out just right.
Jeffrey
Photo courtesy of Mary Gordon
Jeffrey at Meadowlark lake. He's a seven year old golden retriever. Jeffrey's favorite activities are hogging the toys, snuggling with his mom (me) and swimming. I can always count on Jeffrey for a smile.
   
Carter and Maggie
Photo by Kristin Boggs
Carter takes a dive into Lake Lanier to cool off during our hot Georgia Summer! Carter, a seven year-old yellow lab, loves the water, as does his sister, lab-mix Maggie, who looks on. Carter also loves chasing squirrels, fetching tennis balls, and getting lots of attention.
Parker
Photo by Tony Tong
This is our dog Parker in heavy anticipation of his favorite activity...romping around the beach! Parker is usually a very mellow dog and likes to nestle at our feet at home. However, when this dog hears the sounds of the ocean crashing, the tongue comes out, ears perk up, and it's game time! If it were up to him, Parker would live on the beach.
   
Emma Ewe, Shadow, Beau, and our mom Pam Dennison.
Photo by Kristin Boggs Pam Dennison
Mom rescued all of us. Emma is 3, , Shadow is 7 and Beau is 8 years old. We are all Border Collies and we all love each other! Mom is laughing so hard in this picture because we didn't want to pose for it - we wanted to race around and play, so we kept getting up and running around. "Stay? We have never heard that word before!" We all take long walks on the trail and mom lets us get very dirty. We do agility, competitive obedience and now Mom is teaching us to do Canine Water Sports to teach us all to be water rescue dogs.
 Maizie Day
Photo by Diana-Marie Boffa & James Lafferty
Maizie Day is a 4 year old Pitbull/Dachshund mix. Her favorite summertime activity is attending doggie day camp where she can participate in agility and freestyle and also make new friends. She is a Canine Good Citizen and will work toward becoming a certified therapy dog for R.E.A.D, a program that help improve children's literacy by having them read to dogs. Maizie is also a costume contest veteran and can often be seen parading around in the latest canine fashions.
   
Buddy
Photo by Gina Agrellas
My name is Buddy and I am a giant cockapoo. I live in Las Vegas with my Mom Gina and my Dad Rick. My absolute favorite thing to do is play at the neighborhood Doggy Park with all my best friends. I love to run and play and sometimes I just like to take a break on the nearest bench for a breather.
Sydney and Shadow Bakker
Photo by Lori Bakker
We loved our trip to North Carolina this summer. Sydney is one and Shadow is four. We loved to play on the beach (since we don't have many of those in Illinois, where we live). We can chase tennis balls forever if we could. Sydney loves the water, Shadow is not so fond of it, so it works well when Sydney will go into the ocean to retrieve the ball & Shadow just waits for it on shore!
   
Murphy
Photo by Matt Sidesinger
Murphy is an 11 month old Bernese Mountain Dog. During the hot summer days you can find Murphy chillin' at Dog Beach in San Diego, CA. Although Murphy can't surf, you will still find him in the water doing his best Newfoundland imitation.
Obie
Photo by David Noyes
Obie is a White Siberian Husky with blue eyes pictured here at poolside at 10 weeks of age. Obie has lots of toys, but would rather play with a ball of paper or a stick. Obie enjoys running in his 1/2 acre fenced yard and playing in the pool. Sometimes when the HOT DAYS of SUMMER have got Obie, he will sit down in the pool and cool off. Our only children are our pets and they are a part of the family.
   
Edison
Photo by Marijke Kok
Edison is cooling down his paws during our second heat wave in the Netherlands...Ed is an 7 month old miniature longhair Dachshund. At this moment (24 july) we have our second heat wave this summer.....very unusual in our country and this summer is breaking all the records...
Bruno
Photo by Rose & Walter Doering
Bruno is a 2 year old chocolate lab. We all live together with 2 human kids & 3 cats in New Hyde Park, NY. Bruno loves playing with the cats even though 2 of them are not really crazy about him. He loves basketballs, but his favorite is his “Blanky” that he scrunches up & sucks on!!!
Bailey Jones
BFF: Becky Jones
Bailey is a 2 year old, male Old Toy Fox Terrier. His favorite activity is to sleep on the bed with his toys. He has a brother Ripley, sister Berkely, and a cousin Samantha. "I decided on this day that I didn't want to come to my Mom when she called me back into the house. I wanted to stay put in the warm sun and grass, so Mom snapped a few pictures of me taking it easy in the yard. Warm summer days are my favorites!"

Chester
BFF: Sueann Kropidlowski
Hello my name is Chester and I am a Dachshund. I am two years old. I have two siblings one older, one younger but I am the smallest in size! We love the outdoors and our mom brings us camping, swimming and for long walks out at our land! I really do not like going for walks and big buildings scare me but my mom says "Chester, it will be fine and stop the whining dear". We go every night for a walk with mom.
   

Athena
Photo courtesy of Allyson Kirtley
She is a 6 year-old English Mastiff that I rescued 4 years ago. Her favorite thing to do is relax in the AC, but when she has to be outside, her favorite place is in her grandparents creek. Athena has a brother named Milkface, who is a 2 year-old Great Dane mix that was adopted from Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League. Her best friends are a small mixed breed dog named Addie Jane and 4 Great Danes named Shawnee, Willow, Cleo and Levi. They were all also adopted from MAGDRL. Her favorite toy is her hot pink squeaky pig. She sleeps with it every night.
Sharpshooter Gunner and Northland Zola
Photo courtesy of Kim Taylor
Our mom takes us to such cool places like the beach where we love to play in the water and chase those tree rats. (As you humans call them squirrels) Our favorite things are playing with the water hose and spending time in our wadding pool or at the beach catching a tan. Gunner's favorite toy is his soccer ball and Zola loves any ball as long as you throw it nice and far. Umm we are kinda bad: we like whatever our mommy is eating best. Our best friends are Lucky, Marble, Tyson.

   
Harley
Photo courtesy of Linda and Elliott Clay
Hi, I'm a 2 year old English Springer Spaniel. I was adopted from MAESSR Group in Jan. of 06. I have such good parents. They take me swimming and fishing and all kind of fun things. I love to play fetch...but I don't like to give the ball back. There are times my owners would throw the tennis ball in the lake, I would jump into the water and bring the ball back. I can swim faster then my step-brother Tag. Tag is also an English Springer Spaniel. I think I'm much younger then my age, because I have so much energy. When I go swimming, I just don't know how to stay out of the water! I have 2 step-sisters, Bailey, a Dachshund and Jade, a Peke. I love my whole family.
Turbo
Photo courtesy of Reta Lind
I am a 3 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. I love the summer, especially when I get to catch some sun on the deck with my pal Lucky the Pygmy goat. We have alot of fun together (but honestly I'm not sure if he likes me herding him all the time...) My favorite activity is to herd anything; the cats are fun, so are the goats, but birds are a little confusing.. I can't seem to keep them in one area! I also like to herd my human's friends when they are at our house. I am always up for a new adventure and the summer lets me do that a lot!
   
Huntyr
Photo courtesy of Monica Wilson
Huntyr came to live with us at the age of 4months this past april. The pictures enclosed are when he is 5 months old. It was early May and the weather was gorgeous. We went to nearby park and enjoyed having the park to ourselves. Huntyr is a Jack Russell Terrier. There is nothing he loves better than to run with a squeaky toy in his mouth. Except for maybe he stopped to smell the flowers.
Chyna Mei
Photo courtesy of Sarija Cutchin
I love to climb the cat tower to eat cat food when mom isn't looking. My favorite toys are allo those that squeak loudly. I am a Yorkie and am 6 monmths old. I used to be a little girl but mom just got me fixed :(. But she still dresses me up all the time. Here's a picture of me at the dog park doing mu favorite thing....staying cool.
   
Jeb
Photo courtesy of AJohn Hullinger
Jeb is a working dog. He is trained at Care's inc. out of Ks. He is a two and a half years old Basset hound, he loves working with children at school. I work with behavior disability's K-5th grade. He can calm kids down by just walking in to a class room. He loves all toys we call them his babys. I'm tariend as his handler and we go every were together as he has public access as a working dog.
Nya Winters
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Winters
I’m a 2 year old Chihuahua. I’m very small; I weigh less than 3 pounds. My mom likes to drive and she puts me in my bed next to her in the passenger seat. She has done this to me twice within the last year. We stay in the car for many hours and when I wake up, I’m living some place new. I think this time we are staying. It’s not as hot in our new home in Seattle. It was really getting hot at our last home in Las Vegas, I didn’t like it. I had to walk on rocks all of the time and it hurt my little paws.
   
Dusty and Daytona
Photo courtesy of Laura Stith Armstrong
This is a picture of my two Weimaraners. They are both 3 years old. We like to take them to the park and let them run and run and run. When they get hot they run to the creek and..plop...they cool down in the water. When at home they love to play fight with each other. Daytona (female,red collar) is always in charge, she is the dominant one. Dusty (male, Blue collar) is much more lovable, but mischievous, he is always trying to get into the trash, while Daytona just watches him as if to say.."you are going to get in trouble". We love them like they are our children.

Isis and Onyx
Photo by Tony Tong
My dogs are rescues. You can read their stories on their dogster page and see more pictures. Isis's story is especially very sad but with a happy ending... Their stories are kinda long but important to how great they are now. My white boxer Isis is deaf. Here is the link to their dogster pages:visit dogster

 
   
Sasha
Photo courtesy of Tracy Griffor
Sasha is my 5 year old Yorkie. She loves her best friend Zoe!! They LUV to sit in Zoes Mama's garden to keep cool!!
Moe
Photo by Lauren Mack
Moe is my best friend's dog, He belongs to Candice Kelly. A 1yr old, 10lb pekingese.Moe loves to come over on hot days and go swimming with my dogs, Bernie & Buddy. Moe's favorite game to play is catch, he loves tennis balls.He chews up 3 a week.
   
Codie
Photo by Melenda Bryson
Codie is all set even down to her 4 flip flops and shades!
Lucy
Photo by Toni Wolpert
Lucy ia a female Leonberger enjoying a little summer drink. She was four years old here.
   
Bernie
Photo by Lauren Mack
Bernie is a lively character, He has no idea that he is only 4.5 pounds, he thinks he is just as big as my cocker spaniel. Bernie's favorite things to do in the summer are car rides with all the windows down, and playing in his baby pool. His favorite toy is a little yellow stuffed dog from petsmart that he snuggles with.He is great and my life would be a bore without him in it.
Bullion
Photo by Marleen Puzak
Bullion is a 7 year old french bulldog. I think the picture describes his favorite activity. This water pump is at a local dog park. He knows exactly where it is and can turn it on all by himself.He has a few brother's and sister's but when it comes to water he ignores all! He says it is the BEST way to cool off in Colorado's Dog Days of Summer!!
   
Lucy and Dolly
Photo by Victoria Johnson
Lucy in the pool is a 4 year old Great Dane & Dolly watching her is a 6 year old harlequin Great Dane. This is how Lucy like to cool off in the hot summer days in PA. 		Roxie
Photo courtesy of Corris Williams
It's a picture of my mini Schnauzer Roxie enjoying her first doggie sail aboard the schooner Pioneer in NYC.
   
Bruno
Photo courtesy of Lori Jacobs
Meet Bruno! He is a 2-1/2 year old German Shepherd who loves keeping cool on these hot days by taking a dip in his very own pool. Some of his favorite toys are his Rumble Ring and Tuff Ball. He loves to carry his ball around in his mouth while I kick the ring around the yard. Because he is such a good boy he is treated with only the finest treats....Liver Biscotti's! Nothing less for this pampered pooch!
The Gauthier Crew
Photo courtesy of Ann Gauthier
The Gauthier Crew, longhair mini dachshunds. We just love summer! We get to swim, stay outside all day, and play and play and play. We didn't like our little pool, we rather swim at the lake, but it made a great frog catcher. Look we got one!
   
Desmond
Photo by Gwen Creighton
Desmons is 3 a purebred Bull Terrier rescue dog. He loves to play with tennis balls and play catch at the park. He is on a RAW food diet and gets to eat chicken, pork and all kinds of yummy meat, vegetables, fruit and yogurt all the time! He really HATES the summer here in NYC. When it is hot he would rather be in the A/C than anywhere else. When it cools down a little he likes to go for walks and see ALL his friends in the neighborhood. He's very popular.
Clyde
Photo by Gina Lovelady
Clyde is 4 year old lab mix (although I like to say lab/polar bear mix because he is so big and furry). Clyde's favorite summertime activities include chasing squirrels and swimming (preferabbly in that order). Nothing cools you down after a good run like a swim. Occasionally, he, like the rest of us, will get cleaned up for a party or a cookout, but since it is so sunny here in the south you can't forget your hat to keep the sun out of your eyes
   
Brett
Photo courtesy of Goldie Kay
My Name is Brett! I am a 2 year old Yorkie and I live in Michigan with my mom. I love to go for long walks, treats, and I love to give yorkie kisses! These pictures are of me in my Hawaiian outfit......		 Kashmyr~Lynnae
Photo by Cheryl Hazen
Kashmyr~Lynnae Reminding Us All to Stop Long Enough to Smell the Flowers
   
Clyde
Photo byGina Lovelady
Clyde is 4 year old lab mix (although I like to say lab/polar bear mix because he is so big and furry). Clyde's favorite summertime activities include chasing squirrels and swimming (preferabbly in that order). Nothing cools you down after a good run like a swim! Occasionally though, you just have a good time hanging out in the shade.
Sydney Bakker
Photo courtesy of Lori Bakker
I am a one year old Weimaraner & this was a picture form my vacation to North Carolina (I live in Illinois). I LOVED the beach & the ocean. I also love my big sis Shadow (she is also a Weim), but she didn't like the water. I love tennis balls.... I will chase them forever if I could.
   
Rose Croft Moonbeam (Beamer)
Photo by Carol Loeb
Beamer lives in Walnut Creek, CA, and will go in the pool, whenever we are in the backyard. She is a Cairn Terrier, and is 7 years old. When we have a pool party, she wears her official lifeguard shirt, and has a whistle on her collar. She lives with her 2 good friends, Toddy and Charlie, and is a Canine Good Citizen. Her mom is Carol Loeb.
Bud and Charlie
Photo by Cindy Townsend
A fter a long day fishing !!!
Both 9 week old male longhair mini dachshunds.
   
Daisy Duke
Photo courtesy of Kim Townsend
Hiyeah! My name is Daisy, I like playing in the pool, herding my two brothers and sister, chasing the cat, and having a good time on the farm! Mom just rescued me a month ago and I just love her to pieces! I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't taken me home. I love all people and dogs, and just want to play with everyone. My right eye is blue but I'm not blind! I'm a good little hunter and I can catch birds! Mom doesn't like it much when I do that though. So I do it when she can't see me.
Molly Moo
Photo by Paula Topping
Molly Moo, true age and breeding is not known but, she's about 3ish and she has some Staffordshire Bull Terrier in her, and she may also have some Lurcher (Lurcher are crosses with greyhounds or whippets, usually greyhound X border collie, or wolfhound, or anything). Her best friend is Sweep our Border Collie. Her hobbies include agility, heelwork to music, catching rabbits and sleeping upside down on the sofa. She is of course a rescue we were her 5th home (and her last) in 2 years-and I can't understand why and she is super!
   
Chase
Photo courtesy of Lindsay Riggio
Hi! My name's Chase. I am a 2 1/2 year old purebred yellow lab. In this picture, me, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, and my aunt were half way up a mountain on a 3 mile, 3 hour, 1000ft hike to secluded Cow Lake. I was so excited to run around and play, and I love the water more than anything!! I got to swim a lot that day and it was really fun!!
Titan
Photo courtesy of Theresa Bobken
Titan is a three years oldAmerican Pit Bull Terrier. His favorite activity is eating the hose water, and playing with his tennis ball. He loves peanut butter. In this picture, Titan attend a dog walk for the Humane Associationand was entering contest for best kisser. All he did was hang his tongue out....we didn't win.
There are many other pictures that were sent to us and we tried to publish as many as we can. If your picture is not in the gallery this month, please check back again when the new issues come out! You can email pictures to:
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