In the epic thriller, comedy, drama, romantic … whatever it was … the movie “Boomerang” starring Eddie Murphy and Hallie Berry there was a scene where Hallie Berry was taking off her shoes and Eddie Murphy made the remark that she would “have the whole apartment smelling like funky cornchips.” I knew what he was talking about but I never made the connection until I got Butch. His feet DO smell like funky corn chips on occasion! With that out of the way, lets talk about dogs and feet and sweat. Appetizing right! If you haven’t eaten dinner yet, stop now and read this later!
With the “dog days of summer” upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to reiterate last month’s tip once again from a different angle. PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR DOG WHILE PLAYING IN THE HEAT! I don’t mean while in heat, I mean when it’s hot outside!
Butch cannot sweat, neither can any other type of dog to my knowledge, for the purpose of regulating body temperature. We human’s sweat, horses even sweat, but dogs are not equipped to sweat the same as we do, as a cooling agent. Without getting too technical here, dogs do have glands in their paws (and other places) that, if you will , perspire or sweat. Wolves, I’m told do not have these glands in their feet, however coyotes do! (That’s just a tid bit that means nothing!) The small amounts of moisture that secrete from their paws, does little or nothing to help cool the dog on sweltering hot days … like … the days of August! Because every time Butch and I go out side he always goes crazy for that darn big ball of his, I always let him play with it, even when it is hot. Knowing that he can easily overheat, I am mindfull to keep the ball in the shade and spray him off with the hose every once in a while, repeating this when he dries off, naturally. KEEP YOUR DOG HYDRATED! I also force him to come and get a drink of water after I have thrown a few ice cubes in to cool it off. I also make him take frequent breaks from playing. He probably dispenses 5 gallons of slobber while trying to pop that big ball of his! No small feat for a dog weighing only 24 pounds! HA! He can easily get dehydrated. Keeping him well hydrated is really not difficult because one thing he likes as much as that big ball is the sprinkler!Â
After Eddie made his comment, Hallie Berry replied,”My feet don’t stink!” Well, I can say that I sure have smelled Butch’s “funky cornchip feet” after he gives them a good licking. I usually just wipe them off and tell him to try and control his glands while he is in the house and he always replies that my feet smell worse than his. Then I ask him, “If my feet smell so bad then why are you always trying to lick them, is it the same reason you used to eat your own poop!”
