The heat index outside is 105 degrees. That is pretty hot! Here in Virginia it can either be so humid that the outside of your house windows fog up and drip with moisture, or it can be mild which means your skin is sticky but not drippy. Today at 57 percent humidity it is mild in moisture in the air but a high heat index.

Koda and Summer are both covered in thick black fluffy hair. Romping around on the lawn is not appealing to them today. They have napped on the cool wood floor near the air conditioning vents for most of the day.

We did take them outside in the shade for a little water fun. Aussiedoodles are smimmers and most love water. Dot swam in our pool in Texas, then in our pond here in Virginia. Our puppies are too young for the pond, so we got a couple baby pools. It was fun to see them stick a paw in, testing it out. Then fearlessly walking into retrieve a bright orange ball.

Then we dried them off and it was back to the floor to nap the hot afternoon away. This made me wonder if this is what they mean by the “dog days of summer.”

After a little online research (aka googling) I learned that the phrase had nothing to do with dogs behavior when it is hot out, or even with the lazy days of summer. Instead, it turns out, the “dog days” refer to the dog star, Sirius, and its position in the heavens. The dog days usually occur in late July, when Sirius would appear to the Greeks and Romans. These being the hottest days of the year.

It is only the beginning of July. It’s already so hot that we are sprawled out like the puppies resting in the air conditioning. So as far as I am concerned we are in the dog days of Summer (and Koda).