Acclimatize

I learned a new word today – “acclimatize.” It means “to get used to” — a short definition for such a long word, but humans like to do that I’ve noticed. Today we practiced acclimatizing, something we haven’t had to do for awhile because today was warm. Not super warm, but warm enough to make our tongues hang out, as Monty and Saber demonstrate to the right.

It certainly hasn’t been a cold winter, but April hasn’t exactly been warm either. I mean, just a few weeks ago we had some snow and temperatures dipping just below freezing. But today, the sun came out like it’s supposed this time of year and we could feel it.

…even Gretchen who smartly wore shorts, but still got hot with a long-sleeved shirt on.

We got hot, too. True, I’m getting close to needing my haircut (though I’m hoping it gets put off for awhile) and that can make me warm up faster than usual, but we definitely felt the warmth today. Definitely.

Rosie is particularly sensitive to the heat, which I find interesting since her hair is so short. If she had long hair like me, she’d really be hurting. So today, on their walk, Rosie and Gretchen went at a slower-than-usual pace and stopped to rest in the shade.

At one point, Rosie saw a bunch of tree branches down (someone has recently pruned their evergreens) and she all but climbed into the shady cave the branches created, but Gretchen stopped her. “But why?” asked Rosie to which Gretchen didn’t really have an answer.

Oshi and Perrito go to the groomer on Friday, but for now, their hair is long and therefore they get hot. They were happy to be out in the sun, but as they went through the park, both dogs raced ahead so they could play around in the cool, long grass.

Perrito played with the orange and blue ball while Oshi rolled around and around rubbing his warm body on the cool grass.

Saber is a big dog (if you didn’t know that already) and while his hair is thick, he apparently has an undercoat (something Monty and I don’t have) so he has a built in cooling system. I’m a bit envious. He doesn’t have to go to the groomer as much either. I’m now officially jealous. Saber was happy the sun was shining and equally happy that he got to play at the tennis courts (which were surprisingly NOT occupied by tennis players on this nice, sunny day). While Monty and I tired out rather quickly, Saber did not and proved it by stealing the yellow ball (which we rarely play with) from me every chance he got!

Meanwhile, Monty rested on his bench. He hasn’t done that for awhile, but maybe the airflow under the bench cools off his warm belly. Hard to say. Saber thought he was pretty silly though and while I kept hoping Saber would steal Monty’s ball, he was more interested in the one I wanted to play with. Isn’t that always the case. Gretchen says it’s “instant karma” because as a puppy, I always stole everybody’s toys. In fact, I still do steal some of Monty’s toys, but I think that’s a whole different set of circumstances. Don’t you?

Because we tired out quickly and were not quite acclimatized to the warmth, Gretchen took us for a nice long walk whereupon we found water dishes from which to drink. Ah, that was nice.

Saber went home and Gretchen had planned on taking Monty and me out for a game of fetch, but she could tell we were both pretty tired and as much in need of rest as we were in need of a water. So home we went and after said water, we rested in the sun on the porch.

Eventually we went for that game of fetch, though we didn’t play too long. Just enough to get us panting and then we walked Monty home. While he was sad to see us go, he raced up the stairs of his house in search of more water and a nice comfy place to rest his acclimatizing body.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin