Hi there, Now that the warmer weather has finally arrived in our part of the world, I have switched from walking my Dalmation, Pepper, to riding along with her on my bike. I usually go about 1 1/2 to 2 miles, and I let her set the pace. She will often start off at a run, but settles in to a moderate dog trot after a few minutes. On the last 1/4 mile or so, I slow her down and make her walk, to cool out a bit. Last evening the temperature was around 70F. When I got back to the house, Pepper was panting, and needed a drink. It took 10 minutes or so before her breathing returned to normal. My wife said I was running Pepper too hard, because her panting indicated that she was overheated. My view is that her panting is normal and is no worse than me sweating after excercise. What are your thoughts on excercising a dog in warm weather?

I have an 86 lb black lab mix. Since it is getting hotter I have noticed when I walk him (anytime of day) it takes him several hours to cool down. Is this normal? I live near the Washington DC area.

Will running a small dog hurt its paw pads? I've heard this from several people. She's a Maltese and we go about 3 miles with lots of pee stops.