Most dogs love to be taken out on walks, and it's fun to see well-behaved dogs being walked on leashes. Their heads are up and their tails are up and wagging. Some of the walking, trotting or jogging dogs even seem to be smiling, especially the Labrador and golden retrievers who are always happy to go on just about any outing.

But in the dog days of summer, when temperatures soar into the 80s and 90s, walking dogs can be a risky business. Every year about this time, I get e-mails from animal lovers who complain about seeing dogs being walked or jogged at mid-day on paved roads and sidewalks.

"The dogs are not enjoying themselves. Their tongues were hanging," wrote Gary Watson from Baldwin Township. "The best time to walk a dog is in the morning and evening."

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Just how hot are those streets and sidewalks? At 2 p.m. Tuesday when AccuWeather said Pittsburgh temperatures were 88 degrees and climbing, I put a little kitchen thermometer flat on the sidewalk. The mercury quickly climbed to 120 degrees -- the maximum reading on that thermometer.

Hot sidewalks can burn paw pads. And because dogs' bodies are much closer to the hot asphalt they can heat up quickly, according to the Web site Petfinder.com.

"Please be sensitive to old and overweight animals in hot weather," the site recommends. "Brachycephalic (snub-nosed) dogs and those with heart or lung diseases should be kept indoors in air conditioning as much as possible."

Dogs can only sweat through the pads of their feet and their tongues, which is why the latter "drip" so much in very hot weather. All dogs overheat faster than people and have a harder time cooling down. Brachycephalic breeds, because of their very short noses, heat up much faster. Brachycephalic breeds include pugs, bulldogs, Pekingese, Boston terriers, Lhasa apsos and Shih tzus.

For those without air conditioning there are other options.

For 17 years I lived with a pug named Twerp, and for many of those years she and I did not have the luxury of air conditioning. When temperatures got past the mid-80s, Twerp would pant and wheeze.

The best way to cool down a hot dog is to put it in the bath tub and gradually add slightly cool water. Do not use ice cold water -- that could shock the pooch. Let the water get up to belly level and keep the dog in the tub until the panting stops.

Twerp loved this. In fact, every day when I got home from work she would greet me at the door, run up the stairs and jump into the empty tub. She wouldn't get out until she had her cool-down bath. Twerp did this even when it wasn't really that hot.

Here's another trick I learned at dog shows. Soak a towel in cold water, wring it out and place it across the dog's shoulders and back. You can also put a cool washcloth on the dog's head.

Pet supply companies make dog vests that can be filled with ice cubes or cool water. The vests stay cool longer than a towel does, and the vests stay put when the dog walks around.

All dogs, indoors and out, should have constant access to fresh water. Some dogs enjoy munching on ice cubes. Dog walkers should carry water bottles for their dogs, even when walking in the morning and evening. Dogs die from dehydration and heat prostration.

However, I'm guessing that some of the people who e-mail me are a little too hard on the dog walkers. Dogs that are young, active and fit won't be happy with skipping a walk just because it's hot out. Dogs that get regular exercise will do well in the heat if their owners use common sense.

At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, when AccuWeather said the temperature was about 80 degrees, you might have seen a little white dog with red and black spots walking on the hot sidewalks of the Washington Road business district in Mt. Lebanon.

The tongue of the 25-pound cocker spaniel was hanging out of his mouth, but that happens even in the winter because he is so happy to be out and about.

That dog was Pablo, my family's pet. He's 22 months old, very fit and has no health problems. We walked for only 25 minutes, most of that on the shady side of the street.

I don't have to carry a water bottle, because the nice people at Planet Art Gallery, Uptown Coffee, Art by M.A., Aldo Coffee Co., The Celtic Cross and CC's Homemade Food put out water-filled dog bowls in front of their shops. Pablo drinks from every one.