Hi. I am new to Texas (Houston). I have a 10 month old lab and I am looking forward to this years dove season. Does it cool down enough in Sept to hunt with a dog?

Yes

but it really depends on if you have conditioned you dog well.

No not much take plenty of water and look for shade is all I can tell you . I live next to the lake and let her swim while I clean birds afterwards I also freeze bottle water and keep it in her water bowl. Good luck and welcome to Texas

From Fishstalker13's post in Tall Tales:

Subject: New TEXAN

Dear Diary,

Just moved to Texas! Now this is a state that knows how to
live!!
Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. It is beautiful. I've
finally found my home. I love it here.

June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an
air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to
see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper.

June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus
and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me.
Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used
to this kind of heat? At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting
used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.

July 15th:
Fell asleep by the community pool. Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my
body. Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson
though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:
I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this
morning. By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen
up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon. The car now
smells like Kibbles and Shits. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this
heat. Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again.

July 25th:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's
hot as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman
charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000 house
and I can't even go inside. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come here?

Aug. 4th:
Its 110 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost
500 dollars and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.

Aug. 8th:
If another wise [censored] cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to
strangle him. Damn heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is
boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!

Aug. 9th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when I sat on
the seats in the car, I thought my [censored] was on fire. My skin melted to the seat.
I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and [censored]. Now my
car smells like burnt hair, fried [censored], and baked cat.

Aug 10th:
The weather report might as well be a damn recording. Hot and sunny.
Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do [censored] for 2 damn months and
the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in
this damn state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth of cactus will
just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus can't live in this damn heat.

Aug. 14th:
Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead. Forgot
to crack the window and blew the damn windshield out of the car. The
installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? "Hot enough for you
today?" My wife had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail. Freaking
Texas What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here?? Will
write later to let you know how the trial goes.

Be extremely careful!! I can't stress this enough. With such a young dog, and probably not as obedient as she should be yet, she will run around all the time. They can and will overheat if you don't watch it. If they overheat, they can drop dead in a second. My dog was about the same age last year, and I had to stop several hunts early, and put him up. Better to be safe than sorry, and it looks like this year is going to be hotter than last. Hunt near a tank and take frequent breaks. Hope for cooler temps. Good luck!

Water is the key take plenty of it for the dogs and for your self

+1 good info

Sorry to doubt you rdh1 , but just a water bowl doesn't even come close to the precautions you should take. You need to stop the running around in 100 degree heat!!! It will kill them, I have seen it. Think of it this way, imagine running around in a black coat in this heat with no brain! Think about it.

No not too hot for your dog as long as you sit in the shade,and do not run the dog too much retrieving. You will have to pick up a few of your birds to give the dog a break. HOPEDALE that was funny as hell!

Truly great information, especially with a young pup. Morning hunt would be the best option, be very careful of the evening hunt, water alone will not cool the dog adequately.

IF you can get your dog to sit still in the shade. That's the key!!!

Very good, gdogg!!

I can't believe nobody has even mentioned the possibility of him losing his dog to a snake bite! Stop, don't pass go, don't collect $200.00 until you get the dog the anti-venom shots. Then worry about the heat. We kill snakes EVERY YEAR during dove season and we have had dogs bitten. Best money spent! My2cents.

Very good point, and everyone should do what you said, but the heat is everywhere, and snakes are only in select locations, but the main issue of this thread is the temperature. Thanks for your comment.

i know im no dog (some may argue that) but here in iraq its 130 and i run around in the heat for 8-12 hrs a day bundled up head to toe and weigh an extra 70-100lbs with all my body armor and equipment. its gonna feel nice when i get there. im so excited about the dove opener i have been dreaming about it day and nigh. i badly want to bring my new pup that i havent met yet but i think it will be too hot for him.

First of all, thanks for your service.
Just take all the precautions mentioned above and try not to let him run around too much. If his tongue gets too long, put him up.
If he won't get into the tank, pour some water on his back, that'll help.

Paws and belly would be better.

Yeah I've read where pouring water on their back can actually make them hotter because the water causes more humidity in the fur. The paws and belly are where you put water to cool a dog down quickly and effectively.

Another idea is to buy a good/large box fan and a converter.

Get a battery and never have to worry about if the truck will start.

Bring lots of water, ice and rubbing alcohol just in case.

The key is to watch for the signs and get the dog out of the situation fast.

Good point, I stand corrected.