8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

To you, walking the dog may be about exercise and, well, poop. To him, it’s all about the social life, explains Jean Donaldson, author of Dogs Are From Neptune (Lasar Multimedia, $17, www.amazon.com) and director of the San Francisco SPCA’s dog-training academy. Because owners have more time to stroll in the evening and to let their pets linger over exciting smells and sounds missed on the morning-rush walk, this is when Fido is happiest being out with pals, “reading the doggie newspaper and catching up on ‘pee mail,’” she says. Evening walks also let him avoid midday overheating, make himself comfortable before bedtime, and “leave his calling card if he’s been indoors all day,” says David Reinecke, the founder of Los Angeles–based Dog Remedy behavioral training, who exercises Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Labradors three times a week.