The time and duration of these days, although not generally agreed upon in ancient times, any more than in modern, were commonly considered as beginning on the 3d of July and ending on the 11th of August, for such were the time and period of the unhealthy season of Italy, and all ...
Some authors say that a period of about forty days, beginning three weeks before the annual Sun-Sirius conjunction and ending three weeks after, constituted the ‘dog days’. “They called the period from July 3 to August 11, ‘caniculares dies’–‘the Dog Days’” []. Allen in Star ...