Thanks to theidioms.com we have the meaning of this strange English phrase:
Origin
This phrase originated from the belief of early Romans, Greeks or Egyptians that the hot summer days were caused by the Earth’s proximity to the dog star Sirius during the summer months. The Romans referred to the late summer period as dies caniculares, meaning dog star days. Source: www.theidioms.com
Because of other commitments in July and the Obon break in August, we'll only meet a couple of times in the heat of the summer.
