How do you keep your dog cool in the summer

[Mvons]

With summer at us with a vengeance (no spring) I wanted ideas on how you keep your dog/puppy cool.

Do they use a wading pool?

Will they sit by a fan? Our house 1st floor tops out at 80F for two hours during the 100F killer hours.

Do you give them ice water? We all know ice cubes are great teething, chew items but as a senior my dog had stopped eating them.

Our black/tri corgi would insist on going outside at 90F and lay in the sun but I'd keep an eye on her because 2 minutes later she was panting and hot to touch so I'd haul her into the shade or house. I wondered if she would get heat stroke if I didn't get her in.

Will they over exert themselves in the heat and we need to monitor their activity?

I need ideas as we get a dog at the beginning of the summer who will be more active than our senior dog was.

We have shade with a canopy, trees are gone from drought. Thank you so much Australia for the canopies with spf30 vented fabric!

Merrie

[Chip's Mom]

Gosh Merrie that is a good question. My dogs even Chip when he was a baby would go outside in the morning and stayed in the house during the hottest part of the day. I installed a heat pump (air conditioner) when Digger developed hypothyroidism because he couldn't tolerate the heat so they just stay inside and enjoy. About 5:00 or 6:00 pm it cools off and out they go to play. Chip & Dale both eat ice cubes year round and that is a good idea. I have a wading pool but Chip doesn't use it. I am hoping that Dale will. Chip stays home if we go anywhere when it is hot even though we have air conditioning in the car. On the boat, Chip stays under the canopy and I alway keep water available for my dogs as I am sure you do. There is always a breeze on the boat so that helps. Lady has always been a sun bather and she will lay in the sun when it is really hot and hardly pants. After a little while, I make her come in too. When it is really hot and they just have to go out, we watch and call them right back in after they do their business.

[Dillydoodle]

In the hottest part of the summer here, Dillon has stayed indoors with me with the Central air conditioner and plenty of water... we would go for our morning walk very early ( 7am ) and our night walk at 6pm...and that walk is the shorter of the two walks of the day and if it was still really hot and humid as it gets a lot here, i would take water with me on the walk and monitor him carefully and turn around at the first sight of him being too hot. He did like to go out on the deck in the mid day sun in summer, and i would put him out, but leave water on the deck for him and i only let him out 20 minutes at a time... ( I am a worry wart so i go the extra step to try and make sure nothing ever happens to him.)

[corgimom]

I do basically the same thing as you Emilie. Cody has a little wading pool which he really seemed to enjoy also.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Mvons

Do they use a wading pool?

I provide wading pools, some will use them, some won't.

Will they sit by a fan? Our house 1st floor tops out at 80F for two hours during the 100F killer hours.

I have a "swamp cooler". (Evaporative cooling). I use that when it's hot. When it was broken last year we used fans. Sometimes I'd put frozen chunks of ice in cake pans in front of the fans. Some of my dogs would lie in front of that with the cool air blowing on them.

I used old cake frosting tubs to fill 3/4 full with water and freeze. Ice cubes melted too fast. Needed to be bigger chunks of ice.

Do you give them ice water?

Some times I will put some ice cubes or a chunk of ice in the water bowls.

We all know ice cubes are great teething, chew items but as a senior my dog had stopped eating them.

They might hurt her teeth. Sometimes teeth get sensitive as they get older. Or she might have a broken one or a cavity that the ice might hurt.

Our black/tri corgi would insist on going outside at 90F and lay in the sun but I'd keep an eye on her because 2 minutes later she was panting and hot to touch so I'd haul her into the shade or house. I wondered if she would get heat stroke if I didn't get her in.

If they have shade they can get into and the choice to be in the sun or shade or inside they should be ok. Although if it's really hot, I'll bring all my guys in during the heat of the day.

Also, we use mesh sun screens on the runs, that lets any air through and provides shade too.

Will they over exert themselves in the heat and we need to monitor their activity?

Some of them will. Some will play ball or whatever till they literally drop. Check the gums, if they are bright red and not pink the dog is in trouble. If you need to cool them, cool water on the body works well. Ice is too drastic.

Peggy

I need ideas as we get a dog at the beginning of the summer who will be more active than our senior dog was.

We have shade with a canopy, trees are gone from drought. Thank you so much Australia for the canopies with spf30 vented fabric!

Merrie[/quote]

[KatC]

In the extreme hot weather if I think the animal needs cooling, I use very wet Chux Towels to saturate arm pits, tummy, groin, and back of neck area with normal temp (not iced) water, and repeat when it has evaporated. Even Cats are happy with this!!

Even though I have ceiling fans in every room, I also put a box fan on the floor if I am in attendance. Throughout Summer they all vote ceramic tiled floors as the coolest place to lie.

[dcole]

Hi Merrie,

Last summer, I rigged up a mister system for Trevor's outdoor kennel (like the ones they have for people standing in line at Magic Mountain and Disneyland.) It's hooked up to an outside spigot and a timer, set to go off on the hour. Of course his kennel is completely covered with shade cloth and is on the side of the house that gets morning sun only, so it's cooler in the afternoon. I may get him a wading pool this summer.

Of course, if it gets really hot (high 90's) he stays inside in his exercise pen, and enjoys the AC with the cats. Since Chris works close by, she can come home at lunch and let him out. But mostly, using the mister outdoors in the summer seems to work really well.

[nrhareiner]

Here I use swimming pools and a sprayer that I made that attaches to the hose. It is just 1/2 PVC with little holes drilled in. Sprays from the top and 2 sides. Puts out a nice mist. Dogs love it and I have one similar for the horses.

Heidi

[darci]

Mine love to bobb for ice cubes in the baby pool...