How will you be keeping your dog cool this summer?

[GoodbyeHalcyonDays]

I don't know about the rest of you, but here in New York, our winter is over (*knock on wood*); all the snow has melted, and the temperature is in the 40s now instead of the 20s. So instead of waiting until it goes from frigid cold to blistering hot, I figure I'd ask you all and see if I can get ideas for keeping Caleb cool this summer.

 

I've looked into things like cooling vests-- mainly the ones from Chilly Buddy. Logically, it seems like it would work really well, but any testimonials would be great.

 

So forum members, what will you be doing this summer to avoid overheating?

[Root Beer]

When it is really hot, I keep a small tub of water handy to where we are playing or hanging outside. Dean and Tessa will use it to keep cool. Last year Bandit wouldn't touch it, but he was really good about taking breaks in the shade when we were out in the heat.

 

When we hike in the heat of summer, I make sure we go someplace where they can take a dip in a creek to keep cool. Dean, especially, needs that, as he overheats very easily.

[Pam Wolf]

Not living in the city I prefer to keep the dogs outside a lot to let them acclimate to the temps. Except for sleeping (which I definitely prefer cool) I don't like to turn on the AC during the day. Hubby works in AC office so when he comes home it gets on and it makes it much harder to spend lots of time outside when it is hot. But the dogs that stay outside have less problems getting hot when working. I do provide tubs of water for them to cool off in and have a bit of shade around and use shade cloth over kennels that can get warmer. If it is really hot for a long time, I often hose down the kennels just before the heat of the day and that seems to make it feel cooler.

 

I've known people who use the chill pads in kennels but not the vests. Unless there is a good reason to keep the dog dry, water works. Way back "in the day" we would freeze water in 2 liter bottles to put into the crates for dogs that got hot easily.

[GentleLake]

I don't know about the rest of you, but here in New York, our winter is over (*knock on wood*); all the snow has melted

 

Dunno where in New York you are, but here in the Southern Tier we still have lots of snow cover. Heck, there's still snow on the north side of my roof. I'm guessing they still have snow north and west of us, as well.

 

We have reached daytime temps in the 30s and 40s, though. Spring is on it's way.

[juliepoudrier]

I just provide water tubs for them to get in when they want. I live in a converted garage, so the floors are concrete--cold in the winter (rugs help), nice and cool in the summer. I don't run the a/c. I like having the dogs in the house with me, and we all have to work outside on the farm, and also at trials, in the summer, so we're all well acclimated to the heat. Sometimes I will shave bellies to allow water to cool without trapping heat, but in general, I just acclimate us all. I live in Virginia, FWIW.

 

J.

[Cass C]

When it gets really hot (it gets 100+ in the heat off summer here) I will add ice to their water dishes, make frozen treats, feed them slices of frozen watermelon, ect. I tried to get my dogs to swim, however Lyka wanted NO part of it. But they love the hose game (AKA chasing the hose while I try to water the garden or other plants). I do however try to keep them inside during the hottest part of the day and do playtime outside in the mornings or evenings.

 

I also have mostly laminate and tile floors so they seem to enjoy stretching out on the cool floors in the summer. However if your dogs spend most of their time outside you may look into an automatic water dish that you connect to a hose and it keeps a constant supply of fresh cool water available. It would also be a big plus to have somewhere they can go to get cooled off whether that is a shade tree or a covered kennel.

[Liz P]

Most cases of heat stroke in dogs are seen in the first few warm weeks in the spring. They aren't used to the warmer temps yet, but everyone wants to get out and enjoy the weather.

 

Like Pam, I try to keep my dogs out of the AC except for sleeping at night. If they aren't used to the heat, they won't deal with it well.

 

Good quality dog food helps (more calories from fat than from carbs).

 

Being in shape is important. Overweight and out of shape dogs are more likely to overheat.

 

Water for drinking and cooling should be available. I keep a bucket with fresh drinking water and several stock tanks for the dogs to jump in when they feel hot in the back yard.

 

Try to do intense activities early in the morning. Afternoon and evenings are the hottest parts of the day.

 

Hydrate prior to, during and after any intense physical activity. (Just plain water or a soup of water and a bit of fat.)

[Maralynn]

I work my dogs up gradually and give them plenty of breaks if the weather is warmer than they're used to. I also kennel them in outdoor shaded kennels so they acclimate to the outdoor temperatures that are normal for this area.

 

From everything I've read, proper acclimation, proper nutrition and proper conditioning are huge factors in keeping dogs from overheating.

[GoodbyeHalcyonDays]

Dunno where in New York you are, but here in the Southern Tier we still have lots of snow cover. Heck, there's still snow on the north side of my roof. I'm guessing they still have snow north and west of us, as well.

 

We have reached daytime temps in the 30s and 40s, though. Spring is on it's way.

 

I'm in New York City! Everything was a disgusting layer of ice beforehand, but now it's all soggy mud (which I'm totally okay with). Wednesday was completely amazing here-- 60s with a very cool breeze. I don't think I want to see snow again for another year or two...

 

 

I can't put out tubs of water like you guys, but you all seem to have "get them out as much as possible" in common. I'm doing that right now, not because of that, but because it's been so nice out, so I'm glad I'm on the right track!

[Gideon's girl]

We stay inside for the heat of the day. I feed ice cubes for treats and put ice in their water bucket. I have a pond and sometimes we play in the sprinklers. The stock tanks can get too hot to do any good, if they don't have enough contact with the ground, so in summer, I keep a couple half buried, if I need them. Our humidity is so high that many dogs overheat in spite of "being acclimated" and staying in the shade.

[GentleLake]

I'm in New York City!

 

LOL I figured as much. There's a whole lot more of New York than just the City, which you downstate folks tend to forget when saying where you're from.

 

Even if you can't use a stock tank, do you have room for a small, hard (i.e not inflatable) kiddy pool? Lots of people use those to offer their dogs a source of water to cool off in.

[Gloria Atwater]

I live out West where heat is can be a serious problem. The main thing I do is try to avoid asking my dogs to do much in the hottest part of the day, when temps can get into the 90s. Outside in the dog yard they have shade and cool dirt to lay in and lots of fresh water to drink. We don't have AC in our house, so the dogs are used to shading up in the heat, but when temps do hit the triple digits, we all just hide out like lizards

When I'm off trialing, I have a cool vest, though I'm not home now so I can't tell you the brand, but it does seem to help. I also give them a drink of Glycogen Energy Edge before and after a run to help them endure and recover from a hot run. After a run I also make sure they get into a tank of water to get good and wet before I put them in the shade to cool. I do not get them wet before a run as I'm told a wet coat can have a sauna affect in hot sun, which makes sense to me.

And that's kind of it! Shade, cool places to lay and plenty of fresh water.

~ Gloria

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Doggers,

 

I finish my sheepwork and training before 10 am. At hot trials I call my dog off as soon as he's out of the ribbons. Really good runs are almost always less stressful to the dog (and me).

 

Donald McCaig

[Maralynn]

Last year Veterinary Tactical Group put on 2 or 3 webinars on overheating in working dogs. I signed up for one and found it to be quite informative and well worth the fee ($25 IIRC). Not sure if they will offer them again this year but some here might find them helpful and interesting even though the webinar is geared toward police/military dogs.

[Gloria Atwater]

Good point, Mr McCaig! I've walked a couple times, too, when I could see it just wasn't happening and my dog was just getting hotter. Prudence being the better part of valor.

One time I was at National Finals and I watched a Big Hat run her dog in the heat of the day - I believe it was during the double lift. Anyhow, it was HOT and when the sheep came in for I think the pen or shed, (I forget which) she halted the action, let the sheep stand and sent her dog to get water. Stood there a good two minutes letting him catch his breath and cool his belly. That really impressed me. She finished the course but didn't win, but her dog meant more to her than that.

~ Gloria

[Smalahundur]

So forum members, what will you be doing this summer to avoid overheating?

Not leaving Iceland should do the trick...

[alligande]

Walks in the morning and early evening. In Newport where we had access to lots of swimming with very short walks to get to both salt and fresh water the dogs did a lot of swimming, sometimes it was their only exercises for days. We are now living very close to a beach so I have plans for morning swims for both of us this year.

We train agility just as the sun is coming up for about an hour or so. Like others we only run the AC at night, and only on days that it is really hot.

I do have a cool coat, I can't remember the brand name but it is the one made by the horse blanket company, it does help him feel comfortable but I only use it if I am at events where he has to be outside in the heat.

I have tried a kiddy pool and my dogs could not figure out what it was for, I have a feeling the water got warmer than they liked and never used it.

I also think that dogs have different tolerances for the heat, Rievaulx is reasonably ok in hot weather, Brody hated the heat. Early on in our agility career we had been having a bad day and I was not going to bother with the final class, but my trainer and others pushed me to give it a go, so I started as usual, put Brody in a sit, led out and started off running, looked over my shoulder and Brody was stood at the first jump looking at me as if I was stupid, so we started over, and this time when I looked back he was slowly walking out the ring looking back at me! He had made his point and we never competed outside in August again.

[moosikins]

Callie loves her kiddie pool. She refuses to get her butt wet, but she'll stomp around in it for a long time and play with the hose filling it up.

 

Since she's all black, she won't be spending time outdoors in lengthy periods. I figure we'll play for 20-30 at a time multiple times a day and go for many walks.

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Doggers,

At the 2010 semiFinals, temperatures were in the 90's when Jack Knox ran his dog. Dogs could go to water without points penalty but the clock kept running. Jack had a beautiful run and finished his shed. Should be an easy pen - the sheep liked his dog. Jack jogged to the pen and his dog ran to the water tub. Jack stood there without a word until the dog returned and they ran out of time. I have always respected Jack - never more than at that moment.

 

Donald McCaig

[D'Elle]

We are all desert dogs here in this home. :-)

My dogs are fully acclimated, as am I, so we do OK in the heat, which does get intense here in the summer.

 

Of course, I only exercise the dogs in the very early morning - basically as soon as it gets light enough for them to see, and then after the sun has gone down but there is still just enough light to see in the evening. Those are the only times cool enough for them to run, and even so it is not exactly cool. Other than that, we all just deal with the heat. Of course, I make sure they have a lot of water available. And if the dogs have been outside all day I hose them down before they come in. I was thinking about making them...and myself... some cool scarves this year.

 

I don't do ice cubes because I have heard that if a dog is very hot, ice cubes or ice water can cause the stomach to twist, which can be fatal.

[kingfisher7151]

Alligande, the image of Brody making his point gave me the serious giggles. Thank you!

 

Keeper is hose and water obsessed. As is my mom's border collie. So that makes things very easy! You pull out a hose and all of a sudden you have 4 eyes on you waiting to be soaked. I'm frequently out in the heat of the day, so Keeper is almost always wet. Colorado doesn't often get horribly hot, but we have our share of 100+ degree days. We usually cap out at around 90 or 95, anything higher and we stay inside. But sometimes there are horse shows and such that force you out in that weather. I have kept him in the camper or in a cool stall with water before when it got too hot for him. But usually you find him and the other dogs sleeping under a tree in the cool shade.

 

I hadn't considered a cool blanket before. Something as simple as a t-shirt would likely be very useful at keeping him wet for longer.

[Gideon's girl]

I wouldn't use ice for a very hot dog, not because I believe it would cause the stomach to twist, but because cooling too rapidly can throw a dog into shock or cause nausea and vomiting.

[sjones]

I am one of those who doesn't have AC so my dogs and I just have to deal with it. Walks early morning/late evening(same with chores), playing with the water hose, walks down to the creek. Wisconsin weather can be interesting, some years we can have very hot/humid stretches, and others are pleasant and to some rather cool.

For trialing has anyone ever used a coolin gel pad in the crate, do they work? I'm wondering if they are worth the money or not. Saw one in Foster and Smith catalogue. Medium size was 14.00 plus shipping

[medic09]

Up here in the high desert, we don't usually bother with special measures. It can get very hot and dry in north NM, but the dogs usually seem to adjust. (Now that one of the youngsters has Addison's, we'll see about that.) We don't have AC, so the dogs and people have to adjust. If I initiate activity, I make sure it is early or late in the day; or else we head up to higher elevation and try to stay in the trees. The two youngsters (all we have now) like the hose, so I'll occasionally spray them in the yard. We also have a small stock tank in the yard, but Golan doesn't favor it much. Since Golan doesn't work, I don't worry much other than the usual cautions.

[Cedzz]

Inside. Fan on. Lots of water. Wet chest and ears.