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Kids plastic kiddie pool

Early morning/ late night exercise

Air conditioning/fans

Swimming!!

 

I don't know about the logistics behind shaving a dog and some say you shouldn't because you'll mess with their natural coat/heat prevention, but I do know that my dog is much more comfortable and has more energy shaved down. He really doesn't do well in heat without a shave, and everything grew back fine for winter.

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I wouldn't shave the upper body (though I'd remove as much undercoat as possible, especially around her torso: take your pup to get groomed or go over her with a Mars Coat King). But shaving her underbelly is a GREAT idea.

 

I bought a stock tank last summer (deeper than a kiddie pool and sturdier; less likelihood of drowning the resident chipmunks). It lives in our back yard, and Duncan loves to hop into it. He also LOVES swimming (that's pretty much the only time I'll throw sticks or a disc for him) and I try to include some time for swimming on every hike (if possible).

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Oliver absolutely loves his little $15 plastic kiddie pool! It's not quite hot enough here, but it'll be out as soon as it makes 70. We also go swimming a lot, be it in a lake or river. I don't know it you've tried 'Frosty Paws', but my pooch loves it. It's an ice cream made for dogs, after a long walk or hike I get my frozen yogurt and Oli gets his Frosty Paws. You can find them in the freezer section at the grocery store, lol.

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Has anyone thought of putting some of the gel packs you keep in the freezers for first aid and whatnot in the dog packs for longer hikes? Being that Phoenix is a lot hotter than Utah was, my dog gets real hot and I had thought about doing this. I know to avoid keeping really cold things from skin to skin contact on people, but don't know how this would translate to dogs.

 

PS My dog LOVES frosty paws haha

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Has anyone thought of putting some of the gel packs you keep in the freezers for first aid and whatnot in the dog packs for longer hikes? Being that Phoenix is a lot hotter than Utah was, my dog gets real hot and I had thought about doing this. I know to avoid keeping really cold things from skin to skin contact on people, but don't know how this would translate to dogs.

 

PS My dog LOVES frosty paws haha

 

I used to live in Phoenix, and going on backpacking trips, I never put those freezer packs in the backpacks, but I did place a bandanna under the pack and had extra water to keep it wet and cool. Seemed to help quite a bit. Made for a heavier backpack with all the extra, but it was well worth it! =) Plus you can never have too much water when hiking in the desert! :P

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Alchemist - do you put something in your stocktank to keep it from breeding mosquitos? We have the kiddie pool since it is easy to dump out when not in use. The downside is that sometimes the dogs are hot and have to wait for a refill.

 

Jody loves frosty paws too but they are expensive. I make his "ice cream" treats with pumpkin, peanut butter and oatmeal much more economically. Glad to share the recipe if anyone wants it.

 

Cherrie

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Jody loves frosty paws too but they are expensive. I make his "ice cream" treats with pumpkin, peanut butter and oatmeal much more economically. Glad to share the recipe if anyone wants it.

 

Cherrie

I'd like that recipe. :-)

 

Every evening when I come home from work the dogs get hosed off. they get very dusty in the yard during the day, and as they sleep with me I don't want the dirt in the house or in the bed. Hosing them off thoroughly also cools them down nicely after being outdoors all day in the heat.

 

(Although this summer I think I may let them stay in the house with the air conditioning on during the day on days I won't be gone too many hours. Both of them are a little older now and maybe could use the pampering, and I am actually making enough money these days to be able to afford the air conditioning bill :) )

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Good morning D'Elle

 

I am an "about" cook so this isn't exact.

 

You will need some small plastic bowls to freeze this in. I save up the little cat food bowls from the wet food that comes in little plastic bowls and has peel off tops. I don't buy it regularly and can't remember the name. You could also freeze in ice cube trays but then the dog can eat the treat before you get the freezer door closed.

 

What you need:

 

Fresh or canned pumpkin. If using fresh, clean, cook and mash it.

 

About 1/3 as much peanut butter as the amount of pumpkin you have.

 

Uncooked dry oatmeal (the amount depends on how much pumpkin you started with)

 

Goodies liked chopped up apple bits or banana slices (optional)

 

Method:

 

Mix the pumpkin and peanut butter thoroughly. Add enough oatmeal to thicken the mixture so that a spoon will fall over slowly if stood in it. Like really thick pudding but not so solid that you could handle it like a rolled cookie dough. (Hope that makes sense). Stir in the goodies if using any. Spoon the mixture into your containers in single serving amounts. I put all the containers on a cookie tray to freeze them then store them in a big ziplock bag once they have frozen.

 

I have never tried to store this in the fridge but it would probably keep for several days. If you made a small batch with extra oatmeal in it you could probably freeze it in a kong. It would have to be thick enough not to ooze out of the kong before it froze.

 

Sorry for the lack of specific measurements. I usually start with a whole pumpkin so it really is different every time.

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To the OP,

 

Two of my dogs have been clipped close for the last several years. It makes a huge difference in their comfort level. Their coats have grown back just fine. I'm trying to figure out how to clip Shoshone without stressing her out for this summer. She's 15 and I don't want to put undue stress on her. I may just take the scissors and do a bit here and there.

 

I've also got a cool mat. You add water to the mat and the dog sleeps much cooler. I use it year round, as it's nice for arthritic backs, as well. I cover it with a thick dog blanket for the winter.

 

Ruth

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Good morning D'Elle

 

I am an "about" cook so this isn't exact.

 

You will need some small plastic bowls to freeze this in. I save up the little cat food bowls from the wet food that comes in little plastic bowls and has peel off tops. I don't buy it regularly and can't remember the name. You could also freeze in ice cube trays but then the dog can eat the treat before you get the freezer door closed.

 

What you need:

 

Fresh or canned pumpkin. If using fresh, clean, cook and mash it.

 

About 1/3 as much peanut butter as the amount of pumpkin you have.

 

Uncooked dry oatmeal (the amount depends on how much pumpkin you started with)

 

Goodies liked chopped up apple bits or banana slices (optional)

 

Method:

 

Mix the pumpkin and peanut butter thoroughly. Add enough oatmeal to thicken the mixture so that a spoon will fall over slowly if stood in it. Like really thick pudding but not so solid that you could handle it like a rolled cookie dough. (Hope that makes sense). Stir in the goodies if using any. Spoon the mixture into your containers in single serving amounts. I put all the containers on a cookie tray to freeze them then store them in a big ziplock bag once they have frozen.

 

I have never tried to store this in the fridge but it would probably keep for several days. If you made a small batch with extra oatmeal in it you could probably freeze it in a kong. It would have to be thick enough not to ooze out of the kong before it froze.

 

Sorry for the lack of specific measurements. I usually start with a whole pumpkin so it really is different every time.

 

Thank you!! I will try it.

I am thinking that one might also add some plain yogurt.......

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Thanks everyone for the replies! I might clip her stomach and see if that helps however I'm nervous about clipping her whole coat.

Fame has been enjoying her new doggie pool and also wet bandanas around her neck.

Hopefully the summer won't be too terribly hot for her!

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Alchemist - do you put something in your stocktank to keep it from breeding mosquitos? We have the kiddie pool since it is easy to dump out when not in use. The downside is that sometimes the dogs are hot and have to wait for a refill.

 

Jody loves frosty paws too but they are expensive. I make his "ice cream" treats with pumpkin, peanut butter and oatmeal much more economically. Glad to share the recipe if anyone wants it.

 

Cherrie

 

Sorry, Cherrie: missed this (crazy busy at work right now). No, I don't put anything in the stock tank to control mosquitoes - I just dump it every now and then. You don't have to fill it any deeper than you would a kiddie wading pool (as it's more tub-shaped, you could even use less water to obtain the same depth), so it's no harder to dump than a kiddie pool - easier, I'd argue, as it's less floppy. That being said, I tend to fill ours fairly deep as we're not on a well, which makes it heavier, but even so I don't find it difficult. The taller sides keep out more critters that would just drown themselves in the kiddie pool that we used to have; plus I've found it's a lot sturdier (our kiddie pool disintegrated after about a year).

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Thanks for responding about the stock tank. Don't fill it all the way up... LOL Sometimes I miss the most simple things. I was visualizing one of those big silver tanks they keep the baby chickens in at Tractor Supply brimming with water and dogs doing cannonballs into it from a flat out run.

 

D'Elle, i think you could put anything in the doggie ice cream that they would enjoy and still keep it a healthy treat. The consistency of the unfrozen mixture is what I try to get right every time. If you increase the wet ingredients then add a little extra oatmeal. My dog loves frozen hunks of cauliflower right from the bag so I could probably put any leftover good vegetable in the ice cream and he would love that too. Well now, this gives me an idea! Leftover vegetables, pureed, mixed up with a can of pumpkin, oatmeal for thickening, and a little chopped apple for decoration.

 

I guess my cat will be getting more wet food than usual so I can get a new set of doggy ice cream bowls.

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Cherie,

You can find at Tractor Supply a rubber stock tank that holds 30-40 gallons I think. It's flexible, unlike the metal or hard plastic tanks (I have one of the latter for the sheep), and it doesn't have the drain at the bottom like the bigger hard plastic tanks. The rubber one I use for the dogs. I scrub it out occasionally with bleach, and if it gets algae or I think nasty critters are growing in it I just dump it. I usually fill it all the way up and have no trouble dumping it, but Lark loves to splash (i.e., dig at the water like a maniac), so it's usually not full to the brim when I go to dump it anyway. The dogs love it. It is much sturdier than a kiddie pool, though more difficult for two dogs to cram themselves in at the same time.

 

Another possibility is those 18-gal galvanized round wash tubs. I've used those for watering the sheep as well, and the dogs get in them--they have to sort of curl around though.

 

Here's Lark as a youngster doing her thing in one of the galvanized tubs after working sheep:

P7040029.jpg

 

You can see why a tank doesn't stay full with Larky around!

 

Phoebe in the hard Rubbermaid stock tank:

IMG_0665.jpg

 

Here's a link to the rubber tank. I've had mine for several years and it's held up well.

 

Another option if you want something a little smaller is a "mud pan" from a home improvement store. I use them as feed pans for the lambs, but have also used them to provide water for dogs. You can see one behind Kat (upper right) in this photo:

IMG_0882.jpg

 

FWIW, I shave bellies on the working dogs so that when they get in the water the heat exchange between the large blood vessels in the groin, armpits, etc. will go more quickly and the fur won't trap humidty near the skin.

 

I tried one of those cooling pad beds for one of my geriatrics and was never very happy with it, and he didn't particularly like it either. When Ranger was a pup, I used those cooling puppy pads that you could just wet and put in the pen, but frozen bottles of water worked just as well.

 

I would not put something frozen right up against the skin of a dog--I think you'd cause discomfort and risk skin damage. There are plenty of products out there that are gel filled and designed to cool the dog just through being wet, and that's what I'd use if I felt a need.

 

One last thing: since my dogs have to work in the heat sometimes, and I live on a tight budget, I rarely use a/c. It helps my dogs tremendously to be able to deal with the heat because they are acclimated to it and live in it essentially 24/7. The only time I turn on the air is if I have a geriatric dog who suffers in the heat and humidity here in the south (so, for example, I ran the air some for Boy during his last summer), but even then the thermostat is set rather high (82 or so) and it's mainly to pull the humidity level down to semi-tolerable. So acclimation can also go a long way to helping a dog tolerate the heat.

 

J.

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When I buy kiddy pools for the ducks and dog... I buy 2 each of 3 different colors, dog gets one color, ducks get the other...not that it keeps them out fo hte dogs pool... but I use them nested together, They last longer when doubled. I'm on year 3 with the current batch.

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MartySQ,

I've done the same thing with kiddie pools. Each year the new one would just get nested in the old one, and when I had about three together, they'd last a good long time. But now that I don't have ducks, I like the unobtrusiveness of the black stock tanks....

 

J.

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Yes to the kiddie pools :) My girls love them. I have two next to each other so they can splash back and forth. I like the idea of getting a stock tank, more water depth for the pups would be nice.

 

I use Kool Collars. You put frozen gel packs in them and snap the collar around their necks, works well. http://www.koolcollarstore.com/

 

My pups also love ice cream. I haven't tried the frosty paws, but my girls eat "Sweet Spots" by Nature's Variety. http://www.naturesvariety.com/SweetSpots/

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Thanks, Julie - I think that's exactly the same stock tank we bought for Duncan last spring (we even got it from Tractor Supply; not sure which size, we ended up with the biggest one that fit easily in my car), so it gets my vote of approval. Yes, it's a bit more expensive than a cheap kiddie pool, but it's a lot sturdier. (Ours ended up full of water over the winter, which of course meant it was full of ice, because ice is a heckuva lot harder to dump than water is... but it doesn't appear any the worse for wear).

 

Here's a photo of Duncan from last spring enjoying it. He likes to seek out his human brother's lacrosse balls, drop them in the tank, and then splash around playing with them.

 

4648398476_37f606c3b6.jpg

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Here's Lark doing a reprise of her motorboating, 5 years later, and in the rubber stock tank:

 

I say, "Go, Larky, Go!" and this is what she does:

IMG_3799.jpg

 

I say, "Splash!" and this is what she does:

IMG_3802.jpg

 

IMG_3804.jpg

 

IMG_3817.jpg

 

IMG_3819.jpg

 

IMG_3820.jpg

 

IMG_3821.jpg

 

The tub started out full, but she soon took care of that.

 

And then she jumps out so she can do it all over again:

IMG_3800.jpg

 

Of course, she does this even if no one is watching. I was planting in the garden on the other side of the house and could hear her just splashing away....

 

J.

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I love these pictures.

 

Julie, I agree, the black tank is much less obtrusive than the bright blue kiddie pool. It fits right in.

 

We still have our kiddie pool from last season but when it comes time to replace I think the black tank might be just the thing. I have to keep something for them to cool off in. My dogs hate to be left inside when we are in the big pool. I don't want them going in our pool. (for safety not because I am grossed out by it). We keep a small pool on the deck for the dogs.

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Alchemist - do you put something in your stocktank to keep it from breeding mosquitos?

A trick an old rancher told me is to put a few drops of vegetable oil in the tank. It will float on top and as the floating mosquito eggs float into it, they stick and smother, supposedly.

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