# Tips for Keeping Cool



## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

Does anybody have any tricks for keeping your dog cool in the summer while on the go? She does well at home, where we can easily keep her cool, but I was curious if anyone has any suggestions for when we are out and about?


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## CaliGSD3 (Apr 23, 2015)

My dog does not have great heat tolerance. On the one hand, its easier to tire him out, but the downside is that he can have a hard time focusing and tends to spaz out and get overstimulated easily if we are doing training or focused work in the heat. I sometimes bring along a bottle of ice water to pour or sponge around his ears, neck and belly if he gets to hot.


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## Jayfeather (Dec 28, 2014)

CaliGSD3 said:


> My dog does not have great heat tolerance. On the one hand, its easier to tire him out, but the downside is that he can have a hard time focusing and tends to spaz out and get overstimulated easily if we are doing training or focused work in the heat. I sometimes bring along a bottle of ice water to pour or sponge around his ears, neck and belly if he gets to hot.


I do the same thing with my dog. Wet his paws and neck, let him have a drink. Also give him lots of breaks in the shade. We also often go for walks around rivers or creeks, where we let him splash around and have fun.


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Jayfeather said:


> CaliGSD3 said:
> 
> 
> > My dog does not have great heat tolerance. On the one hand, its easier to tire him out, but the downside is that he can have a hard time focusing and tends to spaz out and get overstimulated easily if we are doing training or focused work in the heat. I sometimes bring along a bottle of ice water to pour or sponge around his ears, neck and belly if he gets to hot.
> ...


This is what we have been doing too, and at home when it's hot we use the kiddie pool and he splashes so much in there he is usually tired, and we train him when he gets bored and climbs out... while he is still cool frome water.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

You know those neck scarves filled with gel that you can freeze? They make them for dogs too. I'm going to pick one up for Summer, if I can find the website again


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

Thanks, everyone! Great suggestions.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

park in the shade, use a fan, use a cool coat with reflective mesh material,


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## Findlay (Jan 8, 2015)

It seems to take Finn a really really long time to cool down. And I don't over-walk him or over-work him.

His trainer said it's partly due to his thick coat and to wet his face and chest area with a cool cloth and not to leave him outside in the heat. 

I'll wet his paws neck and tummy and the neck scarf sounds cool too : )


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

I have the opposite worry with Gus. He doesn't show any ill effects from the heat/cold, nothing in his behavior changes. Happy and ready to go always. In really hot weather I keep him in shade when possible, and lots of water. Day finishes with swim at the lake, he's lucky we are minutes away from them.


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

Lots of water, for the really warm days I will wet a rag and stick it under there armpits and tummies.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

We take a gallon of cold water when we have to be out and about along with a bowl and washcloth for drinking and cooling off tummies.At home there's the pool which obviously needs to be replaced with a little bit larger size.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

Newlie has a thick coat and the summers here can be brutal. If he's lying on the screened-in porch, that's one thing, but if he's chasing a ball or something like that, we only do it maybe 10 minutes at a time. I also bring him inside in the air conditioning to let him cool off frequently. Cold weather and snow don't bother him at all.


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

I call Traveler my "Air Conditioned Dog". I agree with the other poster about moderating activity and keeping cool water available for drinking and wiping down the dog. My problem was my SUV doesn't have rear air conditioning vents and he travels in the far back section.

I just purchased a fan that runs on 12 volts. My intention is to rig up a platform on the second row seats so I can mount the fan forcing more of the front AC air into the back.
Not sure how this is going to work but that's the plan.

Lynn & Traveler


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## TEZPUR1976 (Jun 29, 2014)

We live in 38 degrees celsius heat . Very humid condition and unforgiving Indian sun. 
Also power cuts are higher during summer in our part of the world

Still no need for AC for us or our dog. It is design of the house and the crate. 

If u live in modern RCC apartments without proper well planned natural air ventilation, then life will be miserable in summer in our climate. 

Apart from the the proper ventilation, we use lot of water (not refrigerated) and above condition our kids and dog from very early age. I can afford, but still i will not install AC until my daughter is a teen age. 

I want her immune system to get used to our climate


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

TEZPUR1976 said:


> We live in 38 degrees celsius heat . Very humid condition and unforgiving Indian sun.
> Also power cuts are higher during summer in our part of the world
> 
> Still no need for AC for us or our dog. It is design of the house and the crate.
> ...


There was another thread where paws and hot sidewalks were talked about and conditioning the dogs was mentioned. It sounds like a safe and smart route for your kid and dog considering if in you country there are blackouts often and with no AC they need to be able to still thrive. 

Thank you so much for sharing your expertise  it is so helpful to hear these things since obvioisly not everyone has ac yet the dogs are still fine. Both your babies must be very healthy and strong!


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## TEZPUR1976 (Jun 29, 2014)

Good to know u found the info useful, and by Gods grace all our kids are fine. Thank u


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## Magica (Jul 12, 2015)

My Lecter boy has his own pool in the garden and he loves to use it but when the weather gets seriously hot (Hungary) like some days ago, he needs cold water shower at least twice a day since he has long hair. Some days ago in the late evening, his tongue was still red and he was panting like crazy, and only the cold water shower solved the problem.


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## Dev_DeCoste (Jun 1, 2015)

I have a similar question except in regards to leaving the pooch at home...

I live in a small apartment with no AC. I'm very broke and can't afford to go out and buy a new AC unit right now... My apartment is basically a finished attic above my landlords garage. The heat rises and gets trapped up there really easily. Often it hits 90 in there.

I do everything I can to keep it as cool as possible up there (ceiling fans running 24/7, blinds down to keep sun heat out during day, etc). However I am crate training my pup and have no choice to crate him while I'm at work. I can't leave his water with him in his crate because he will just flip it over within minutes (another issue Im trying to figure out/fix). When I wrap a sheet around his crate he just rips it and pulls it into his crate.

Anyone come up with any creative solutions for keeping their pup cool while they are away at work? I wish I had an AC unit up there but unfortunately it's all fans right now. My boy is also only 9 months and still very deep in his destructive phase (why he is crated when I'm at work) so leaving anything in his crate with him is very risky..

Thanks!!


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## MamaofLEO (Aug 8, 2014)

newlie said:


> Newlie has a thick coat and the summers here can be brutal. If he's lying on the screened-in porch, that's one thing, but if he's chasing a ball or something like that, we only do it maybe 10 minutes at a time. I also bring him inside in the air conditioning to let him cool off frequently. Cold weather and snow don't bother him at all.


Same with Leo--it is amazing how much _humidity_ zaps his immediate energy. It was @80F here on Saturday but super humid---he was tired after about 15 min. of intermittent chuck-it, exploring backyard, and Frisbee. We did it again a couple hours later (a bit cooler, @75F with same humidity) and only lasted about 10. It zaps his energy outside but he is like a caged animal inside when it is hot/hot & humid outside. Even our little obstacle course down the long hall doesn't make a dent when he regains his energy. We absolutely love snow better that heat!


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## MamaofLEO (Aug 8, 2014)

Dev_DeCoste said:


> I have a similar question except in regards to leaving the pooch at home...
> 
> I live in a small apartment with no AC. I'm very broke and can't afford to go out and buy a new AC unit right now... My apartment is basically a finished attic above my landlords garage. The heat rises and gets trapped up there really easily. Often it hits 90 in there.
> 
> ...


I would get a crate bowl (like this --->Amazon.com : ProSelect Stainless Steel Pet Cage Coop Cup, 16-Ounce : Pet Bowls : Pet Supplies) and just tighten it or put it on a corner to stabilize...we used it with our ex-pen (disaster) but when we travel, he gets it in his crate and it is pretty stable. I like the kind that has the screws that really keep it put  We also freeze kongs (different sizes with treat compartments) with ice and treats, low sodium chicken broth and treats, and sometimes just ice and let him chew it (it helped during teething too). I would def. leave some water for your pup to drink when it gets hot---if it is hot for you it is hot for him. Can someone come in and let him out, give him some ice water, activity outside? Good luck!


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## Dev_DeCoste (Jun 1, 2015)

I will definitely look into the crate bowl! Unfortunately the 2 options for people who could help out while I'm gone are a no-go... 1 of them doesn't want to deal with him as he still jumps on people and pulls on a lead so she could get pretty messed up, which I understand. The other person I just don't trust to be responsible enough as they let my roommates cat escape after just 2 days of watching him and knowing my boys tendency to run it would only make me worry more..

I will definitely look into the crate bowl though and hope that it works out. I don't know why but he constantly paws at his water bowl until it spills all over his crate then licks it off the ground... Not sure what he would do if it is secured to the crate... Hopefully nothing catastrophic could come of it..


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Dev_DeCoste said:


> I will definitely look into the crate bowl! Unfortunately the 2 options for people who could help out while I'm gone are a no-go... 1 of them doesn't want to deal with him as he still jumps on people and pulls on a lead so she could get pretty messed up, which I understand. The other person I just don't trust to be responsible enough as they let my roommates cat escape after just 2 days of watching him and knowing my boys tendency to run it would only make me worry more..
> 
> I will definitely look into the crate bowl though and hope that it works out. I don't know why but he constantly paws at his water bowl until it spills all over his crate then licks it off the ground... Not sure what he would do if it is secured to the crate... Hopefully nothing catastrophic could come of it..


We would fill Wicks bowl full of ice cubes and just a little water that way it couldn't slosh when he knocked it and would slowly melt to be cool water he could drink. How long do you leave him home alone? They also have water feeders that are similar to the ones used for small animals but in a large size for dogs (ie it cant be spilled).


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## Dev_DeCoste (Jun 1, 2015)

He is home alone in his crate from 8-4:45. I make sure he drinks plenty of water before I leave and does his business but I still worry. Especially now that it's getting hotter outside.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

We had our AC go out. We had it fixed but it was still over 93 in the house when we left to run an errand (but the temp was slowly coming down). I left Varik in his crate in his room which has a ceiling fan, but also used a box fan as well for more circulation. He was fine when we got home.

My old dog, however, I left at my mom's until the temp dropped sufficiently. The heat really was affecting him.


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## Dev_DeCoste (Jun 1, 2015)

Yeah I can definitely tell the heat is affecting him as he is sleeping much more and just all around taking it easy much more than usual. I have just tried to make sure he drinks a little more water than usual before I leave and don't ask much from him when it is this hot. I haven't even taken him on walks I just let him do his business on his runner. Toss the ball a couple times to see if he wants to run a bit but he usually just ends up lying down and chewing on a stick so I let him chill.


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Dev_DeCoste said:


> Yeah I can definitely tell the heat is affecting him as he is sleeping much more and just all around taking it easy much more than usual. I have just tried to make sure he drinks a little more water than usual before I leave and don't ask much from him when it is this hot. I haven't even taken him on walks I just let him do his business on his runner. Toss the ball a couple times to see if he wants to run a bit but he usually just ends up lying down and chewing on a stick so I let him chill.


could try super gluing the bowl to the floor, regardless he NEEDS water available


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## AnkePH (Jul 30, 2015)

Just want to share our "outdoor refrigerator" method which we also use on crates.

Put the crate in full sunlight, crate the dog and wrap the crate with very vet towels.
Keep the towels nicely wet.
The condensation of the water through the hot sunlight will cool down the inside a lot.

We used this in camping since years to keep our meats and frozen juices cold in daytime for 5-7 days of camping.

Unfortunately our puppy will always pull the towels of unless he is super tired


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