# Keeping dogs cool in truck tips



## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

So now that it is warm out. I wondered if anyone had any tips for keeping dogs cool in the vehicles. I usually just leave it run with AC on. But I am talking about club days. Leaving my truck run for 4-5 hours straight doesn't sound ideal. I usually crack all the windows, try and park where I get the most breeze possible, I recently purchased a cordless fan to go with my Milwaukee batteries, I will purchase a windshield screen, the rest of the windows are already tinted dark so that helps. So what does everyone else do. It's supposed to be 90 this Sunday so AC will probably be what I do this week.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

My dogs are crated in the truck bed under a camper shell with full length windoors and I have two 12 volt fans each with their own small lead acid battery which I keep charged when I get home (it can run two fans for two days). 

I also have a set up to pull air from the cab to the dog boxes when I am driving and it is hot. (both truck and camper have sliding windows).

One request. If you run the AC please keep your car away from cars that are not. I have reamed out several people for pumping their hot smelly exhaust into my dogs. Diesels are the worst.


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

Can you not leave your truck more open than "cracking the windows"? When we are training and even at searches my car is pretty wide open. I also have a metallic mesh cooling/reflective blanket to screen the sun out of the car. I have noticed some folks moving crates out of the car and putting them under cover. I just don't see how any car with the windows cracked could stay cool enough in hot weather.


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

My dogs aren't crated in the truck. So leaving everything wide open wouldn't be an option. I have been considering a topper for the bed. I have seen some pretty easy to make ice cooler fan AC set ups. I could use in the bed. To keep them cool.


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## Bentwings1 (May 29, 2017)

I used to bring a giant sized crate and assemble it on the ground along side the truck. I had a reflective blanket and a small,12 volt fan. I had a separate battery so it wouldn't run the truck down.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Even without a topper you could set up a crate and a shade cover on a farme you could put together quickly while parked. 

My attempt at a commercial swamp cooler (small) left me unimpressed but a good set up might be cool. 

I live in SC and have had to leave my truck in the sun in hot SC days. To me, keeping fresh air moving and sun off is the key. I have done a lot of monitoring of my set up with remote thermometers and it never gets warmer in the truck than the air temp outside with this set up. I do, however, have a white truck. Some folks cover their truck campers with aluminet when parked to offset a darker color.

Dogs are conditioned to live outside while I work.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

When my dogs had to wait in a Prius we put half of the back seat down to give access to the hatch area where we kept a Chillspot bed. chillspot cooling station - chillspot 

We also have these screens installed in our back windows, both our car and our truck 
BreezeGuard

And sometimes we put inexpensive beach towels over the front window, but that is mostly to block our dogs sight rather than shade the car since we have plenty of shade at our club.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

The chillspot looks pretty nice. How cool is the surface actually? I would prefer a phase change around 50F than ice level but No way I am going to put my beasts in a crate with something they can chew up (and the chillspot is nice in that regard)

Breeze guards are very nice -- A teammate has a set. She has since moved to a minivan from her car but they helped a lot.


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

cdwoodcox said:


> My dogs aren't crated in the truck. So leaving everything wide open wouldn't be an option. I have been considering a topper for the bed. I have seen some pretty easy to make ice cooler fan AC set ups. I could use in the bed. To keep them cool.


I bought a topper. I had them install power outlets and am buying a kooler air and some fans. 
I'd really suggest crating in a vehicle. Don't want your interior chewed up if the dog gets hyped up hearing other dogs going through on club days. For D'jango whips cracking or pistols going off means eat anything in his way, and I don't want my truck chewed up.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

NancyJ said:


> The chillspot looks pretty nice. How cool is the surface actually? I would prefer a phase change around 50F than ice level but No way I am going to put my beasts in a crate with something they can chew up (and the chillspot is nice in that regard)
> 
> Breeze guards are very nice -- A teammate has a set. She has since moved to a minivan from her car but they helped a lot.


The one panel version stays nice and cool for quite some time. Since the insert is one block of ice it melts slower. The two panel version has ice inserts that you can pick up at a store but they do melt faster. I haven't tested to see just how cool the panels stay but I do know that by the end of the day they still were cool enough to keep my dog comfortable. 




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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

cdwoodcox said:


> My dogs aren't crated in the truck. So leaving everything wide open wouldn't be an option. I have been considering a topper for the bed. I have seen some pretty easy to make ice cooler fan AC set ups. I could use in the bed. To keep them cool.


It comes down to shade. The fans help, but shade is the most important part. If you put a shell on your truck and crate them securely the way they should be at training (hint) you can cover the whole truck with one of these and combined with the fans, the windows and tailgate open, they should be fine even if its 100. I don't personally like to keep them too cool and then out into the heat. 
https://www.amazon.com/Puppy-Alumin...2&sr=8-2&keywords=reflective+shade+cloth&th=1

Training in sport, trialing, or just any venue like that isn't like a police dog where they have to be able to move or respond to something right now, you can take the time to set up and take down.


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

Steve Strom said:


> cdwoodcox said:
> 
> 
> > My dogs aren't crated in the truck. So leaving everything wide open wouldn't be an option. I have been considering a topper for the bed. I have seen some pretty easy to make ice cooler fan AC set ups. I could use in the bed. To keep them cool.
> ...


 Hint received. 
I am gonna check into the cloth shade panels. I have a guy at the ford dealership Checking on a different truck with a topper for me. Not like I needed much of a reason to buy a different truck. I went down to an F150 a few years ago and have been missing the F250's ever since. Plus I am getting really sick of all the dog fur in my cab Anyway so I have to either get a topper for current truck or a different truck with a topper.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Why do I have a truck. Picture taken during an actual search. He did not find any human remains but did find a mud pit that day.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

NancyJ said:


> Why do I have a truck. Picture taken during an actual search. He did not find any human remains but did find a mud pit that day.




Rejuvenating mud mask anyone?  What a great photo and a great reason to have a truck!


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

cdwoodcox said:


> Hint received.
> I am gonna check into the cloth shade panels. I have a guy at the ford dealership Checking on a different truck with a topper for me. Not like I needed much of a reason to buy a different truck. I went down to an F150 a few years ago and have been missing the F250's ever since. Plus I am getting really sick of all the dog fur in my cab Anyway so I have to either get a topper for current truck or a different truck with a topper.


cleanrun.comhas the 10x14 aluminet on sale. I bought one today and the total with shipping came to 75 and change. Just a heads up.


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## Ozzieleuk (Mar 23, 2014)

I had to find a way to beat the heat for my dog when I got a pickup. I started out by strapping his IGLOO in the back of the bed; but there was still a safety issue while driving on long trips. I went to the local Leonard dealer and bought the fiberglass topper by LEER, I think its the 300XL with sliding side windows. It was the best thing I ever did. Protects cargo from elements and crooks, and gives my best buddy a nice safe enclosure to travel in. I keep an ice chest with us when we travel, so he gets ice cubes with his water. I also put the one piece rubber bed mat to give a nice surface for Maxwell to grip to when driving and making quick stops or turns. I got the bed mat from the JC Whitney catalog--I think they are about $90. Only problem I had was Maxwell learned how to trip the latches on the door and swings the door open. He likes to smell that mountain air and smell everything else when he is driving down the road. I have to remove the gas struts on the door so it stays closed while on the highway.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

Ozzieleuk said:


> Only problem I had was Maxwell learned how to trip the latches on the door and swings the door open. He likes to smell that mountain air and smell everything else when he is driving down the road. I have to remove the gas struts on the door so it stays closed while on the highway.


This is one reason I am glad that I have screens in the back windows of my Prius. My she-pup rolled down the window the other day. I suspect she doesn't know how she managed it, but if she did it once, she could do it again. :surprise:


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I appreciate the locks on my dog boxes. When I have to park somewhere, there is no way to remove my boxes with the tailgate locked and no way to remove the dogs with the boxes locked. I don't drive that way. I also made magnetic signs with my phone number that only go on when dogs are inside. 

the windoors are lighter than the sliders and I can drive down the highway with them open. Truck is 10 years old and has spent plenty of highway hours this way. Shocks are starting to wear out but I went to my plenum and fans to carry AC to the dog boxes [radiator fans in back of dog boxes push air into each box and over each dog while I am driving, they are very well shielded to protect the dogs]. 

One thing I learned while moving air to the back of the truck is AC MUST be on fresh and not recirculate. Also a window in the topper must be cracked to allow air flow through or air pressure buildup in the topper keeps new air from coming in. For the space between the cab and the camper, I found a 20" bike innertube is a better and cheaper "connector" than the more expensive plastic things. Be sure if you get a topper that it has a sliding window if your truck cab does. 

This weekend I will have to take pictures of the entire system.


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