# Hot Weather Care for our Dogs



## Vinnie

This was actually suggested by one of our mods (so not my original idea). 
I know we’ve talked about this many times before but it’s always good to have a refresher and we have many new members who can also contribute. 

With all the hot weather everyone’s been having lately let’s talk about how we help our dogs cope with the weather and what precautions do we all take? How do you keep your dogs comfortable? Do you do/don't anything different in the hot weather for the dogs? Any special hot weather tips you've picked up and would like to share?


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## Stosh

Kiddie pools are a great way to cool off


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## Lucy Dog

Its been in the upper 90's here in connecticut and when we get out, i always take this portable water bottle with me. It's really hot out here, so i always try to keep her hydrated. That and keep the a/c blasting.

Amazon.com: Dog Water Bottle - Portable - Carrying Strap and Belt Clip Included - Handi Drink Blue Mini: Kitchen &&#133;


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## ChristenHolden

Bella has a pool for when she's outside. And I keep her in the AC from 2 to 7 which is the hotest part of the day. She will happily go in her kennel to cool off. I will be getting her a box fan for in front of the kennel when temps reach 102 up.


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## DCluver33

I usually keep my dogs inside if it's really hot out and if they must be outside, since I don't have a kiddie pool, yet I'll go out and get them soaked with the hose. We also take walks in the early morning or dusk if it's cool outside. And I always carry a portable water container with me. and I never ever leave them in the car even if I'm just going in for a minute.


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## eyezik

We just had a 108 day a couple of days back. My boy has a box fan on his kennel and I put frozen water bottles in his water bowl to keep it ice cold. 

We dont go out very much after 10AM and before 7PM. During the hottest parts of the day Brutus will go lay in front of the swamp cooler. Hes got the right idea


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## adamdude04

I keep Arlo inside. If outside, he's got his own huge water bowl with ice kept in the shade of the garage. 

Sometimes I'll spray him down with the hose..altho the girly doesn't like that too much


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## JakodaCD OA

very hot and humid in CT( today is supposed to be the hottest..

I have the day off, so I limit outside stuff, AC is cranked up, and we've been doing ALOT of swimming to burn off that excess energy.

My male aussie is black and not a fan of the heat, my female aussie Jynx, while doesn't do much running around in this heat, will actually go and lay on my deck in the hot sun,,(I make her come in!).. Masi, well nothing phases her, she's very dark, but that weasel would run all day in any kind of weather till she dropped dead I'm sure.

So finding things for her to do "inside", limiting outside, and we swim every day in the river


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## LaRen616

Sinister is all black so he gets hot fast. If it is over 90 and humid I keep him inside with air conditioning and if I leave him at home while I am at work I have the air on and I put a standing fan in front of his crate to keep him cool. I make sure that he always has water. When we are outside we will go to a friends house and he will play with their dog and their kiddie pool or I hose him down.


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## Bridget

In the hot weather, our exercise is usually swimming at the lake or walking after dark (they like the swimming better). Since they are indoor dogs, they aren't ever left outside for extended time unless we are outside with them. A/C is on 24/7 now.


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## Melgrj7

For exercise I take them swimming, tires them out and cools them off.


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## arycrest

On mega-hot days I used to wet the Hooligans down when we went outdoors. I would get the hose and ask if anyone wanted to get wet and they'd line up in age order (I do everything in age order from feeding them to hugging them and each one knows who they follow). The Hooligans I have now don't like getting hosed down so no one ever takes me up on my offer. Faith enjoys playing in the outdoor water bowls ... I should get a couple pools for them. I also bring them in early, about 10AM, take them out later for quick potty breaks, then take them out again about 7 or 8 PM.


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## Wolfiesmom

It's 100 degrees and humid here today, and it's been in the high 90's since Saturday. Hubby went out and got Wolfie a kiddie pool. He loves it! I keep him in the AC in the house, and when we walk in the evening, I take him to swim in the ocean. He loves Frosty Paws too.


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## EchoGSD

My dogs are inside in the cool basement during the hottest parts of the day. Lake, Kiddie pool, shade, and plenty of water bowls outside. We walk early in the am or long after sunset (hot air and hot concrete!). Shorter walks, and constantly watch for the dogs to slow down and start dragging. Never force your dog to keep going when he/she wants to stop -- Having worked in an emergency hospital for over 8 years, I've seen my share of overheated dogs die despite treatment. Dogs just cannot cool off like we can by sweating; they only have their tongues and their paw pads for that.


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## just another truck

Hunter has the same treatment as my two boys.. He has his own pool, and he is inside when it is real hot. Walks are taken at about 5:00am, and 8:00pm. Any rough housing is done in doors while at these temps.


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## Cluemanti

Exercise before 8am and after 8pm. 

Treadmill sounds really tempting for all of us!


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## Juta

We have been having one heat wave after the other, and Juta does not mind, she is sitting on the deck, does not want to come in.
She has access to cold water, but otherwise the humidity does not seem to face her. 
she behaves like she has no fur...lol
as wor workout I take her at 5AM before it gets to hot


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## DangerousBeauty

I have to make Baron lay in the shade and drink lots of water. I also make sure to cool down his paws with water if we are out and it is hot. I play with him most in the evening when it has started to cool down. Fan and air conditioner on low in the house keeps it pretty nice.


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## VaBeachFamily

We have the kiddie pool also for Cullen, but we never leave him outside alone, so we don't have to worry much. He has a whole rooom now instead of a crate MOST of the time, with ceiling fans and the AC on always! For Schutzhund, since we are outdoors the whole time, i keep HUGE jugs of water, along with a cooler of frozen bottles and ice... and I am trying to sew a sheet with hooks to clasp to the bottom of the back of the explorer, and then put cold wraps/icepacks under

Oh.. and ... if it's a little warm in the house ( our AC guys are bums, and it craps out every now n then) we put the icepacks in his fleece bed lined with plastic.. and he can lay on his bed, and it's cool


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## doggiedad

we exercise at night (play, walk,
train, etc.)

our central air is down. we bought a unit for the bedroom.
we keep our dog in the bedroom with the ac set at 69 degrees.


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## AbbyK9

Although I am now living in the great frozen north (upstate New York) where people swear the world will end if it goes to 90 degrees in summer, as it has this week, we've spent many years living in hot/humid climates where it routinely topped 110+ degrees, sometimes 120 and with high humidity. So here are my two cents ...

ACCLIMATIZE! I seriously cannot stress this enough. Most dogs adjust really well to the warmer weather if they are given a chance to acclimatize through it by being exposed to it gradually as the weather gets warmer. 

Most people don't go this route because going this route means keeping off the air conditioning and dealing with the warmer temperatures at home as well as outdoors. Most folks like to have their homes about the same temperature in summer and winter, so they and their dogs never get a chance to get used to warm (or cold) temperatures. 

Where we lived before, the AC never went on unless it got over 100 degrees, but we did use ceiling and window fans when needed. Where we live now ... well, we don't have AC in the house at all.

I've found that, once my dogs are acclimatized, they don't mind the heat and we do all of the activities we do in any other weather in summer ... we train, we hike, we walk, we go places, we attend events, we ride in the car, we meet up with friends, etc. The pups don't mind.

I do make sure to have fresh, clean water on hand. I don't give ice cubes much but sometimes toss them into the dogs' water buckets to chase around. We do have a kiddy pool (an inflatable one the neighbor gave us) but only Abby likes to spend time in it. Not so much because of the heat, but because she likes to play in water. If there's 1/2" of mud somewhere, she'd be in it. Regardless of weather. But it's nice for her to play in and have a good time.

When the dogs are crated in the home, they are downstairs, which is the coolest area of the house. (We're in a split level, so it tends to be about 15 degrees cooler down there than it is upstairs.) Tough they probably wouldn't care if they were upstairs.


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## Shadow's mum

Its winter here at the moment.  Australia. But during the hot summer, what we did for our dogs was to freeze treats in an ice cube tray or put some bacon bits in a small margarine container and freeze these. Provides mental stimulation and cool at the same time.


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## Mrs.K

It's crazy over here where I am at right now. The past two weeks we've had daily changes in temperature. One day a 100 degrees, the next day 67, the day after another 100 degrees... 

We don't have AC in Germany. It's something you find in malls, movie theaters or office buildings but I personally don't know any German that has AC in their home. 

As a matter of a fact most homes are build the way that you just don't need AC. 
We are miserable in military housing but most of the older farming homes are build the way that you have a pretty good climate inside the building. I love my granddads home because it is really cool inside while you could cook an egg without a pan on the hood of a car. 

As for the dogs. They are somewhat miserable. I only train in short sequences and have a bowl of water handy. We go swimming and I too have a pool. But I never do much because the concentration isn't the same. I rather do it in the early morning or evening when it is cooler. I actually went on walks when it was hot but never longer than half an hour. They are acclimated, they don't know it better and I let them tell me when enough is enough.


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## Stogey

Keep'em brushed down, get as much of that thick under coat off of them as you can. DJ loves the lawn sprinkler, he tries to bite the water and when it really gets intense, I fill up put the kiddie pool for him to lay in ...


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## Mac's Mom

We took Mac out on a row boat this weekend. We anchored in the shallow near the edge of the lake so he could take breaks. We sneak him down to the beach too even though dogs aren't allowed no one says anything because they all love Mac so much.


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## JudynRich

We modify our walks to very early am and take a shady break halfway through. The dogs stay in the house w/ the AC during the hottest part of the day. If they get rowdy, we play catch and tug o war inside.


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## Stosh

I'm trying to keep them outside as much as possible during the 'cool' parts of the day. I've filled up some liter bottles with water and froze them, the dogs like to hold them between their front legs and enjoy the cold against their chest and under their chins. We have flood lights that enable us to play fairly far out into the pasture at night, so I have glow in the dark frisbees and we get to play late.


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## selzer

Wow. 

My dogs stay outside all day. They have water buckets in their kennels, shelters, dog houses, cots, and sun screens over the top. Some of them have a 4x4 area in the house, but for the most part all are outside all day.

I just got the babies a pool. I think they are still bathing their feet in the water bucket though. One of the puppies is a little fish or toad, loves to go in and out of the water. The other is a little less enthusiastic about it. 

I do the work in the early morning. The water comes from a deep well and is cold. i guess I really do not want to give them seriously cold water in the heat of the day. Kind of like working a horse up to a lather and then giving them cold water. 

No basement, no AC, when it is very hot at night, I let them sleep in their kennels outside because they would heat up the room and be stuck in crates. I think less comfortable than being in their kennels outside. 

We do all training and work after the sun goes down or in the early morning. By noon, everyone is having their nap and you can hear a pin drop. Some sleep on top of their dog houses, some inside, some atop of the shelter, some on their cots. I saw Ninja in her shelter under her cot sleeping the other day -- what's up with that??? 

i usually only bring a few inside at a time. They will lie on my bed, their bed, the recliner in my study that they think is theirs, but soon they want to go outside where it is more comfortable. I have gone so far as to take my cot out there.....


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## longhairdog

It's hot as heck here, the heat index has hovered around the 105* mark for days now. Our dogs are house dogs so the heat doesn't bother them too much and when they do go out they can meander in the woods where in the shade it's much cooler, plus they could always play in the pool.


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## Dawn

In the hot weather I get up reallllly early before work and take Raven out for her walk usually around 5am and then wait till at least 7pm to take her out again.
I try to play fetch indoors but not as exciting as outdoors but she seems to like it..lol
I am truly looking forward to the fall, to really start working her. 
It has been close to 100 here with super high humidity...it is bad for the dog and for me...lolol
I would love to take Raven swimming but she cannot stand the water...scared to death of it.


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## JazzNScout

Water dishes filled with ice cubes. A fan blasting on the lanai. And I bring them in no later than 11:00 -- lately a lot earlier. It's been so hot. I even put a fan on them in the air-conditioned house - always have. Walks early early or as the sun is going down. Play time = hose time. What a mess! 
I have been wanting to get a baby pool -- Maybe I'll break down and do it this year. 
Gayle, that is so cute that yours lined up and this crew doesn't have the interest.


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## Texas Bandit

I usually keep my dogs inside most of the day. But if they stay out side I have a small kids pool that Bandit just love to jump in, and I spray them with the water hose. Bandit also tries to attact the water coming out of the hose. It's some pretty good entertainment for me and the kids. lol I also have a large stainless steel bowl I use for water that I will fill up with Ice and water but I have to keep an eye on bandit because he will knock it over trying to play in the water instead of drink it. The dog goes nuts around water.


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## Stogey

DJ is an outside dog during the day, but he has a nice shaded breezeway to hangout on and recently since we started hitting the high 90's and 100's in Central Texas we set out a kiddy pool for him to splash around in....


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