Hey, Raider, i wonder if you dog would like his very own "resting hole" like my dog has? In some shady spot in your yard, plant some hostas. Hostas get huge, so give them lots of room. Leave a spot behind the half circle of hostas, for your dog's "resting place", where he can dig and maintain his own lil "cool off" spot. (the earth is cooler a foot or two below the surface.)
Actually, for a lazy gardener, one really could leave the grass all in place, all around the hostas, like a landscaping bush has grass around it............. just leave empty room behind the hostas for the dog to dig in.
I bet, your family won't mind, if you do all the work of turning over the bed, and stuffing the hostas in place. (again, you have to leave tons of room for hostas to spread out when full grown, they come in all sizes, so be sure what size you are getting to leave enough room.) Hostas are impossible for any dog to dig up. I can barely dig one up, even with hour of shovelling. Hostas are great in shade, and 2 or 3 hostas would hide the dog's cooling off spot from view, as dog holes aren't much to look at! ha ha!!
Just a thought, that Ringo may so enjoy having his own lil hide-y hole to cool off in. MIght even save your other flower beds.
somehow, my dog does understand, he CAN dig in "his" spot,
but not anywhere else.
If it rains, my dog won't get in his resting hole if it is not dry,
but, if yours would lie down in a puddle, well, maybe you wouldn't want one.
My dog also keeps all leaves, etc, from being in there. He just wants some nice cool earth to lie on in the summer time. Buddy seems to do "maintenance" on his lil resting hole, too.
My dog isn't "dirty" when he gets out of it, either. Just looks normal...and he is half white. I guess the earth gets packed enough, it doesn't much rub off on him when he lies in it.
If he's recently dug it a bit deeper, his paws might be a lil dirty, but, that's easy enough to clean off his paws.
just a thought, Ringo might love having one, too.