HOT DOGS--keeping dogs COOL in the summer

tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Well, it's the dog days of summer, feels like it here anyway! My dog Buddy can NOT tolerate the heat at all....It's almost 100 for days on end, with 4000% humidity...stifling really..

EVERYONE FEEL FREE TO POST YOUR TIPS ON KEEPING YOUR DOG ACTIVE DURING THESE HOT DAYS...or keeping them from being bored, or keeping them cool, etc etc etc.




So here is what i've been doing. Right before his walk, i jump in shower, and get MY hair wet, towel off enough to get dressed again. ) I also slap some Avon "skin-so-soft" bath oil on me, to repel mosquitos and ticks, etc etc, that stuff works GREAT for that..i know some ppl who use it on their dogs, as well, but, i don't know about that. I do rub some onto Buddy's chest and neck where he can't lick it off, but nowhere he CAN lick it off.)

Then, i take Buddy outside, and hose him down, til he is soaky soaky wet. (be sure to run out the HOT water, that will be in the hose when you first turn it on). I mean, i SOAK him, down to his skin. i DON'T WET HIS HEAD, to worry about his inner ears, only just neck down.







Oh yeah, Buddy hated hated hated the hose, at first...


---------but, he's become accustomed to it, and now associates that hose with going for a walk,:dogbiggrin: and stands still and tolerates it...waiting..he knows he's going for a walk next!!! He also seems to tolerate it better if he receives continuous PRAISE while being hosed down.





THEN we leave for our walk. WOW!! He pants way less when we do it that way! We can walk WAY WAY farther when we do this. I don't get nearly as hot either, walking with my hair wet like that. (ha, i'm even starting to like how it looks when i get home, too...suits me i think..)

Both of us, me and Buddy, are mostly dry by the time we get back home, and we got shiney hair, too. =) And we are not prostrate from the heat.


just posting this in case anyone is not walking their dog cuz of the HEAT...
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
HERE'S A GOOD TRICK TO TEACH YOUR HOT DOG
to help him stay hydrated on hot days-----​

I made up a lil sign that reads; "BUDDY WANTS ICE".
i put that into a magnetic photo holder, and slapped that onto the fridge, down low, so Buddy can touch it with his nose.

I rubbed some meat on the photo, so Buddy would sniff at it. Soon as he sniffed it, i hit the clicker and gave him a lil piece of ICE. (Buddy is 'clicker trained',)


It was only about 2 or 3 days, til Buddy realized, if he touches his nose to that lil sign on the fridge, he gets a piece of ice. Soon, i was able to phase out the clicker, and no longer needed to keep 'scents' on the sign, either.

Sometimes, he'll stand there for a few minutes, touching it again and again, to get his fill of lil ice cubes and chips..... he walks away when he's had his fill. It isn't usually more than a 1/2 cup, for a 50 lb dog, if even that much... it isn't excessive.



Some folks think ice is not good for dogs, and, for some dogs, that may be true, but, it does NOT bother my dog, AT ALL. He loves loves loves ice. He is NOT a good water drinker, and gets bloodshot eyes*** sometimes, but, he loves ice.

***When MY dog gets bloodshot eyes, depending on what he's been doing----he is either overly hot, or, getting dehydrated, since he is not a good water-drinker.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Ha ha, my daughter said, "Why don't you just teach him to hit the ice-maker button?" but, i could foresee problems ....mmmHmmm.
sometimes, people leave the button over on "water" for one thing...

Plus, i wasn't sure i wanted HIS paw going where we touch our glass to get it full of ice. so i made the sign instead.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
We got one of these last year, i'm not 100% sure what brand we got.....





But, it works pretty well, but, only for about 30 - 45 minutes, BUT, for those 45 minutes, he can tolerate the heat way better.

Whether we fill it with ice cubes to melt onto his neck,
or whether we fill it with that freezy insert-------
either way, we gotta remember to take it back off after about 45 minutes,​

cuz, then it is no longer COOLING him off---- it's adding to his "clothing", ha ha!!




It's well made, and is holding up real well, even with frequent use.

http://www.inthecompanyofdogs.com/itemdy00.asp?ID=18,1936&GEN1=...


but, usually, for MOST situations, we just dowse him with the hose. THAT keeps him cool really well for quite a while, even if it's 100 degrees.

Or, after i drive to where i am going,
------- i pour a bottle of water all over his neck and shoulders, chest, back. (i'm not crazy about having a WET DOG IN the car!)

He is getting better and better at tolerating that "hosing the dog" routine........poor ol hot-dog.....
 
tx_cowgirl

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
My dogs get baths outside in the hot weather. ^^ They like it. Of course, in the cold weather they get baths inside. Mudflap likes to bite at the water coming out of the hose too, so before and after her bath she gets to play. But during the bath, she's gotta stay still. She's great for it, and loves the before/after play.

My dogs have kiddie pools too, so if they want to dive in for a little while they are welcome to. Of course, then they have to get dried off before coming in, but at least they are cool.

I also have Mud's belly shaved during the summer--her "windtunnel" in grooming terms. Really helps.

There are also coats made to keep your dog cool, lots of different brands. Some of them are made of foam and you can soak them.
 
Jean Cote

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
You would think that a husky with a THICK fur coat would hate the sun and the heat, right? Nope. My husky lies directly on hot bricks, in the pure sun at noon. And when I touch her she is boiling. On the other hand, try to get her into the pool is like trying to catch a frog. She runs away!!! :dogsmile:
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Jean, that IS so odd, seems like!! For a husky to sunbathe like that!!!

Jean, your dog is so lucky he is not my dog, cuz i would probably 'hose him off', out of worry he is too hot!! It is the 'worry wart' in me about dogs being comfortable, that causes me to hose off my dog in hot weather. (nah, in truth, my dog just MELTS in hot weather, becomes very listless, out of breath)

@Tx, oh, how i wish my dog would get in the kiddie pool i got for him....maybe next summer...maybe.

How funny to read and remember this thread, now, in the depths of a frozen winter...as i try to figure out how to keep my dog WARM!! BAH HAHA!........... My poor dog,
i probably drive him bananas!! ha ha!!
 
reveuse

reveuse

Well-Known Member
I made up a lil sign that reads; "BUDDY WANTS ICE".
i put that into a magnetic photo holder, and slapped that onto the fridge, down low, so Buddy can touch it with his nose.
Click to expand...
I AM TOTALLY DOING THIS NEXT WEEKEND (after CGC - as I've got enough going on to keep me busy til then).
Romeo is an ICE FREAK ! LOVES IT! So telling me when he wants a piece would be cute/fun

PS / Disclaimer :
I am seriously not stalking - I just am reading all the older and semi current threads out of boredom and the avoidance of spending my sudden friday night off cleaning my house or doing anything else of a more productive nature......
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
reveuse said:
I AM TOTALLY DOING THIS NEXT WEEKEND (after CGC - as I've got enough going on to keep me busy til then).
Romeo is an ICE FREAK ! LOVES IT! So telling me when he wants a piece would be cute/fun

PS / Disclaimer :
I am seriously not stalking - I just am reading all the older and semi current threads out of boredom and the avoidance of spending my sudden friday night off cleaning my house or doing anything else of a more productive nature......
Click to expand...
OH, it is the cutest trick. In truth, i *thought* Buddy would eventually spontaneously nose the photo for ice, but, he rarely INITIATES it, the way i had in mind....darn.

Oh, if he hears the word, "Ice?"---WHETHER OR NOT I WAS TALKING TO HIM---- he runs over to push his cute lil nose onto the sign that reads, "Buddy Wants Ice !!"
and stand there, nosing it again.......and again........and again.....(HE GETS ONE ICE CHIP FOR EACH TIME he noses it...he stops to eat the chip....then he noses it again, and again..)
without me asking anymore, HE keeps it going til he is done getting his fill of ice.

but, he has only ran over to start it, on his own, like only a very few times...LET ME KNOW if Romeo begins to initiate it ON HIS OWN....or if you have any ideas on how to encourage Buddy, that yes, HE can let ME know when he wants ice....instead of me always asking HIM....

ha ha, i do that too, i go through old posts, or see what someone says about this or that, or sometimes catchy titles cathc my eye, cuz i love reading about dog stuff, especially if i am worried, wow, it just relaxes me the way a good yawn does!! ha ha!! I hope to see more and more of you around here!!! Romeo sounds like a lil character!!!!!
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
And someone here was posting yet another "keep your dog cool" idea, i think it went like this:
Take an empty 8oz plastic water bottle,
fill it halfway with water,
freeze that.

Then right before you give it to dog, maybe add a lil water on top, to make it slushy inside, instead of solid ice
and hand it to dog.

I bet you could add in lil treats in the water, too. I hope i correctly remember the ice-water treat bottle...?
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
and , like Tx said, kiddie pools, small plastic kiddie pools, are great for dogs.


Ours had a lil pinhole in it, and every few days, the water was gone....
and i almost tossed it out,
til i realized, that slow leak forced me to keep fresh water in it every few days. Buddy and visitor dogs all drink out of the wading pool, so probably best it is kept fresh.

oddly, Buddy much prefers drinking out of his wading pool, than his indoor doggie dish.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
dawg, i wish all dogs had access to water, it's such great excercise, great for dogs with joint issues,
such a great way to keep dogs cool. My dog, was no fan of water his first summer with us, nope. Was not HIS idea of a good time.
But, he's grown quite fond of it. NOw, it's fair to say he loves water NOW, but, nope, not that first year or so...nope.

But, we wore him down, since we are by lake, and often in that lake, Buddy EVENTUALLY decided, it's good fun after all, and changed his mind. Took him quite a while to like water, but, now, finally, he really has grown to love the water.
whew!
 
charmedwolf

charmedwolf

Moderator
Staff member
tigerlily46514 said:
Ha ha, my daughter said, "Why don't you just teach him to hit the ice-maker button?" but, i could foresee problems ....mmmHmmm.
sometimes, people leave the button over on "water" for one thing...

Plus, i wasn't sure i wanted HIS paw going where we touch our glass to get it full of ice. so i made the sign instead.
Click to expand...
Jinx learned how to push the ice button. Worst day of my life, I came home to ice cubes and water all over the kitchen/ dining room floor and 6 very pleased canines. I set up a camera so my family could see. God, I wish I still had that video. She'd jump up and paw at the button til she got an ice cube. Smart dog.:giggle:
 
Caiti

Caiti

Experienced Member
I carry along a frozen water bottle on walks. When Wylie gets hot, I pour the water on him and rub it on his back, neck, chest and tummy. Then, when the ice melts, we both drink it.

For home, I mix carrot flavored baby food with a little water and put it in an ice cube tray. When it's frozen I pop a cube in a bowl of water for him outside.
 
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