What are your plans for the summer? If you live with pets in a part of the world where it gets hot during this time of year, your plans probably include taking proper safety measures to keep your pets cool in warm weather. It isn’t always easy, especially when the heat is excessive . . . and dangerous.
I asked friends online for their best tips and tricks to keep pets cool and safe in warm weather.
Here are some of their practical, sensible, and inspiring suggestions.
I hope you’ll find some cool new ideas to try for your pets this summer!
Denise Gregg (New York) For my dogs, I always supply plenty of water inside and out, along with a baby pool to splash in when they want.
Julie Ellingson (California) You can buy cooling mats—you can keep spares in the fridge and rotate. Use a square of tile for dogs to lie on instead of carpet, or use fans to help keep both you and your dog cool. If your dog is really not comfortable, mist their tummy and paws with cool water. Exercise in the cool morning. Keep potty walks on grass in the heat of the day.
Carol Byrnes (Washington) We have a wading pool and she loves to play in the sprinkler. Walks are only in the cooler part of the day. Outdoor access to shade and water is essential. Dogs may dig holes to lie in the cool dirt to cool themselves.
Photo by Carol Byrnes
Amy Suggars (Ohio) My dog Katydid is used to getting a lot of exercise throughout the year, but high temperatures can make it unsafe. Fortunately, she loves to swim. Thus retrieving her bumper in a local pond is her main form of exercise when temperatures are in the 80s and 90s. Even though the water is cooler than the ambient air, I am careful to watch for signs of heat exhaustion.
Jamie Wilke (Washington) I love cooling coats or vests. I get them wet and put them in the fridge overnight if we’re going out in the warmer weather. A cold wet wash rag around the neck works in a pinch. Having a brachycephalic breed, I am very careful during summer. I keep a fan with me. Rubbing alcohol or vodka on the pads of the feet will help cool your pet down if you feel they have been overheated. I shudder when I see dogs out running with their owners with their tongues elongated and dropping off the side. The tongue is a huge indicator when the end is flat and wide.
Isabel Alvarez Arata (Texas) Avoid peak heat. I’m in El Paso and walk my dogs before 9:30 a.m. and after 6 p.m. this time of year. Especially with my geriatric dog—as much as he loves walks, the heat makes them physically impossible for him.
Cat Carrel (Texas) I walk Harry early and late, and if we go out in the day, we try to stay in the shade. We never walk in the heat of the day.
Shelley Bueche (Texas) This is a real issue here in Central Texas. People walk their dogs before 11 a.m. or after 8 p.m.
Kate LaSala CTC CSAT (Connecticut) Remember that dogs don’t sweat to keep cool, so they can overheat more easily than we realize. Walk early in the morning or after sundown. Keep lots of fresh water available. Keep them in A/C as much as possible. If you’re going to be outside for an extended period of time, cooling vests and mats can really help. And be extra careful with brachy dogs—they already struggle to breathe on good days. Add in humidity and heat and they’re really at risk.
Judy Ransom (Washington) Cool pads work great, I also keep my dogs indoors. Never travel in your car unless you have very darkly tinted windows on sides and backs. Get a remote start on your car, allowing you to keep it and the A/C running while you dart in to a store for ice or whatever. Give access to lots of water. Get a spray bottle and spray the pads of their feet with cool water. They only sweat from their paws.
Trillium Schlosser (Oregon) I absolutely love “dog mode” in a car. I leave a note in the window though so someone doesn’t try to “rescue” them!
Amy Suggars My dog rides in a crate in my car whenever we go anywhere. When outdoor temperatures are high, it can get pretty warm inside her crate while we are driving. (I NEVER LEAVE HER ALONE INSIDE A CLOSED VEHICLE!!!) I keep a thermometer in the crate that sends data to my phone via a Bluetooth connection. That way I can monitor the temperature inside it and make sure the car’s air conditioning is keeping the crate cool. I also have a cooling pad and a fan inside the crate to keep her comfortable.
Karla Smele (United Kingdom) I’m a dog walker and I take dogs out when it’s hot. I sometimes wet them before getting in the car or before the walk, if it’s really hot. Wet towels in the car for them to lie on. Cooling coats. Always go to woods with water. Car has dark-tinted windows with several layers of sunshades all around.
Denise O’Moore (Ireland) Be mindful of times you walk them and pavement temperatures. I use cooling mats indoors and we have shaded areas in the yard they can settle in. We don’t get much hot weather here in Ireland, but over the past few years the summers have been getting considerably warmer, so we have fans in most rooms, too. When it’s very warm out, we play enrichment games and practice new tasks indoors. Games like emptying the washing machine. Opening doors, collecting [the mail], picking up dropped objects. The more fun the better!
Julie Ellingson As a groomer, I say: make sure your pet is clean and completely combed out. Impacted undercoat holds in heat like a heavy blanket. So does a matted coat. Dirty, neglected coats also contribute to hot spots (skin infections) and fly strike. I have more than once shaved a neglected coat and found maggots on festering sores that were hidden. You can have the undercarriage clipped short so that your dog can lie on a cool spot and get benefit.
Melissa Jolene Viera (Massachusetts) All of the tips above, such as not taking your dog out during heat waves, keeping frozen Kongs, cooling collars and vests, proper grooming, careful monitoring, but I have another to add: keep your dog in a healthy condition all year round! Keep your dog as fit and healthy as possible so that your dog can be best prepared for warmer temperatures. That’s not to say an athletic dog should be running around in the heat (please don’t!), but I’d guess a dog in good body condition will be more comfortable when the temperature rises.
Adrienne Critchlow (United Kingdom) Ditch the bloody ball chucker!!! Slow it down, let them sniff. Walk early or late. Go where there is shade. Take water. Take a cool coat or mat. Prepare before you go for how to gently cool them down when you get back. Know the signs of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Save your vet’s number in your phone for emergencies. If in doubt—don’t walk your dog today!
Photo by Carol Byrnes
Helen St. Pierre (New Hampshire) Cooling collars!
Kathleen Huggins (Washington) We have a cool vest that works pretty well. One loves to play in the water from the hose when I’m watering, but one doesn’t. Neither swims.
Barbara Carlson (Pennsylvania) Air conditioning for me and my ferrets. None of us do well in the heat. My whole house A/C just died and I’m hiding in the one room with a window air conditioner. Not a lot of fun, but at least I don’t have to worry about the ferrets.
Trillium Schlosser My lovely lab would turn on the bathtub water just a dribble, then she’d lie in the cool bathtub with her fresh water. Man, I miss her.
Donna Weidert (Washington) Frozen Kong—it’s messy so it’s an outdoor treat. Plug the bottom of the Kong with peanut butter or cream cheese, add a few crunchy or chewy treats and fill with no-salt beef broth, stand it upright in the freezer, and leave it until frozen.
Micha Michlewicz (Maryland) Cool collars, other cooling gear/coats/vests/harnesses—the best have the cooling component on their underside where the most heat exchange is. Spray bottle of water should be conditioned first in baby steps with treats, and is a good reason to never use sprayed water as punishment! Spray their underside, throat, face, and legs. Or a wet rag can be used. Shoes to protect their feet on hot pavement, breathable on the top. Frequently offer a cool but not cold drink. Find shade and cross-breezes. Baby pools, sprinklers, etc., but don’t let dogs consume a lot of water or they can get sick. Pre-cool your car before you get into it. Take a cool mat with you, have one at home. Use elevated dog beds for dispersal of heat with air movement. Use fans (floor fans are safest if you have birds in the home) or window coolers if needed. Choose cooler times of day for your outings, or night.
For Animals Other Than Dogs
Mark Cuilla (Washington) I put ice cubes in the cats’ water dish. When I had rats, I’d buy boxes of frozen peas and give them the whole box. They’d nap on it and tear up the box to get to the frozen treats inside.
Jessa Lewis (Washington) For rabbits and chickens outside, I would take old soda bottles and fill them 3/4 full with water and freeze overnight to put in with them during the hottest part of the day for them to cuddle up to. Also, I would put ice in water bowls and mist ears and back of necks with water.
Julie Ellingson Rabbits are especially vulnerable to heat. They benefit from a tray of ice and a tile to cool off on.
Gillian Cranehahn (Washington) I put out cold grapes for squirrels in summer.
Nyssa Gatcombe (Maine) I love freezing fruit and veggie scraps in a Bundt tin with water. It works for pretty much everyone, depending on what goes into it.
Trish McMillan (North Carolina) Frozen treats—put favorite snacks in a bucket of water and freeze, then put outside in a big dish or hang from the fence. Good for dogs, horses, farm animals.
NEXT WEEK: Stephanie Presdee (United Kingdom) on the issues that arise from water inhalation and how dogs can play in water safely; and Colette Kase (Mexico) on heat stroke—what it is, the signs, how to help an animal with it, and how to prevent heat stroke in dogs.
