Hydraton tips in hot weather(on the walk, and after)

I am used to just grabbing a cup of water for the dog that I used to walk, and a drink for myself when I drop into Tim Hortons on my walks...but Shamas won't drink the water.

Any tips to help keep him hydrated on the walk? Maybe he's picky...maybe he's just not hot enough yet...weathers about 25-26C right now. He's panting, but not showing any signs of dehydration. and I feed him high moisture treats when we get back. And I pour the rejected water on his back to cool him.

My concern is more pro-active, for when it gets hotter, about 32C, in a month or so.

 

My boy doesn’t drink either unless he’s in a pond or river. Even after the beach, I take him to the dog water bowls outside a cafe and he won’t drink till he gets home and drinks while in the pond at home. He does get hot, so I do ensure his fur is wet to keep him cool if we’re on a long walk. And in summer I can only walk if we’re near a river so he can immerse himself.

 

That surprises me. All of our Labs have drunk anytime, anywhere. Even out of a hose. I guess I might worry a bit, if he won't drink on the walk and drinks a lot when he gets home.

 

Is it possible to walk him when it is less warm as in early morning/late evening? That is what I do with Finn. Early mornings when the sun is not so hot I often let him swim, or late evenings, going to the beach and let him swim. Or I walk him for an hour early mornings. The rest of the day he can be where ever he want, just let him pee in a nearby spot. He will sleep the rest of the day, in a cool place in our house. Most of the time in the hall way.

 

Our girl Belle would never drink when out and about even in hotter weather, but would drink masses when she got in, so much so she'd chuck it up again - I used to worry she'd dehydrate. She wouldn't go in water any more than knee deep either (not a Lab!).

 

I do most of his walks in the mornings and evenings. I'm on medications that affect my own heat tolerance, so its nlikely that we'll ever be out in heat that he couldn't handle. The house has Central air, due to our heath issues, and we have 100foot back yard. I plan to grab a doggie pool for him when I remember to adjust the seats in the van enough to put it in there. Might even get a few, set up a wet obstical course for him and the kids to play-with no-slip strips in them

 

Could it be that he won't drink out of a cup? Xena won't drink out of cupped hands or water being poured out of a bottle. I use a cheap silicone cake pan for her walks, it just squishes into my backpack (I'm the nerd who always walks with a backpack because I hate things in pockets).

 

Great idea!! The special collapsible bowls at the pet shop are ridiculously expensive.

 

Rory eats them

 

In hot weather I have a bum bag with water bottle and a folding bowl. Most f the time H prefers to find muddy puddle to wallow and drink, but in extremis she will drink clean water.

 

Never even thought of that!

I'll be setting up a dog walking backpack/waist belt with pouches so I'll do that Never even occured to me that the cup might be the problem

I'm trying to decide between a rucksack or an Army surplus belt with Ammo pouches for treats and water bottles. Of course I'll have a nice bag when i go actual places, like Petsmart lol

 

A brilliant tip I think from @Harley Quinn is to freeze a bit of kibble, and I add a couple of pieces of cheese or ham, in a shallow plastic container topped up with water, I do about an inch deep. I find after a walk this is great for rehydration, as my dog won't eat ice cubes on their own.

 

Yes but Rory eats washing machines

 

Mmmm well yes, but he says they are very moreish

 

Curtailing energy expenditure in weather is the only way I can be sure Oban won't overheat. I had to carry him nearly half a kilometre out of the bush last summer when he collapsed and began to seizure. He is the most heat intolerant dog I've ever had. I hate the heat myself and have also collapsed and seized, not fun.

 

As an epileptic, I completely sypathise, snowbunny. Have you tried cooling vests? I just noticed them at Petsmart,a nd might get one for Shamas.

 

When we are hiking in the snow, Cooper, and Tilly to a lesser degree, eats the snow balls she catches. Our snow tends to be pretty dense, high water content, so she can stay hydrated that way.

Both Cooper and Tilly will drink from a stream of water coming from a hydration bladder. They only get about 1/2 of it though so it is kind of wasteful. Hiking from the Cascades West to the Coast, we are seldom very far from a creek, river or lake, and all of the dogs I have had will drink out of anything they find. They don't particularly like the folding fabric dog water bowls but will use them if they are thirsty. Years ago we taught Tilly and our friends Sammy to drink out of regular (people) water fountains in the park. Sometimes, we got some ugly looks from other folks.

 

We're in the middle of the city, but my favorite park has water fountains that has dog taps on them too. I'm working on Shamas's fear of busy roads, because I'd love to be able to walk him there- right now we must drive due to the need to cross 3 main roads to reach the place.

I bought a small backpack, so I can carry water with me now. And I carry a tray from a TV dinner in there....so far he's turned up his nose at offered water, but it's still not that hot so he still might not be thrirsty. At least it's available.

Shamas loves catching snowballs!

 

Lucius loves water. He lies in a paddling pool I bought him and even drinks from it. The only issue is we bought a travel water bowl and he isn't keen to drink from it. He drinks from a regular metal bowl fine even on walks. He's actually drinking tonnes of water especially when it gets too hot. On the other hand our beagle doesn't drink even in hot weather, he's a puppy and we get worried about him overheating which he's done . We hose him down with cold water and try to encourage him to drink and get into the pool. He'll only do it when his doggy friends do it though...

 

Strange, I seem to have that odd breed of Lab that doesn't like water. we put a tub in the back yard to try and get him in to cool down,and he stters well clear. Stays well out of the way of the hose too. He DID drink bottled water from my hand the other day, after it had cleared 32C...so I might have to carry that in my backpack. And he apparently loves frozen carrots