Obviously - take her swimming. Or get a plastic container for water games in the garden. If Poppy is very hot and there is no other way to cool her down, I stroke her ears and muzzle with wet hands, which seems to help. Yesterday she got very hot on a walk, and I got her to roll over and massaged water on her tummy and legs. She loved it! Any other tips?
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool We do all that, plus put a wet towel over the dog's back. Splash water onto the places with the least fur so the skin is cooled fastest (ie the tummy area). Basically, make them damp so the evaporation cools them down (although this does not work as well if the humidity is already high and the evaporation rate is low). We also keep the house shut up, with all curtains/blinds drawn...and we put the air conditioner on. Put ice cubes in the drinking water. Don't feed huge, slow to digest meals.
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool I put ice cubes in her water bowl. Plus she's using the cool mat I bought her. After a while though, it warms up a little so I use an old towel, soaked in tepid water and put that on it. She loves it, it's nice not to see her panting too much. I take her out early morning and then again in the evening. I sit with her outside in shade and while she's snoozing I catch up reading. It's a lot cooler today, yesterday was horrible. Too hot, each time I moved I broke out in a sweat. Yuk.
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool I also use a bottle with holes in it, fill with water and spray Harley with it - she loves it ;D
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool I live in the heat and have to deal with ridiculous heat so I should be useful on this thread but I don't think I am :-[ We have to undergo a whole routine change to be honest ,I don't think I'll help any by suggesting you walk at 5 am and 10 pm ;D We do all the suggestions that have been mentioned. I also hose Dexter down before we walk ...but that's probably not as effective as I think reading Rachael's comment....our 'cold 'water in the outside pipe is actually warm enough to bathe in though :-\ our ac is cranked up and the house is really cool when we come inside...that is something I missed last week on the UK when I was walking my parents dog. As of last night,I admit defeat and am shortening his walks despite the times I take him out,10 pm last night was massively wet and humid......he doesn't know his walk is shorter ,he's just happy he's been .I've cut his food down a little today to compensate but we are working on a few skills at the moment so I don't think he will plump out. he still has active periods through the day in the ac......
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool Rachael, it was 33c on my in-car temp guage yesterday. But it wasn't a dry heat, it was a Tully humid heat. No breeze. It's better today. I am letting Chepi snooze and will go out later; it's just after 1 pm. Good on the Aussies in the marathons!!
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool I grew up in the Southern Mediterranean with a GSD....I have to admit to not worrying too much about Charlie in the UK. I don't have him in the sun for too long without a water break in the shade, always carry water, and give him as many chances to swim as possible. But that's about it....he does seem fine though. We don't have aircon, apart from in the car. Just keep the curtains closed and Charlie lies on the tiles if he's warm. The cool mat was good the first time I used it. But I left it in the car and it got boiling hot...
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool Although, having said I don't worry too much, on the joining instructions for the course next week, it says the dogs will have to spend short periods in the car and we need to take things to keep the sun off our cars. So have ordered a car canopy thing, plus some fans with freezer pack inserts (I'll take them in a cool box) that can hang on his crate (the crate locks so i can have the tail gate up and all the windows down). So will be interesting to see how they work.
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool Yeah it's been pretty warm here the last few weeks - anywhere from 25-30degrees C. Not massively warm if you compare it to ther countries i suppose but it's definitely scorching for us! Thankfully a bit of a break today - it's still hot but a lovely cool wind.
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool I'm really conscious about not leaving the dog in the car for even a few minutes in these temperatures (30 plus here) - even a short stop at the bakery or bank is off the cards if Poppy is with me. Exercise is curtailed - Today we had a short walk in the morning, a swim and retrieve session at 4pm, and a short walk at 9pm. She'll live without too much exercise for a few days!
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool When Lady is obviously struggling in the heat I've been rubbing her down with a soaking wet micro-fibre towel that makes her coat really wet. Seems to help a bit and Lady likes it.
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool Those temps are warm and humidity is never nice. I wouldn't leave a dog in a car for any time if the temps were close to 30, even with shade over the car. Jane - and the men's 100m freestyle
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool My dogs don't seem to mind the heat at all. We have quarry tiles in the room where they sleep and those are always cool to lie on. But they will often go outside and sunbath for a while on the patio, stretched out in the hot sun. Then into the shade for a cool down. Then back into the sun again. They seem to like it. The labradors will play in the sun too. Even in the middle of the day.
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool [quote author=editor link=topic=7113.msg97713#msg97713 date=1406527537] But they will often go outside and sunbath for a while on the patio, stretched out in the hot sun. Then into the shade for a cool down. Then back into the sun again. They seem to like it. [/quote] Bit like this Pippa? image by dexterpops02, on Flickr
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool Love this Angela ;D We have a few shady spots in the garden , both our dogs seem to lay in them when its really hot , lots of swims and no towelling off afterwards x
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool Im gonna try the water bottle pricked with holes as Cooper may love it all the other tips i have tried he likes to drink water from the tap than from his bowl he loves the shower and the rain so he gets a chance to go lie down in the water tat has been der... : he cannot bear the heat my poor boy i wonder hw Dex manages it in Dubai..
Re: Hot weather - keeping your lab cool How hot does it get where you are, Teena? It's hammering down with rain here today.
