I'm sure it's been covered before....but how do you keep a dog especially a black active dog cool in this hot weather, Poppy travels with me in the car everyday 15 miles each way to work....I always carry water for both of us in case of traffic jams, but when it is so hot what about walks and playing in the sun etc and we are going away tomorrow and quite a lengthy journey what shall I do yo keep her cool. Thanks Lois
Re: Hot weather In terms of exercising we just go early and late in the day. Apart from that it's quick, short trips out for the toilet. Maybe play some low intensity clicker games in the cool of the house. If you have to travel in the main part of the day I would take the same approach we took for the baby, blinds on the windows, if she's in a crate you could put a space blanket over it to keep it cool. Maybe wrap a freezer block in a towel or something similar. Plenty of fluids as you've said. Check her regularly and allow plenty of time in case you need to take her out for a break in some shade. If you don't mind the potential mess a frozen kong or frozen carrot might be a nice cooling treat too. My next car will have zoned air con I think to keep the boot cool
Re: Hot weather In terms of walking / playing keep in mind that your dog will rarely stop if you want to keep going. Therefore, you need to think about when Poppy may be in danger of getting too hot and take a break at that point (or ideally just before!). Try to find areas of shade where you can play / train / rest. For the long journeys have a look at a map of your journey and plan potential rest stops (good for humans as well as dogs!) where Poppy can stretch her legs and lie in some shade for 10 minutes or so to cool down. Also, keep in mind that if you are travelling in one direction for a long period of time (on a long, straight motorway section for example) the sun could be shining on Poppy for quite a while without you necessarily noticing while sat in the front of the car.
Re: Hot weather I was wondering if those cool mats for dogs mentioned in another thread might be useful for the car? I think it is this one? We are thinking of buying one for our chocolate lab, he really is unhappy when it gets hot.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Cool-Ge...id=1405583406&sr=8-2&keywords=dog+cooling+mat
Re: Hot weather I recently went on holiday - 3 hour journey. The way back was extremely hot and I found Penny was getting overheated in the boot of the car so I had to spend the rest of the journey with her in the passenger seat footwell. Our issue was that the air con doesn't reach the boot and we couldn't have the windows open as they make a horrible vibrating noise when travelling at speed. In the future I would probably have her on the back seat with the luggage in the boot instead of the other way around as I can check on her better and the cool air would reach her. The problem was also with the shape of my car - I have a ford focus hatchback and the boot window slopes at a shallow angle, virtually creating a glass roof above the dog. An estate car would be much more practical as the boot window is vertical. The cooling mat and window shades are a good idea. Plus you can get heat reflective blankets or covers for crates which might help too.
Re: Hot weather Our two go early morning and have a good swim , I only lightly towel them off so that they stay cooler for longer , they then have a shorter walk early evening . Both have access to the garden all day but if its really hot like today, I retrict their access , Millie is fairly sensible but Sam isnt :
Re: Hot weather Hi Kate, I got a cool mat for megs. It's really hot here today and at the moment she's completely chilled laying on the mat. The only other thing I do is dampen an old tea towel and put that on the mat as well. But it's brilliant, she's not panting, she's completely zoned out. Am thinking of using it in the car when we go away in September.
Re: Hot weather my friend has a coat that she puts on her dog it looks like a dog coatbut it can be srayed with water so when we are out she carries water to keep it wet
Re: Hot weather [quote author=lablover link=topic=6997.msg95364#msg95364 date=1405600728] Hi Kate, I got a cool mat for megs. It's really hot here today and at the moment she's completely chilled laying on the mat. The only other thing I do is dampen an old tea towel and put that on the mat as well. But it's brilliant, she's not panting, she's completely zoned out. Am thinking of using it in the car when we go away in September. [/quote] Ah thank you! Seemed to remember them being mentioned recently...goes off to order one..
Re: Hot weather I've just ordered a cool mat - I have aircon in the boot of my car, but have just found out the sliding windows in the rusty old landrover I have are rusted shut! I'll get them sorted - maybe. In the meantime, a cool mat seemed worth trying!
Re: Hot weather I have to admit I am slightly skeptical about these cool mats.... How do they work? Can you feel how cool they are if you touch them? Do you have to do anything special to make them stay cool like put something in them or put them in the fridge etc??
Re: Hot weather I imagine they are like a heat sink - just passive heat dissipation - like a laptop cooling pad I guess. They absorb heat quickly and then dissipate it into the surrounding surfaces. It wouldn't be possible for them to cool below ambient temperature (that would require power) but that would be cooler than a hot dog's body temperature. Well, I'll report back when it arrives!
Re: Hot weather They are good. Problem I suppose is that they warm up after a while, so that's why I put an old damp tea towel on top. Meg hasn't been panting at all today. You all know what I'm like with megs, a right worryguts Have to say really pleased with it.
Re: Hot weather I've just had a cool mat delivered today, theres me thinking just in time and he will love it, well he loves it but only to chew on it, i'll try it another day.
Re: Hot weather I've just ordered a cool mat too, they sound like a great idea, and I thought I'd write a review for the website. I'd be interested to hear anyone else's experience too.
Re: Hot weather i go out on early morning walk with jasper, we go to the woods all shaded,lots of ponds, where there is water he will find it
Re: Hot weather The cool mats look wonderful but I think Edsel would eat it at this point in time. Luckily we have a creek on the property and I'm picking up a kiddie pool this weekend. Lori
