Beat The Heat!

Many of you probably keep your dogs indoors, but for those who have outdoor dogs or dogs who spend a lot of time outdoors by choice, I wanted to talk about ways to beat the heat. Keeping your dog cool and happy is important. Your dog can maintain his temperature fairly easily through panting and through his ears. He is able to cool himself pretty well, but during the really hot part of summer they enjoy some help sometimes.

The first thing you should do anytime of year is make sure that your dog has an adequate amount of water. In the summer that is critical. Keep in mind that a water dish that is sufficient for fall, winter and spring may not be big enough in the summer. Your dog's water intake will increase during the hot weather and the evaporation can take a lot as well. Watch the water carefully and if there is ever a time the dog is out of water find a bigger dish or put out an extra dish to ensure that the dog's needs are taken care of.

I keep a small kiddie pool in the back yard for my outdoor dog and even my indoor dogs that go in and out enjoy it in the hot weather. I empty it out every couple of days and refill it with cool water. The dogs can go in and out of it as they need to in order to help keep themselves cool. This is the best method I have found for helping the dogs keep cool.

In the past we have also hosed off larger outdoor dogs on hot days. Most of them enjoyed the opportunity to cool off and stay cool for quite a while even on hot days when they were soaked down. Our hose water is not that cold, just cool really, but if you have really cold hose water you will want to consider using water that is not quite so cold to soak them down with because the dramatic temperature change can shock them and cause illness or trauma. When the heat gets up to 95+ for several days in a row I have even brought my outdoor dogs into the house during the heat of the day. Especially older dogs are really susceptible to heat trauma so watch them carefully to be certain that they are able to keep cool enough and not be uncomfortable.

Safety and comfort is the concern for keeping dogs cool in the heat of summer. Use common sense and supply the dog's basic needs and a few additional cooling options and you and your dog will have a safe and happy summer.