How to keep your dog cool when temperatures get hot

[rangerrebew]

 
How to keep your dog cool when temperatures get hot

Protect your pet from heatwaves.
By Anna Brooks July 6, 2018
 

For a dog, temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit can be deadly.
 

As a pet owner, here’s a good rule of thumb to follow: If it’s too hot outside for you, then it’s way too hot for your dog.

Jason Nicholas, veterinarian and chief medical officer at Preventive Vet, says once weather hits 80 degrees Fahrenheit (which seems like Antarctica compared to last week’s 100-plus degree heat wave), pet owners should start taking precautions. Nicholas says he’s seen far too many cases of dogs with heatstroke, a deadly, but completely preventable, condition.

Why can't dogs handle the same weather that humans can? As much as the guy with long blonde hair may look like his similarly-styled Afghan hound, dogs and humans are separate species with much different tolerances to temperature. We have the luxury of being swathed in a massive, perspiring organ that cools us from head to toe. But dogs' thick fur coats make it harder for them to get rid of heat.

https://www.popsci.com/keep-dogs-cool

[skeeter]

Two things that really p*ss me off - people who take their dogs out on the hot pavement in the noonday sun and people who take their dogs along on bike rides.

[Elderberry]

A dip in the water will cool off bare-skinned humans and furry pets alike. For those of us not lucky enough to live in Potomac, Maryland—which boasts a K9 Aquatic Center—a sprinkler or wading pool can help everyone escape the heat, at least temporarily.

My lab Toby claimed the kid's kiddy pool for himself. He just loved the water. I have a lot on the bank of the Trinity River and whenever he felt hot, he'd go down to the water and jump in.

[thackney]

[Elderberry]

Two things that really p*ss me off - people who take their dogs out on the hot pavement in the noonday sun and people who take their dogs along on bike rides.

I guess then you hate me. On many of my bike rides, either Bane my Basenji/Pitt is running with me or Chico my Chihuahua is in the handlebar basket. But I don't take them in the heat.

[skeeter]

I guess then you hate me. On many of my bike rides, either Bane my Basenji/Pitt is running with me or Chico my Chihuahua is in the handlebar basket. But I don't take them in the heat.

Don't know you or your dog. But some breeds can take a bike ride, many cannot but are unable to complain. Those are the ones I often see.

[Elderberry]

Don't know you or your dog. But some breeds can take a bike ride, many cannot but are unable to complain. Those are the ones I often see.

Even walking a dog, an owner should be able to recognize when their companion has had enough and its time to call it the last easy lap. My Lab Toby would put the breaks on and lie down. I knew then to give him five and then leisurely head back. I have carried Chico, my Chihuahua, on nature trails, when I saw it wasn't enjoyable for him any more.

[skeeter]

Even walking a dog, an owner should be able to recognize when their companion has had enough and its time to call it the last easy lap. My Lab Toby would put the breaks on and lie down. I knew then to give him five and then leisurely head back. I have carried Chico, my Chihuahua, on nature trails, when I saw it wasn't enjoyable for him any more.

I'm the same way with my Bostons. But not everyone is as sensitive to what their dog is going through. Some of the stuff I see makes me wanna become that fart that yells at strangers.

But I restrain myself.

[Elderberry]

I had a co-worker who asked if I could take their dog, Fatso, off their hands. They had just bought a new house, fenced in yard and all, and he didn't want his, and his son's, dog anymore.

I took Fatso, a beautiful Golden Retriever in. I had never experienced any animal that was so cowed as Fatso was. It took years before he was able to shed most, not all, of his fears, and become happy.

[Sanguine]

I went out one afternoon in August and did my 2-mile walk across Mansfield Dam, and even though I had tennies on, I burned the bottom of my feet.  Maybe scorched is the right word.  I worry about dogs with their bare feet on hot asphalt.  It's got to be painful.

[Elderberry]

I only walk now in the mornings. Its still too hot in the late afternoons.

[Fishrrman]

One way for your dog to keep cool:

! No longer available

[Elderberry]

ChillyDog Cool Vest - Black

Keep your dog cool in hot conditions with the ChillyDog Cool Vest. Includes one set of ChillyDog GlacierPacks. These easily rechargeable packs help keep your dog cool and comfortable.

https://glaciertek.com/chillydog-dog-cooling-vest-black/