Summer heat survival guide for your dog

18 May 2023

The summer heat is just around the corner.

In today’s post we are sharing some useful tips to keep your dog safe and chilled this summer.

During the walks and outside

The most common advice is to avoid the hottest hours of the day. Try to move your walks to earlier in the morning and to the later in the evening. It’s obviously will be not too hot yet when you walk early and a bit cooler already after the sunset.

During this hours your dog even might be comfortable enough for some play time and physical activities.

Seek for shadowed places.

Take some water with you and offer your dog to drink it periodically (like every 30 minutes). Not too much though. Just a little bit to refresh.

You can also wet a dog's belly (the hairless part), armpits and paws slightly with a cool water.

But do not soak your whole dog with the water as it may cause "greenhouse effect" and do more harm.

Keep in mind the hot surfaces (sand, ground, asphalt) and protect your dog's paws. You may use some protective waxes or special protective shoes.

Use cooling vests, coats or bandanas. They work by soaking with water and technically they do not cool the dog, but keep it from overheating.There are a lot of options on a market and they are actually very helpful and harmless for dog's health when used correctly. The more body surface the vest covers, the more effective and longterm effect it provides.

At home

Free uninterrupted access to fresh drinking water is a must! You may add a few ice cubes to make water more refreshing. The cooling bowls that keep water pleasantly cool is also an option.

Gel cooling mats are pretty useful as well. They are safe and they're actually help. But if your dog is a cute little termite and may chew it - it might be not a best option.

Also not all the dogs may like them. We may suggest that it's caused by slightly wobbly sensation due to the gel inside but who knows

If you have an air conditioner - great.

But try to keep your dog away from direct flow of cold air.

Doggy ice cream.

Cooling treats are great option to help your buddy to cool down a bit. Some dogs are happy just with the ice cube that they like to lick and refresh. You can also use frozen fruits and veggies and basically anything your dog likes and allowed to have in frozen form.

Interactive dog toys (such as KONGs, all kinds of licky mats and basically whatever you can stuff and freeze) also a great stuff.

General recommendations

Grooming.

Grooming is a kinda tricky subject.

Many owners prefer to shave the dogs for summer but that might be very harmful. Dog's coat not just keep them warm during the winter but also provides thermoregulation during the summer. By shaving your dog bold you basically take away their natural thermoregulation. The shaven dog has a higher chances to get overheat.

Direct sunlight that will hit the dog's skin can also cause harm, and in some cases even lead to sunburns.

What you should to to actually help your dog is to comb out all shedding/death hair and mats. It will allow the dog's skin to "breathe" and maintain natural thermoregulation.

Be aware of а heat stroke symptoms which is:

Heavy panting and breathing dysfunction