Keeping Dogs Cool

[Sharon Marples]

I am cross posting this (with permission) from another list. I think it contains many vaulable bits of information for those of you who may not be aware of all of them.

Post:

On another list I'm on, someone asked how to help keep dogs cool at outdoor summer trials. I personally don't tolerate heat well, and neither do my dogs as they are mostly inside in the A/C during the summer months. I sent a list of ideas for keeping yourself and your dogs cool, and thought others might find some of these suggestions useful. Here in the hot & humid south, temps are projected in the high 90's with heat indexes in the 100's, for the next several days. Ugh!

Some ideas to help keep your dogs and yourself cool:

1. I have a portable rechargeable power source that I can take with me to shows to plug in a fan, or other small electrical appliances. It will also boost a dead battery, inflate a flat tire, recharge a cell phone, and the unit will recharge from a vehicle. I got it from Amazon.com as they had the best prices. It’s made by Xantrex http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...&s=hi&n=507846

2. I take a cooler full of ice water with me wherever I go with my dogs in the summer. The ice melts, but the cooler will keep the dog's water cold all day.

3. Use space blankets to deflect sun and heat off crates and vehicles. You can get shade cloth in sizes to cover vehicles from greenhouse supply stores http://www.greenhouses-etc.net/equipment/aluminet.htm.

4. Refill empty 2 liter soda bottles with water and freeze them. Place them around the edges in your dog's crate and they can lie against them to keep cool. When the ice melts, you also have cold drinking water for you and your dogs. Freeze them well ahead as it takes a full 24 hours for them to freeze solid.

5. You can make your own reusable and inexpensive ice packs by filling heavy gauge Ziploc freezer bags with a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol. The alcohol prevents the ice packs from freezing solid. The more alcohol you use, the less solid the ice pack will be. When my dogs get too warm, I hold an ice pack to their belly and to the bottoms of their paws to bring down their body temp.

6. Make cooler bandanas/mats for yourself and your dogs using polymer crystals. There are instructions for doing these at several sites on the web. You can get the crystals at garden stores or online. Here's a few sites: http://www.crystals.us/CICoolTies.htm and http://www.candlesoylutions.com/Inst...s_Coolties.htm You can also buy, them, but they are pretty inexpensive and easy to make. These would also make good fund raisers for dog events.

7. Cooler coats http://www.pettemp.com/05koolkoatmain/05designerkk.htm

8. Pet Edge makes a crate fan with a cooler insert that works like old fashioned air conditioning. The insert is frozen, then snapped onto the back of the crate fan. When the fan is turned on, it draws air over the ice pack and cools it. You can buy additional cooler packs for long days in the heat and keep them "charged" in a cooler.

9. For yourself, get a spray bottle, fill it with ice water, and keep it in your cooler. A spritz of ice cold water on your face feels great when you are hot.
Hope some of these ideas help.

Be cool!!

[moondog]

That is really good info to have, Sharon! AND....the ziploc bag with a mix of water and rubbing alcohol is also a GREAT tip for making an emergency cold pack for treating swelling!

[StephanieandToby]

I think those K-9 Cooling vests are a great idea! (I wish I had one for myself...I hate the heat)