How do you keep your Rottie cool for summer

[Ninasmom]

As you can see, we live in Florida, and my two despise the heat. We walk them very early in the morning (just around 6am) and later after dark (around 8pm). The are kept in the a/c all day with access to water at all times. I also put ice cubes in their water bowl, which they both love to fish out and toss around, before chewing them down. When I let them out to go potty during the day, they barely go 5 feet past the screen door and immediately run back in.

[gnwhite]

air conditoning, houston is just way to hot for the outside rott.

[SABELLESMOM]

Our yard is pretty shady, or at least most of it is. They're out when I am. There is always a big horse bucket of water available. And I have a kiddie pool available for them. I do agility with the younger one, and we limit our practice sessions to the cooler hours of the day. I take them to the lake, we bo boating and swimming. And they truly, truly enjoy AC!!

[TrishB]

- Constant source of water (not in direct sunlight)
- Constant sources of shade if they are outside
- Air conditioning
- Wet coats / Cool coats
- Car fans
- Cool packs (frozen pop bottles are great)
- Kiddie pools for them to wallow in
- Walks in the morning or in the cooler evenings
- Feeding ice cubes as treats
- Canine Cooler Cooling Pads

[anna30]

I live in Houston where it gets quite warm in the Summer. We are starting to see a few 90 degree days already. In short, our dog lives both in and out of the house. I keep him in during the hottest part of the day. If my spouse and I are gone during the day, we put him in his crate. Usually no longer than 4.5 hours. I hate the hot weather and I know my dog does too. Until we move, we will just work around it.

[JeninND]

We have an indoor/outdoor kennel that only gets sunshine in the morning. K-dog can come and go as he pleases (in & out of the garage), and the garage stays very cool, especially if we leave the door open so he can catch a breeze.

When it gets really hot out, I just bring him inside. But I'm home all day!

[Dugganmom]

When it gets really warm i try to limit the exposure to the heat...duggan HATES to be outside when it gets really hot. i try ro walk/play with them more in the early morning or evening so they dont get overheated. Lots of ice water when we come in and outside to. I also put a big fan on the floor for them to cool off. Even with AC the fan helps ALOT.

[belles]

Kiddie pool in every dogs kennel, topped up during the day.
Water spray over roof.
Wet spots in yards.
If traveling, large ice blocks in crate/trailer.
Wet dogs coat through.
Lots of water to play with, sprayer etc.

[missy8]

They don'T Like the heat. My first Rottie only went out for walks early am or evening. She did lay right next to the ac duct during the day though. Winter is their season, I have walked my dog in 10-20 below zero, blizzards ice, snow you name it, I go for as long as I could stand it, then say let's go home, she'd look at me as if to say, but why? Even on a fairly cool day if the sun is bright, you can see it bothers them. You have to be careful.

[Argosen]

Thank god I read this cuz i live in Tucson and already just this month it has topped 103 out...i guess a kiddie pool is a definite purchase in the extereme near future

[michellemoose]

It's starting to get hot up here, it was 30c yesterday and feels like it will be today. Oskar is sleeping lots, must be from the heat. After reading this thread I tried giving him ice cubes and he loves them! He tosses them around and then chews them up. My other dogs aren't interested in them so Oskar gets to eat them all! Thanks for the tip, I would never have thought to give a dog ice cubes!

[Gunsey'sMom]

This will be GUnner's first BIG BOY summer. Last sumer he was inside the whole summer (mostly). I'll probably take him in for the hottest part of the day. And we are definately getting a kiddy pool. His kennel is also in the shadiest part of the yard. HE also has the shade of an old Caprice and an Izuzu Trooper of wich he has dug himself a little dirt burrow inbetween the two, and has a grassy laydown spot on the other side of the Trooper.

I also visit him with ICE and put it in his water too. I make sure his water is FRESH FRESH FRESH too. He also gets a daily shedding with the shed blade too- little FURKING.

My favorite thing to do -and cheapest trick in the book is to make GIANT Rottie ICE CUBES. They keep him entertained, its a treat, and they keep him hydrated and cool. Take anything and fill it up with water pop it in the freezer and make your special guy or gal A giant Rottie ice cube!!!!

I like to cut up those plastic apple containers from COSCO- They are perfect!!!

[Ayoka]

We don't have AC but so far it has only been in the 20's celcius and Bear has been fine...if it does happen to get too warm on the main floor, I plan on moving Bear's Crate downstairs into the basement so that he can be nice and cool during the day while I am at work.


Good idea about the ice cubes...if your dog doesn't drink as much water as they should I think some beef broth ice cubes might do the trick. I think I might make some tonight just for fun!

[Gunsey'sMom]

The other day I cut the bottom of a 2 liter soda bottle off and made a cube out of that! It keept him busy for a bit-and he loved it!!!

I just have to take him out more before bed time though-on ething to watch with ice!!

[PuppyLove]

I live near the canyon areas in SoCal so it does get into the 100's in the summer around here. My dogs are in the house with me always when I am home.

They have a nice 'dog yard' to hang out in while I am at work. My entire side yard is their domain (they have full access to the entire property when I am home). They have a fully enclosed kennel in there that is completely covered, plus includes a 'patio cover' that I built using PVC pipes and industrial shade cloth. There is also a mister system installed. It cuts the temp by 20 degrees, if not more. I tried to attach some pics of the yard, but we'll see if i can get that to work.