How are you keeping your dog cool this summer?

[Meg+Whiley]

My BC mix is almost all black. She has a white stomach and white on the tips of her feet and tail. Poor thing must get so hot. After our walks and playing outside, I take her to the bathtub and run the cold water. She will jump right in and dunk her head under the water stream. Then she will just want to lay in it for a while. We're picking up a little pool for her. Haven't tried getting her in the sprinkler yet. She'll either love it or be terrified I think. Any fun ideas on keeping your dogs cool?

[mbc1963]

My dog is also almost all black. He REALLY minds the heat. If I try to take him out at midday, he gets excited, but within a few minutes, he's walking very slowly. He actually RUNS through the patches of sun to get to the shady sections when we're in the woods. Poor things!

 

The best I do is let him be inside during the hot part of the day, and take our walks early mornings and evenings. If it's really hot even then, I spray him down with the hose before we leave the house - that keeps him cool for the 25 minutes or so it takes the water to evaporate.

 

Alas, Buddy won't swim, so I don't know what more to do for him.

 

Mary

[Vickkers]

Clover goes Bananas for the sprinklers and her baby pool. it's what keeps her nice and cool. We also have the dogs' section of the garage set up with a giant fan and they'll flop on their backs on the cement in front of the fan (too cute!)

[loudlucky]

Well, I have a Golden Retriever as well so you can imagine keeping her cool in the summer with that long&thick coat! We have a regular sized bathtub that in the garden and we used it to bath them (dirt, fleas, etc) but in the summertime we usually fill it about halfway and the GR and Jack Russell will go swimming by themselves! Wollie was still a lil pup when it was summer - he's spent most of his 'growing up' time in the fall and now winter here in SA, but as I mentioned it doesn't stop him to get into their (very large) water bowl! He has checked out the bathtub but it's not filled at the moment (except for some rainwater sometimes) but other than that we have waterbottles for the dogs (everyone has their own!) for when they go out for walkies or training... when we had out other 2 dogs at obedience training the trainer had (I don't exactly know what to call it) one of those ponds you put into the ground like for koi fish and she filled it up with water for the dogs to swim in! SHe also suggested throwing a wet towel over them to stop them from overheating...

 

What about some ice cream??? ;-)

[OurBoys]

I heard just wetting a dog down works more like a sauna than cooling them off (hair traps water-body heat warms it up). I heard the best way to cool a dog down is to wet their belly-less hair. With JJ I think it works like that. He has an overcoat and an undercoat and likes to lay in the water. When there is no water to lay in, he likes to put his front paws in his water while he drinks. He really made a mess when he did that to his indoor raised water bowl!

 

Jake is different. He has a thin, silky coat so that might work with him. But he hates water! Using 4 bungie cords to keep him in the tub, it still takes 2 of us to bathe him! And when it rains, he'd rather stay under the umbrella with me but turn the sprinkler on and he's in the middle of it! He's a hoot! We have a fan-type sprinkler and he'll pounce on the ground barking at the water drops and then start biting the grass, pulling it up.

 

Not playing in the hottest part of the day, playing in the shade when you do play and not playing as long will help. Jake doesn't drink enough water so when we come in, I'll give him an ice cube for a treat. He loves his ice cubes!!

[silhouettestable]

This is how Thunder cools himself off.

 

 

Every day after running around while out doing chores he takes a leap into the horse trough to cool off. Plus I have a kiddie pool in the backyard for the dogs. When I'm refilling their water buckets in the yard they also like to get their feet into them and dig around. They seem to like playing in the water best when it's fresh and cold. I also give them ice cubes to play with and eat on hot days and I sometimes take them swimming, either at a river near my house or over to my mom's cottage so they can swim in the lake. Not all the dogs like swimming though so I'll usually only take 2 at a time, alternating the ones that do enjoy the water.

 

When they're not playing in the water to cool off they will find a shady place in the yard to sleep, they really like it under the back deck and they also have a big hole that they made to lay in, in the shade of the rabbit's hutches. The pups have a hollow under my daughter's play house as well that they lay in. In the house they sleep pretty much anywhere. On hot days I keep the front drapes drawn until the sun has passed over the house and I have 3 fans going.

[kelpiegirl]

Two pools- one a kiddie, and one a stock tank, and Lucy's MOST favorite- goose chase in a pond. She could/would stay chasing them in the water for ever. Water is the key to coooool dogs

Julie

[borderlicious]

Lots and lots and lots. of. swimming. Periodically during their exercise, if I put a hand on them and they aren't damp, I send them back into the pool.

 

Dakota is especially heat-sensitive, so I shave his belly almost completely during the summer. I also let the hair between his pads grow out so he has some insulation when he walks on the hot ground. His traction isn't quite as good, but he prefers that to blisters on his feet.

 

For Eve, when she has to work and tag along with me everywhere, I have a coat that I put on her which keeps her underbelly cool. She's much more tolerant of the heat than Dakota is so I just keep her as hydrated as possible and move her to a cool spot if she's panting.

[Beth G]

Lots and lots of pool (and sprinkler) time!!! They are pretty good about regulating themselves. But if they look too dry to me, I gently hose them off. They will also hop in the pool if told to.

[mbc1963]

I heard just wetting a dog down works more like a sauna than cooling them off (hair traps water-body heat warms it up).

 

My sister used to tell me this, too, but scientifically, I don't think it's true. Heat from your body actually gets transferred to the water molecules, and as the water changes phase from liquid to gas (evporating), the heat actually leaves your body with the water vapor molecules. (This is why it's very dangerous to be wet when it's cold out - you get hypothermia much faster when you're wet than when you're dry. This is also why our bodies sweat - to put a layer of water on us that will remove heat as it evaporates.)

 

In everyday terms, think of being out on a hot day with dry clothes, vs. being out on a hot day after you've run through the sprinkler. You feel cooler when your clothes are wet, because the evaporating water pulls heat from your body.

 

I do think it's probably true that dogs lose more heat from their bellies, where there isn't much fur. The air can circulate around down there, and pull the water vapor away from the body more quickly. Probably the best way to cool dogs would be to constantly soak their bellies.

 

Science Teacher Mary

[sandra s.]

My sister used to tell me this, too, but scientifically, I don't think it's true. Heat from your body actually gets transferred to the water molecules, and as the water changes phase from liquid to gas (evporating), the heat actually leaves your body with the water vapor molecules.

 

I think the problem might be that it's hard to get the water actually on the skin. It tends to get stuck in the upper layers of that weird BC coat, and then maybe the wet "layer" does cut off air circulation in the coat without being much help itself?

 

I'm never sure whether to do it or not.

 

How am I keeping my dog cool this summer? By going out into the shitty, shitty weather ...

But on real, proper summer days we just stick to the riverside for playing ball etc. Kessie will indicate when she feels like cooling off. Then I make sure she leaves the ball with me (!) and tell her to go have a bath.

[painted_ponies]

I'm a believer in the trapped-layer-of-water theory. Ever wet down a horse and then gone over it with the sweat scraper? The layer of water you push out of the horse's coat is as hot as bath water. This is why, actually, you're always supposed to go over your horse with a sweat scraper after you hose him down.

 

It's the same principle as a diver's wet suit. The suit traps a layer of water between the skin and the suit, which your body heats and acts as insulation against the cold outside water.

[kelpiegirl]

That's a great idea- Lucy's coat is short/tight enough, I bet it would work wonders.

Julie

 

I'm a believer in the trapped-layer-of-water theory. Ever wet down a horse and then gone over it with the sweat scraper? The layer of water you push out of the horse's coat is as hot as bath water. This is why, actually, you're always supposed to go over your horse with a sweat scraper after you hose him down.

 

It's the same principle as a diver's wet suit. The suit traps a layer of water between the skin and the suit, which your body heats and acts as insulation against the cold outside water.

[mbc1963]

I'm a believer in the trapped-layer-of-water theory. Ever wet down a horse and then gone over it with the sweat scraper? The layer of water you push out of the horse's coat is as hot as bath water. This is why, actually, you're always supposed to go over your horse with a sweat scraper after you hose him down.

 

Hmm... I'm not a horse person, and have never heard this theory before. As a sciency person, I have to question the reasoning behind this. (I always thought, from reading "Black Beauty," that the worry with the sweat was actually in giving the horse a chill by leaving him wet after a hard workout.) I'm curious if there have been any studies done about this topic, or if it's standard horse lore that's been passed down over the centuries?

 

Horses will get dripping wet with sweat on hot days, right? That's because the water in sweat acts to cool us. I imagine that the horse's sweat would also be hot, if it was sitting against the horse's hot body, until it evaporates. I don't understand why water from outside the horse would act as an insulator, while sweat (water) from inside the horse is nature's way of cooling it down. By this same token, wouldn't people with wet hair be at higher risk of heat stroke in the summer than people with dry hair?

 

"It's the same principle as a diver's wet suit. The suit traps a layer of water between the skin and the suit, which your body heats and acts as insulation against the cold outside water.

 

I think the diver's wet suit works because the water is trapped between the human and the rubber, which means it can't get away from the body. In fact, I'd say it's very much the suit that's the key, rather than the water. You could take the water out and replace it with down or styrofoam beads or layers of cotton or even air, and it would have the same effect. Meanwhile, if you covered a horse or a human with a layer of rubber on a hot day, regardless of whether there was anything between the skin and the rubber, the heat would kill them, because the sweat wouldn't be able to evaporate.

 

I'm really not trying to be argumentative - I just really like to understand how things work, and this water-as-insulation idea doesn't make sense to me. (I drive my professors and the other students crazy when I take classes, because I really have to see the whole picture, and don't like to accept things just because someone tells me!) Is there anyone who's read any studies about this?

 

Thanks!

 

Mary

[OurBoys]

Mary,

 

I haven't read any studies on this but being the thinking person you are maybe you can see my reasoning.....

 

Because sweating is a body's way of cooling off, why don't dogs have sweat glands? Could it be because God knew it wouldn't work for them because of their hair/fur?

 

If I insulted anyone because I was PI, I do not apologize. I'll respect your religion if you'll respect mine.

[mbc1963]

Mary,

 

I haven't read any studies on this but being the thinking person you are maybe you can see my reasoning.....

 

Because sweating is a body's way of cooling off, why don't dogs have sweat glands? Could it be because God knew it wouldn't work for them because of their hair/fur?

 

Yes, that does make sense, though it doesn't explain why horses DO. I've always been relieved that dogs don't have sweat glands - imagine how bad they'd smell with smeaty underarms on TOP of rolling in poop!

 

So I'll buy the theory that sweating wouldn't work great because of the hair (although, then, why would God give US sweat glands on our heads?)... but I still don't buy that getting them wet will make them hotter. The crazy swimming dogs I know don't swim when it's cold, but they love to swim when it's hot.

 

Mary

[OurBoys]

As much as I love them, I don't know anything about horses.

 

What I do know is, I don't have the same type of hair my dogs do. My hair wets down fast and the water can get to my scalp easy. My hair also dries faster. I just wish I had more of it!!

[Laurae]

Water cools a dog in hot, dry climates because evaporative cooling occurs.

Water does not cool a dog as efficiently and can act to intensify body heat in hot, humid climates because water doesn't evaporate as quickly (or at all) in the dense atmosphere.

Fortunately, I live in Colorado, and before this I lived in Oregon--the humidity level is low in both areas, so my dogs cool off nicely in the hot weather when they get wet. I took Sophie home to New York to see my family one summer, and she was just miserable in the humidity there--water didn't help her the same way it does here. If you live in the Southeast, or anywhere where it's humid and horrible, you can wet down your dog and bring her inside the air conditioning--your pup will be in heaven

[OurBoys]

Laura, I can see that. I've always lived in the humid Southeast so I can't compare.

[painted_ponies]

Mary - Yes, Laurae has it right. Sorry, I forget everyone doesn't live in the swamps of South Carolina.

 

In cold weather horses are at risk for chill if their heavy winter coats (like Black Beauty, who lived in England, would've grown ) get wet with sweat. That's why most people who work their horses in winter clip them, at least partially, and then cover them with a cooler (a kind of sheet to wick away moisture) when they're through working.

 

Incidentally, a sweat scraper isn't actually for scraping sweat - yes, I know, but horse people delight in giving things strange names. Like how a horse has a near and an off side, not a right and a left, but anyway - it's for scraping off the water after you've hosed down your sweaty horse. If you don't, and you live in a humid climate, the water trapped in the coat won't evaporate and you wind up with a horse steeping in his own juices.

 

You're correct that a wet suit works because it traps a layer of water between the diver and the suit. Air does work just as well, and is used as an insulator in dry suits (assuming one is crazy enough to dive in water so cold as to require a dry suit ). 72F water is pretty cold, while 72F air feels nice, because water is so much better at drawing heat out of the body. If you let that water get away from you, it takes all that heat with it - but if you trap it, it can keep you fairly warm. Just like the poor horse, or dog, with a layer of water trapped between its coat and the skin.

 

Why do dogs not sweat and horses do? I have no idea, but I'm betting it's nothing to do with fur. After all, horses are pretty hairy critters. I'm awfully glad they can sweat - dogs are a big enough pain to keep cool, and I can bring them into the air conditioning. DH draws the line at horses in the house, though.

 

BTW, I think questions are great, and I think it's even better that you don't accept things just because someone tells you it's so.

[Brandon M]

For one this I kinda help him shed a bit by brushing him a lot. I think it probably helps. Other than that play sessions outside are always accompanied by a lot of water. Like the sprinklers and hose, or the pool. At work Lance rides around on the JD Gator all wet all the time. He actually jumps in the water troughs which my boss doesn't know, and I wont tell lol. Lance loves water. He also knows how to use the water cooler at my house. He frequents the cooler for ice water a lot.

[Millie&MeBC]

The girls get into the neighbor's kiddie pool during play dates (though I plan on getting our own soon) or wet them down with the hose. They especially get more comfrotable when they can get their feet wet to cool them off- the ground here is just so hot. While we're inside I keep the AC and fans on. I flipped Millie's bedding pad from the wooly-ish side to the smoother material that's a bit cooler.

 

I have a portable water bottle/plastic bowl that I take on hikes as well as an extra bottle so they can stay hydrated. For treats in the heat I freeze chicken broth in an ice tray and they enjoy those cubes- they're low-calorie, too.

 

Even though I am diligent about grooming normally, I switch into a higher gear to make sure to keep shedding under control constantly with the shedding blade, which I can imagine is much more comfortable.

[WyoBC]

I try to play with him early in the morning around 5:00am. Then get back up around 7:00am to play some more before it gets really hot. Then he plays in the pool in the afternoon to cool off. He doesn't really like the hot weather to much. But he will stay out in it if I'm playing with him so I have to watch how hot he gets. When I feed my horse in the morning I tell Black Jack to "go find some shade" and he'll look around then take off up by the tree and lay in the shade until I'm done.

 

He's the same way, he gets all excited to go out then remembers why he wanted back inside in the first place

[HighDesertSpice]

'Absolutely NO science behind this, but I check the ears. If they're really hot, then the dog is hot. I've found that getting the dog wet cools the ears down. ....

[mbc1963]

'Absolutely NO science behind this, but I check the ears. If they're really hot, then the dog is hot. I've found that getting the dog wet cools the ears down. ....

 

Oh, but this has good science behind it! The ears are jam packed full of tiny blood vessels, which expose lots of the hot blood to the broad, thin surface area of the skin on the ears, where heat can be transferred to the air. The blood vessels dilate with heat, which lets even more blood run through them. So... they feel warmer.

 

Conversely, in humans and dogs and most other mammals, I think, when the core of the body is at risk of hypothermia, the body will constrict the blood vessels in our hands, feet, and other blood-vessely places. That way, it can keep more of the heat in the blood and save the important core organs like the heart and brain. That's why people often lose fingers or toes or noses when they're stuck in the snow - constricted vessels, poor circulation, little heat brought to the cells.

 

I've definitely noticed Buddy's ears feeling quite cool in the winter when I keep the thermostat set really low. I'm going to have to start testing his ears on hot days to see how well I can read his temperature!

 

Mary