Hot Weather Care for our Dogs

[AbbyK9]

Although I am now living in the great frozen north (upstate New York) where people swear the world will end if it goes to 90 degrees in summer, as it has this week, we've spent many years living in hot/humid climates where it routinely topped 110+ degrees, sometimes 120 and with high humidity. So here are my two cents ...

ACCLIMATIZE! I seriously cannot stress this enough. Most dogs adjust really well to the warmer weather if they are given a chance to acclimatize through it by being exposed to it gradually as the weather gets warmer.

Most people don't go this route because going this route means keeping off the air conditioning and dealing with the warmer temperatures at home as well as outdoors. Most folks like to have their homes about the same temperature in summer and winter, so they and their dogs never get a chance to get used to warm (or cold) temperatures.

Where we lived before, the AC never went on unless it got over 100 degrees, but we did use ceiling and window fans when needed. Where we live now ... well, we don't have AC in the house at all.

I've found that, once my dogs are acclimatized, they don't mind the heat and we do all of the activities we do in any other weather in summer ... we train, we hike, we walk, we go places, we attend events, we ride in the car, we meet up with friends, etc. The pups don't mind.

I do make sure to have fresh, clean water on hand. I don't give ice cubes much but sometimes toss them into the dogs' water buckets to chase around. We do have a kiddy pool (an inflatable one the neighbor gave us) but only Abby likes to spend time in it. Not so much because of the heat, but because she likes to play in water. If there's 1/2" of mud somewhere, she'd be in it. Regardless of weather. But it's nice for her to play in and have a good time.

When the dogs are crated in the home, they are downstairs, which is the coolest area of the house. (We're in a split level, so it tends to be about 15 degrees cooler down there than it is upstairs.) Tough they probably wouldn't care if they were upstairs.

[Shadow's mum]

Its winter here at the moment. Australia. But during the hot summer, what we did for our dogs was to freeze treats in an ice cube tray or put some bacon bits in a small margarine container and freeze these. Provides mental stimulation and cool at the same time.

[Mrs.K]

It's crazy over here where I am at right now. The past two weeks we've had daily changes in temperature. One day a 100 degrees, the next day 67, the day after another 100 degrees...

We don't have AC in Germany. It's something you find in malls, movie theaters or office buildings but I personally don't know any German that has AC in their home.

As a matter of a fact most homes are build the way that you just don't need AC.
We are miserable in military housing but most of the older farming homes are build the way that you have a pretty good climate inside the building. I love my granddads home because it is really cool inside while you could cook an egg without a pan on the hood of a car.

As for the dogs. They are somewhat miserable. I only train in short sequences and have a bowl of water handy. We go swimming and I too have a pool. But I never do much because the concentration isn't the same. I rather do it in the early morning or evening when it is cooler. I actually went on walks when it was hot but never longer than half an hour. They are acclimated, they don't know it better and I let them tell me when enough is enough.

[Stogey]

Keep'em brushed down, get as much of that thick under coat off of them as you can. DJ loves the lawn sprinkler, he tries to bite the water and when it really gets intense, I fill up put the kiddie pool for him to lay in ...

[Mac's Mom]

We took Mac out on a row boat this weekend. We anchored in the shallow near the edge of the lake so he could take breaks. We sneak him down to the beach too even though dogs aren't allowed no one says anything because they all love Mac so much.

[JudynRich]

We modify our walks to very early am and take a shady break halfway through. The dogs stay in the house w/ the AC during the hottest part of the day. If they get rowdy, we play catch and tug o war inside.

[Stosh]

I'm trying to keep them outside as much as possible during the 'cool' parts of the day. I've filled up some liter bottles with water and froze them, the dogs like to hold them between their front legs and enjoy the cold against their chest and under their chins. We have flood lights that enable us to play fairly far out into the pasture at night, so I have glow in the dark frisbees and we get to play late.

[selzer]

Wow.

My dogs stay outside all day. They have water buckets in their kennels, shelters, dog houses, cots, and sun screens over the top. Some of them have a 4x4 area in the house, but for the most part all are outside all day.

I just got the babies a pool. I think they are still bathing their feet in the water bucket though. One of the puppies is a little fish or toad, loves to go in and out of the water. The other is a little less enthusiastic about it.

I do the work in the early morning. The water comes from a deep well and is cold. i guess I really do not want to give them seriously cold water in the heat of the day. Kind of like working a horse up to a lather and then giving them cold water.

No basement, no AC, when it is very hot at night, I let them sleep in their kennels outside because they would heat up the room and be stuck in crates. I think less comfortable than being in their kennels outside.

We do all training and work after the sun goes down or in the early morning. By noon, everyone is having their nap and you can hear a pin drop. Some sleep on top of their dog houses, some inside, some atop of the shelter, some on their cots. I saw Ninja in her shelter under her cot sleeping the other day -- what's up with that???

i usually only bring a few inside at a time. They will lie on my bed, their bed, the recliner in my study that they think is theirs, but soon they want to go outside where it is more comfortable. I have gone so far as to take my cot out there.....

[longhairdog]

It's hot as heck here, the heat index has hovered around the 105* mark for days now. Our dogs are house dogs so the heat doesn't bother them too much and when they do go out they can meander in the woods where in the shade it's much cooler, plus they could always play in the pool.

[Dawn]

In the hot weather I get up reallllly early before work and take Raven out for her walk usually around 5am and then wait till at least 7pm to take her out again.
I try to play fetch indoors but not as exciting as outdoors but she seems to like it..lol
I am truly looking forward to the fall, to really start working her.
It has been close to 100 here with super high humidity...it is bad for the dog and for me...lolol
I would love to take Raven swimming but she cannot stand the water...scared to death of it.