Best way to keep pets cool?

[Buddy'sParents]

We don't have air conditioning and sometimes I worry about Buddy. It gets up to the 90's here and well, that's icky with no AC.

He has several bowls of fresh water and his pool if he choses. Anything else I can do for him to keep him cool?

[jess2416]

I give Chloe ice cubes :)

[MomOf7]

Let him stay outside with a plastic baby pool. He can get himself wet when he needs to cool down. Provide a insulated place for him to rest in that is in the shade.

Sometimes you can find single air units like on craigslist real cheap. Put one is a room you trust him in

[bubbatd]

Buddy, our last home only had bedroom window units....my floors were slate so would stay fairly cool. Unbearable days , I'd use a floor box fan and put a large pan of ice on the air intake side. Dogs loved it !

[Kathy29]

I fill plastic water bottles with water, freeze them up, stuff the bottles in socks, and keep it beside Loppi when travelling. That way, she won't get TOO hot in the crate.

[gaddylovesdogs]

RD reccomended a cool coat to me, for my border collie mix. I'm going to order one soon, and thankfully it'll fit my heavily coated lab, too. http://www.cleanrun.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=1650

[MyIrishWolfie]

Cool shirts...

Get an old t-shirt, get it wet, put dog in it... they love it :D

You can also do the same with an old towel, you just drape it over them.

[misticaleclipse]

I have a cooling dog bandana for charlie (you put it in water for a bit and it goes around there neck and stays cool for at least 2-4 hours)

Another idea is the freeze bone I think they are called? Its like a plastic material I believe and you put it in the freezer. (not sure how it would work with tough chewers though) I have seen them at petsmart, which is where I also got the bandana.

I have also seen a lot of advertisements for special pet cooling mats that adsorb the heat from the dog, not sure if anyone here has tried one?

[dr2little]

Sophie loves her Canine cooler bed. It's like a motionless water bed, about 1 inch thick and has a memory foam inside, it's filled with water and stays several degrees cooler than the dogs body temp.:D

http://www.pets4you.com/pages/canine_cooler/index.htm

[iheartsammy]

I don't have AC either! maybe it has something to do with the fact we live in California? sometimes I wonder about the state I live in...

[bubbatd]

Basically , our dogs can handle better than we can. The worse thing is to keep the dogs in AC all the time. They don't build up or shed their coats naturally. Unless your dog is panting to excess , don't worry. We should all know by now when our dogs are under stress. Of course this is different for outside dogs only ... which I have never had.

[Buddy'sParents]

I don't have AC either! maybe it has something to do with the fact we live in California? sometimes I wonder about the state I live in...


lol... our house has an AC, however, it does not work.. it should be a crime to not having a working AC in california!!

[Buddy'sParents]

I just worry, Grammy. I'm HOT and he's got FUR!!! He has plenty of water and I give him ice cubes sometimes...

Dont want him to have a heat stroke or anything...

[bubbatd]

Believe me , he's o,k. !!! Unless he's outside in the sun all day with no shade or water don't worry !!! I don't know about small breeds , but I've never had any Golden overheat... I feel if I can stand it, they can, Panting is natural... if they don't drink water and their gums are white... that's something else. Believe me, none pampered dogs strive the best. I may be bombarded with this..but dogs who wear sweaters etc don't ( to me ) establish their natural protection. I'll go a little further... don't over exercise your dogs in the heat. Depending on the age , size etc everyone should know what their dog is up to. You are your dog's keeper........no dog should overheat , be over stressed etc.

[Buddy'sParents]

Oh yeah, we don't go to the dog park when it's hot like this and limit excercise. We play in the pool or with the hose and then lay around.
But, I still tend to be a worry wart, Grammy...with everything Buddy's been through.
:p

[Toller_08]

None of the houses I've lived in have ever had air conditioning. The dogs usually lay on the cool tile in the kitchen area in my current house and in my last house, they layed on the linoleum and Tango often hopped into the bath tub for a nap on those really hot days. Tango uses her kiddie pool (the others aren't brave enough to get in it) or she goes swimming in our pool when sh's too hot. They've also got cooling coats but they don't wear them in the house (They're for when we go places and will be outside for a while) and sometimes I spray each of them down with the hose, that usually works for a while. They also get ice bubes during the day and just drink lots of water. Tango's also known to sleep by the fan.