Tips on dealing with the hot weather??

[IonaD]

Hi all,

I’m back with more questions!!

The weather over here in Italy is hitting 38/39 this week which is hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced since owning Bella. ( I’ve seen that the UK are going to suffer too)

I walked Bella this morning at 7, and I’ll walk her this evening after 9 once the sun has gone down. I don’t have a garden so today we went out for 10 minutes so she could pee and I kept her in the shade as much as possible.

We don’t have aircon so I’m keeping the house as cool as I can with the blinds down etc and I have got her a cool mat which she uses every now and then. We have slate floors which stay cool so she spends a lot of time sleeping on those.

I guess I’m just looking for advice on how to keep her as cool as possible? What you guys have done? What you do? How you manage walks and toilet breaks etc?

Help as always is greatfully appreciated.

Thank you from a very warm Italy 

[ejp]

You could move to Scotland, it was pretty nippy across in Edinburgh today!    Damp towel over her if you think she is overheating, the cool tiles will definitely help, and you know this already, but plenty of water a available.  Avoid walks at the hottest times, paws can get burnt on warm pavements.  That is all I can think off, not really an issue for us sadly.

[Jaysmumagain]

Bella looks to be dark and Ollie is too, and I believe that they cope less well than others colours(or so I have heard)
We went away last summer with Ollie and the temps were in mid late 20's, I had the cool mat and a cool neck chief, you can also get a cool coat, the other thing was we had brought a fan from home, he somehow always finds the fan helpful.
Wow 39 degrees....if it get that hot Ollie and I will head up the road and sit in the sea.

[bizzylizzy]

Hot here in Germany too, forecast for tomorrow is 38! We walk early morning and will go again in a minute (now 8pm). I bought a cool mat last week but he hasn‘t used it much. I‘ve just let him guide me, to be honest; after lying around all day, he‘s just come to me with his ball, so I take it he feels its cooled down enough now!,  .
We have the blinds down all day (I’m starting to feel like Dracula!] and I‘ve put a couple of ice cubes into his water bowl which he seems to appreciate and he loves cold water melon as a treat!
The biggest problem I think, is the temperature of the asphalt outside which can burn their paws (Palm of your hand is a good guide line), so I do try to walk on grass as much as possible. Other than that, there‘s little else to be done, except wait for winter so we can all moan about the snow!! 

[juju]

About 5 years ago I bought Izzy a 'cool coat' which has proved very useful. The coat is put on wet but the dogs own coat underneath stays cool and dry as long as you keep the cool coat damp. The advantage of a cool coat is that it goes wherever the dog goes. Izzy is a black dog and gets warm very quickly so has worn hers in the car and even in the house last summer. Despite the fact that Izzy's coat looks like a rather shapeless chamois leather I have had the occasional comment about why my dog was wearing a coat on a hot day. I also walk Izzy early and late to avoid the worst of the heat.

[IonaD]

Right now if I could move back to cooler climates I would!!

She is indeed dark, she’s a black and tan. We live near the lake so on a walk she is in and out like a yo-yo. She seems to be super sleepy during the day too.

I checked the floor earlier when we went out for a pee and it was super hot so we ducked into the shade and I took her on the grass as soon as I could. Then after wees we walked back home and she was flat out on the tiles.

Can you recommend where the cool coat was from? She isn’t a huge fan of coats but I will try anything at this point.

Also...am I right in thinking if she had had enough she’d just stop walking? She’d tell me right??

Before having a dog I’d be sat out in the sun, drinking wine and catching a few rays. Now I too find myself locked away in a dark apartment 

[juju]

I bought Izzy's coat online, it was called a Prestige cool coat I think. I think now there is more choice. They cost about £30 for a cocker. My friend has a couple for her dogs bought last year which look a bit more stylish.

[juju]

Sorry, I've just remembered I bought a cheaper Ancol cool coat last year which was a better fit but dried out a bit quicker than her original one. 

[Finvarra]

We live in Scotland where the sun is always welcome! But last year in France in our Moho the temp was nearly 40, unbearable. Poor Dylan didn't know what to do with himself. We hung wet towels across the open door, which helped a lot. A lot,of mohos over there have these door blinds like long fluffy caterpillars, again if you wet them it brings down the temperature. I believe that in India they do this , they call them punkahs and some poor wee ,punkahwallah' had the job of of agitating them to cool the breeze (in fact I think it was on 'it ain't half hot mum' for those who remember that series). We also used one of those garden sprayers, hand held, to spray the air with cold water.  Anywhere you can use cold water helps bring down the temperature.

On the way to Devon at the moment where the temp is sure to rise.........

Lesley and Dylan

[PennyB]

I used a coolmat last summer that was very successful plus am lucky in that part of my flooring is quarry tiles so lovely and cool for the dogs. I also live close to the river Taff and can get there through woodland if need be.

While it was very hot last summer in UK my dogs were fine.

I have also bought some of those neck coolers for me but they would easily fit the dogs too - they're like bandanas and have similar stuff used in nappies in them and you soak in cold water before use and they stay cool longer than just wetting a normal  bandana

[Jaysmumagain]

Just to say thinking of you all that are coping with the heat in hotter places.  Reports on breakfast tv showed the expected heat, too much for me.!

Lovely day here in North Wales, breeze of the sea which Ollie loves.  Bet it all goes downhill soon!

[IonaD]

This last week has been unbearable!! Been taking Bella out in the morning but have to be home by 9 as it’s already creeping up to 30 degrees. Have tried to let her out for afternoon pees but she’s refusing to go out...just walks out the door and hides in the grass.

We went out at 9.30 last night and it was still roasting. It isn’t helped by the fact that there is no air...it’s so humid and sticky all the time but it’s meant to be easing off slightly in the next few days thank god.

I really never thought I would miss the weather in England but since I’ve got a dog it puts a completely different perspective on things!!

Have a fabulous Friday and enjoy your weekend!!

[its.sme]

I'm not sure if a dog would tell you when they have had enough,  I believe that sometimes we need to save them from themselves.

It can't be easy not having a garden but a dog will be ok not going out for walks for a while, especially when the temperature is so high,  the cooling jackets are good but if you can't get one then keeping them wet will help.

Wet paws will help also as they loose heat through the paws the tung I believe.

Keep safe.