How are your cockers coping with the heat?

[abkb]

After this lovely weather, I've noticed that Molly really doesn't seem to be coping with the heat, particularly at night.  She lies on the cold slate floor in the kitchen rather than in the lounge with us, and she pushes her vet bed and blanket out of the way in her crate, to lie on the cooler plastic bit.

What are your cockers like with the heat, and how do you cool them down?  Obviously ice cubes etc but for Molly it's more at night when she can't get cool.  Are there any cooler crate beds I could get to replace her vet bed?

[LottieLu]

Well she's been looking a bit fluffy so we had a tidy up last night whilst sitting on a bench in the shade in the garden. She doesn't like the heat so am hoping less fluff will help a bit. She will generally just find damp grass in the shade and lay down in it on a hot day. And we walk early and later before and after the sun does it's stuff.

.......I'm enjoying it though 

[Joules]

Coco has a cooler, cotton bed for the hot weather - she had a haircut at the weekend and doesn't seem to mind too much. If it is too not she will just lie in the shade on the paving slabs to cool down.

[Clare B]

Here in Sydney in the summer if you don't want to give your cocker a full shave and clip ( which I don't) the groomers  shave the tummy leaving all the coat and feathering, so the cocker looks fully coated and pretty.  Apparently dogs cool down by pressing their tummy on a cool surface, and if the tummy is shaved all the cooler. 
In summer here Flo  spends her time when in the house in the rooms which are aircondioned or in the bathroom lying tummy spread out on the tiles.  Mind you we are looking 30- 40degree days in summer not a lovely 28degrees that I see London had today, we had 28 last week in autumn and Flo didn't seem at all in difficultly, and the aircondioning only goes on if it's over 32 in our house. We don't change her bed from season to season, she seems to be able to find how to make herself comfortable, even by pushing cushions of the leather sofa so it's cooler for her.

[elaine.e]

I keep a lot of the windows closed in the daytime then open pretty much all the windows and doors at about 8.00pm to let some cooler air circulate around the house. I keep them open until I go to bed. By then the house is a lot cooler.

William and Louis have unrestricted access to the hall, kitchen and study so if they're hot they find a cool spot on the wood floor in the hall or the kitchen vinyl and stretch out there.

In the daytime we do a short walk fairly early and a longer one in the evening. Summer evening walks in the New Forest are my favourites . The dogs sometimes stay in the house a lot when it's hot outside or find a shady spot on the patio at the side of the house.

[Geordietyke]

Odie kept pulling me into the shadows of the trees on our walk yesterday which is most unlike him   However, I think it may have something to do with his meds as we are still trying to adjust them to the right dose (he also has other un-Odie like symptoms).  He's never really had a problem with the heat before and loves nothing better than lying on our marble hearth

[Lily Pup]

Lily seems to be a bit of a sun worshipper and tried to spend all day yesterday on the doormat in the full sun 

I kept bringing her in and every time I turned my back she was back on the door mat!! 

[Clare B]

I keep a lot of the windows closed in the daytime then open pretty much all the windows and doors at about 8.00pm to let some cooler air circulate around the house. I keep them open until I go to bed. By then the house is a lot cooler.

That's what we do here, keep the heat out during the day and let the cool evening air circulate.

[ElaineH]

We don't walk in the hottest part of the day and change our route to where there's plenty of shade.

Indoors Morgan will frequently lie on the slate hearth in the sitting room or on the (ceramic) tiled kitchen floor. We have an enormous window half-way up the stairs (north facing so never gets the sun shining in) which we have open and we get a good cross-current of air if the east-facing sitting-room window is also open. The French windows face south so we usually have the curtains closed there and we also use a fan to help with air movement. There's also a plinth heater in the kitchen which we switch to "cold" and that gives a lovely icy blast at ankle height. Even when the temperature outside is over 30C, it's always cool in out house.

[Clare B]

Odie kept pulling me into the shadows of the trees on our walk yesterday which is most unlike him  

Flo does that here in  summer and most of winter, even when I'm stopped chatting to someone and she's on lead she will lye in my shadow .... They're clever little comfort seekers  

[Clare B]

We don't walk in the hottest part of the day and change our route to where there's plenty of shade.

Yes, our street is heavily tree'd so in summer cool and lovely, the street parallel behind us has no trees along the road , so when walking Flo and my daughter to school I walk on my street in summer and the street behind in winter.  Also choose different field/park walking spots summer to winter, for my comfort and for Flos

[Archie bean]

Archie is up and down like a yoyo all night at the moment. He's having a haircut today so he should feel more comfy. Unfortunately for him he has to live with someone who has the worst circulation in the world - I'm still wearing tights and a thermal vest 

[honeysmun]

Lily seems to be a bit of a sun worshipper and tried to spend all day yesterday on the doormat in the full sun 

I kept bringing her in and every time I turned my back she was back on the door mat!! 

Another one here,  Honey can't get enought sun,
poor Holly really found it yesterday she was so sick last night and
just wanted to sleep. I
 have stripped them both really short
to help them stay cool.

[aliceandlouis]

I keep a lot of the windows closed in the daytime then open pretty much all the windows and doors at about 8.00pm to let some cooler air circulate around the house. I keep them open until I go to bed. By then the house is a lot cooler.

That's what we do here, keep the heat out during the day and let the cool evening air circulate.

Same here as well - and in addition to keeping the windows closed I also draw the curtains on the side of the house with full sun (front in the morning, back in the afternoon) in the way of mediterranean households - and in some rooms have invested in blackout/thermal blinds which also help.  I hasten to add this is for the dogs - Alice in particular does not enjoy excessive heat and as he has matured Louis seems less fond of it as well - and me - I like the sun but prefer cool breezes and the warmth of spring and autumn rather than the stifling heat of summer 

[Bev]

well i have just done cleaned all my garden furniture and arnie was getting under the hose pipe i did not us the hose pipe long just to get the bubbles off the chairs