Keeping Dogs Cool on Hot Summer Days

Well, it's June now and here in NYC-Tri-State are the hot Summer weather is upon us. Hot weather is great for folks who love it, but it's not always so great for the dogs. Where I am it can get quite hot with days on end of temps well into the '90's (it's not uncommon for us to hit triple digits) and extreme humidity. If you live in an area where temps can soar during the day, you need to take measures to keep your dogs comfortable and SAFE. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can set in and can be fatal - quite quickly for some dogs - and it's best to know how to avoid it and what to do if it happens.

Here are some tips for keeping your pets cool in the home and outside-

INDOORS:

*If you don’t have central air and/or a window unit or just don't want to leave an air conditioner running all day when you’re not home – RUN FANS! One or two floor fans, oscillating fans or box fans placed on the floor or strategically located throughout home will keep air circulating. If you’ve cooled the place down overnight either through open windows letting in cooler night time outside air or from running the AC, close *most of* the windows before you leave for work to keep the cool air in. (Don’t close them all, you don’t want to turn your house or apt. into an oven during the hot daytime hours!) 

*Trap that cool air inside. Don’t leave window fans on during the day! As the day heats up all they do is pull hot air into the house. Run fans INSIDE to keep cooler INSIDE air flow moving – even if the air inside gets somewhat hot, circulating the air still keeps things cooler for the animals. If you have ceiling fans, leave them on. It’s all about air flow. DO leave a window or two open for ventilation in case the power goes out while you’re away during the day and the home starts to heat up. Black-outs and brown-outs happen and on a hot day a completely closed up home can quickly become a sweltering oven. Years ago when I'd first started my dog walking business we had a major black out in the NYC area on a very hot summer day. The power went out around mid-day. Most of my clients had gotten on the train that morning to go to work and left the a/c at their homes running...with all the windows shut to keep the cool air in. They were now stuck in the City and their dogs were stuck at home...with completely closed up homes and no a/c on. I scrambled that afternoon to get to all the homes for a second visit knowing no one was going to be home from work on time (with almost no gas in my car and no working gas pumps..no electricity!). In just the few hours since I'd left, many of those closed-up homes had quickly become like saunas shortly after the air conditioning cut out and a number of the dogs were showing signs of heat stress. Always leave a couple of windows cracked for cross-ventilation just in case.

*Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed/drawn/down to keep hot sun out. Allowing hot sun in only serves to drive the inside temps up - the “oven effect”. You don't need to "let the sun in" when it's going to be 98 degrees outside.

*Always leave pets plenty of extra fresh water. This is not the time to limit water intake in order to avoid “accidents”. Leave all pets access to large bowls of fresh water daily. If you’re coming home to empty water bowls...you’re not leaving them enough before you go. If you're concerned that extra water consumption may result in accidents and you don't already have a Dog Walker getting the dog out mid-day, this might be a good time to consider having someone come in to check on things while you're gone for long periods of time.

*Leave dogs and cats access to cooler basements, if possible, as well as tile, bare wood or linoleum floors found in kitchens and bathrooms. Most dogs will seek these spots out to cool themselves off, don’t block them from doing it. Make whatever adjustment necessary in the household to allow for this, at least on a temporary basis.

OUTDOORS:

DO NOT EXERCISE YOUR DOGS DURING THE HOTTEST PARTS OF THE DAY. If the temps are going into the high 80’s or above, make sure all exercise takes place early in the morning when temps are still cool, or in the evening after things have started to cool down. Taking your dog jogging with you at 3pm when it’s sunny and 95 degrees out is a huge no-no! I see people doing this all the time and it makes me cringe. Dogs are going to get overheated faster than you, YOU may want to go out and exercise at the hottest part of the day until you sweat to within a drop of your life (why would you want to do that??!), but don't drag your dog along for this adventure. If you get to the dog park at 3pm on a sunny 101 degree day...and you're the only one there....there's a reason. During the hottest parts of the day, keep the walks and all exertion to the “3 S’s – Slow, Short & Shady”! 

*Don’t keep dogs out in the sun a long time, don’t make the walks strenuous and do your best to keep the pups in the shade, on grass and OFF hot sidewalk and street pavement. The hot pavement can burn the pads on their paws and not only be very uncomfortable for them, but they can suffer real burns from this. If you don't believe me just Google "Burned dog paws" and look at the pics that come up. If it's too hot for YOU to comfortably walk barefoot on pavement, it's too hot for them.

OUCH!  Walk them on the grass please!!!

*Water is key! If you have access to a pool, seaside, pond, lake or stream – let them take a dip! Even if they don’t “swim” swim, just splashing in the water can help cool them down. Filling a kiddie pool up with cool water for them to splash in is a great idea. Keeping their paws cooled off in water can keep their body temperature down, getting them completely wet is even better. Use hoses, sprinklers, make it all fun and they will learn to stay cool happily. 

Oliver is smart - he headed straight for the cool water on a 90 degree day.

*Puppies especially need supervision on hot days as they often don’t know when to quit and can get overheated quickly. Kiddie pools filled with cool hose water are great when you need the puppy to blow off steam but not overheat. Get them to splash in and out of it while they're running around. If you have a younger dog and you want to let it run and play in the yard, limit the amount of running around, watch for signs of heat stress and enforce quiet times/cool down breaks in the shade and cool grass as well as encouraging water intake. They may not know enough to do this on their own, so you must supervise and make sure they don’t over-do it.

*Senior dogs, dogs with medical conditions (esp. heart and lung issues) and dogs with short snouts are also especially susceptible to heat stress. Many people do not realize that just being a snub-nosed (brachycephalic) breed, such as a Bulldog or Pug, Shih’Tzu, Boxer, Boston Terrier, Pekingnese etc. puts some dogs at a higher risk for succumbing to heat stress faster than other dogs. Dogs do not sweat like we do. The primary method by which dogs cool themselves and regulate their body temperature is by panting. Brachycephalic breeds often have trouble breathing, and cannot move as much air as other breeds; therefore it is harder for them to cool themselves down. Owners of brachycephalic dogs need to be more cautious during the heat waves by limiting the amount of time the dogs are outside and active. I have heard many heartbreaking stories about short-nosed breed dogs who were allowed (or encouraged) to run around too much on a hot day and died as a result. This is nothing to play around with. Animals that have heart conditions can also be at increased risk for heat stroke. 

This smart Pug is taking a cool-off break in the shady grass. Snub-nosed dog breeds are at much greater risk of suffering heat-related fatalities. They need special care on hot days.

*If your plan is to leave your dog outside in your yard while you're out (and honestly, that's really not a very good plan, I never condone leaving pets unattended outside when no one is home), make sure that there is ample shade for them to seek shelter under and that you have left them LOTS of extra water. Please have someone check on them if they are going to be alone for more than a couple of hours. If you have no shade trees, set up some sort of tarp or lean-to type of shelter that will provide shade. Never leave a dog tied up outside on a hot day. You will limit their ability to get out of the sun and/or dig a hole in the dirt to lie in and cool off. This can very quickly become a life-threatening issue.

*If you see a dog (or cat) outside and exhibiting signs of heat distress - DO SOMETHING! Try to get it water and either bring inside or cool it down in the shade. Call authorities if you cannot find the owner.

*Lastly – NEVER EVER EVER leave your dog in the car on a hot day! Even with windows down and in the shade, the cars are just too hot when the temps really soar. If you can’t stay in the car with them with the engine running and ac on while someone else does your errands – LEAVE THEM HOME! During the summer time we hear stories EVERY WEEK about dogs dying from this horrible and totally avoidable situation. Unless you're going directly to a park, beach, pond, other home or pet store where you know the dog can come inside with you...LEAVE THEM HOME. 

Just leave them home.

Ahhhh...The dog days of summer – snoozing in the grass under a shady tree during the day sounds good to me! Please keep your pets safe, healthy and happy on these hot days.

For more info about recognizing signs of heat stress and heat-related paw issues in your dogs, how to prevent it all and what to do if you see it, click on these links: 

http://www.safebee.com/family/signs-heatstroke-dogs-and-how-avoid-it

 

ttp://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/06/16/pet-heatstroke.aspx 

https://www.rover.com/blog/dog-heat-stroke/ 

http://www.homewardboundgoldens.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Summer-Heat-and-Dog-Paws.pdf

http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2011/july/burnt_pad_denial_in_dogs-11436  

Deirdre Curran has been a Professional Dog Walker/Pet Sitter since 2003. She truly has "seen it all" and now also offers pet care consultation services in person and via phone, email & Skype. You should contact her BEFORE you get the dog!

Email Deirdre with questions, blog topic suggestions or requests to test and review pet-care related products at:
askthedogwalker@gmail.com 

For more info visit her web site: www.askthedogwalker.com

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