Keeping Hot Dogs Cool
May 25, 2018 10:08 AM Subscribe
Our AC is broken! It's going to take a week to fix it! The high temp for each day during the week is about 100 degrees! We have two dogs who hate being wet! What can we do to help them stay cool, during this unpleasant time?
-ice cubes in their water bowls
-freeze low sodium chicken broth and give as treats
-freeze carrot sticks and give as treats
-fans, obviously
-cold damp wash cloth on their paw pads
-visits to pet smart and other indoor dog friendly places
-elevated mesh pet bed with a fan pointed at it (my dog won't willingly get on his but if I lift him on he'll stay there all day if I let him)
I also super agree with freezing a water bottle for them to cuddle with! I tried that last summer on a particularly hot day with my dog and he loved it. Curled right up around it and napped.
posted by phunniemee at 10:16 AM on May 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
-freeze low sodium chicken broth and give as treats
-freeze carrot sticks and give as treats
-fans, obviously
-cold damp wash cloth on their paw pads
-visits to pet smart and other indoor dog friendly places
-elevated mesh pet bed with a fan pointed at it (my dog won't willingly get on his but if I lift him on he'll stay there all day if I let him)
I also super agree with freezing a water bottle for them to cuddle with! I tried that last summer on a particularly hot day with my dog and he loved it. Curled right up around it and napped.
posted by phunniemee at 10:16 AM on May 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Your previous questions seem to indicate that you're in Arizona, where the air should be dry enough for evaporative cooling to work, so maybe you could try to rig up a system to cool a little doghouse-sized space? Even if just one of the misting-fan things. That article actually identifies Arizona as the place that several patented systems were invented.
posted by XMLicious at 10:20 AM on May 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 10:20 AM on May 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Swamp (evaporative) coolers are great in AZ! I haven't used a portable one, but we have one that runs using the same vents as our central air, and we'll probably use it for another month or so before the humidity gets too bad.
posted by Polycarp at 10:30 AM on May 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Polycarp at 10:30 AM on May 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you are in a dry climate and can provide a shaded outdoor space (it's likely to be cooler out than in), do get a misting fan or one or two of these mist systems (your hardware stores likely have them). On a dry 100-degree day in LA I can get my patio to 85 or lower if there's a little breeze (or fans). These nozzle extensions make it a little easier to redirect the one or two sprayers that will otherwise spray directly at something and get all drippy.
If you don't have outdoor space and are in a dry climate, I would consider either buying a portable evaporative cooler for these kinds of emergencies, but in a pinch you could probably get a sink hose mount, one of those misting fans, and a kiddy pool to put the fan in because it'll drip some.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:41 AM on May 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you don't have outdoor space and are in a dry climate, I would consider either buying a portable evaporative cooler for these kinds of emergencies, but in a pinch you could probably get a sink hose mount, one of those misting fans, and a kiddy pool to put the fan in because it'll drip some.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:41 AM on May 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I got these cooling gel pads for my dogs. They don't seem to grasp the concept, but are pretty slow learners. There are other more expensive cooling beds available. (Thank you for the pet tax, those are some adorable pups)
posted by Fig at 10:51 AM on May 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Fig at 10:51 AM on May 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Depending on the size/temperament of your dogs, you might also try buying some of those refrigerable gel pads for joint/muscle relief from the drug store. Some of them come with a cloth/velcro wrap that might fit around a dog's midsection like a belt.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:01 AM on May 25, 2018
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:01 AM on May 25, 2018
Is a window unit feasible for a small room that they can hang out in? You can get a decent one for $100-150.
posted by bowmaniac at 11:16 AM on May 25, 2018
posted by bowmaniac at 11:16 AM on May 25, 2018
Please don't force-cool your dogs (with something applied to the body they can't remove) unless they are showing signs of overheating. Give them cool places to retreat that they are likely to use (not be afraid of, not understand how to use - be careful with frozen things that could cause frostbite if they'll even touch it, which they might not), with good ventilation and airflow, access to shaded fresh water, and you can offer cool treats but be careful that they aren't going to go overboard and then puke. They're pretty good at instinctively keeping themselves safe if they can.
A cool floor is probably your #1 resource. Shaded cement that's touching the ground is actually pretty cool even on a hot day, and linoleum or other hard indoor floor should stay pretty cool as well. I have one dog who deliberately goes outside and roasts herself on the sidewalk and then comes inside and sprawls dramatically on the laminate floor to cool off. If you can get one room or a patio down under 90 degrees on the floor that's probably plenty good for them - a dog's internal temp is 101-102.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:17 AM on May 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
A cool floor is probably your #1 resource. Shaded cement that's touching the ground is actually pretty cool even on a hot day, and linoleum or other hard indoor floor should stay pretty cool as well. I have one dog who deliberately goes outside and roasts herself on the sidewalk and then comes inside and sprawls dramatically on the laminate floor to cool off. If you can get one room or a patio down under 90 degrees on the floor that's probably plenty good for them - a dog's internal temp is 101-102.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:17 AM on May 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
You could try Ruffwear's Jet Stream Cooling Vest or their Swamp Cooler. And an elevated bed like the Coolaroo can also help keep them cool.
Based on the photos, I have to respectfully disagree with the haircut/thinning idea. Your houndy-looking one already has short hair, and your terrier-looking one appears to have a double coat (which helps it thermoregulate). A haircut, even a minor one, would probably hurt more than it would help.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 11:18 AM on May 25, 2018
Based on the photos, I have to respectfully disagree with the haircut/thinning idea. Your houndy-looking one already has short hair, and your terrier-looking one appears to have a double coat (which helps it thermoregulate). A haircut, even a minor one, would probably hurt more than it would help.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 11:18 AM on May 25, 2018
I'm in Arizona and we have bulldogs, which makes for some long summers. It also makes us good at cooling dogs off since bulldogs do not handle heat well at all - it's medically necessary to keep them cool because the breed is very susceptible to heatstroke.
First - if you have the money, Home Depot has misting bucket fans for $80 right now. They run off a rechargable battery and you put it on top of a bucket of water, and it blows cool mist. These are fantastic. Also, as far as misting, Amazon has misting bottles for $15 that work really well; they hold a lot of water and you just have to keep the trigger pressed. They require no power.
Get a towel damp, put it in a ziploc, and put it in the freezer. If you need to you can use this for something for the dog to lay on if it's getting overheated. (The ziploc part is important. Otherwise it will dry out in the freezer.)
Amazon has cooling collars for not much money. Wet them down and put them on the dog's neck. If you have an overheating pupper, you can put it around the belly. Cooling the belly is the fastest way to cool the dog.
Petsmart trips. Petsmart isn't going to care if you hang out a while, especially if you explain what's going on. Other places where dogs are allowed is good as well. Restaurants or coffee shops that have a shaded patio with misters? Perfect (verify that they allow dogs on the patio.)
Do you have room outside for a wading pool? Many dogs like splashing around. Bonus points if they have shade available to put the pool in.
Last, keep plenty of ice water around and in their bowls. They can cool themselves off in a hurry with a cold drink since they cool themselves by panting. Ours all like to eat ice cubes, so if you have a bowl with ice cubes in the water, they can bob for ice cubes.
posted by azpenguin at 11:28 AM on May 25, 2018
First - if you have the money, Home Depot has misting bucket fans for $80 right now. They run off a rechargable battery and you put it on top of a bucket of water, and it blows cool mist. These are fantastic. Also, as far as misting, Amazon has misting bottles for $15 that work really well; they hold a lot of water and you just have to keep the trigger pressed. They require no power.
Get a towel damp, put it in a ziploc, and put it in the freezer. If you need to you can use this for something for the dog to lay on if it's getting overheated. (The ziploc part is important. Otherwise it will dry out in the freezer.)
Amazon has cooling collars for not much money. Wet them down and put them on the dog's neck. If you have an overheating pupper, you can put it around the belly. Cooling the belly is the fastest way to cool the dog.
Petsmart trips. Petsmart isn't going to care if you hang out a while, especially if you explain what's going on. Other places where dogs are allowed is good as well. Restaurants or coffee shops that have a shaded patio with misters? Perfect (verify that they allow dogs on the patio.)
Do you have room outside for a wading pool? Many dogs like splashing around. Bonus points if they have shade available to put the pool in.
Last, keep plenty of ice water around and in their bowls. They can cool themselves off in a hurry with a cold drink since they cool themselves by panting. Ours all like to eat ice cubes, so if you have a bowl with ice cubes in the water, they can bob for ice cubes.
posted by azpenguin at 11:28 AM on May 25, 2018
If you don't want to invest in either a misting bucket fan or a portable evaporative/swamp cooler, but you do have a regular fan and some way to hang laundry to dry: do some laundry, hang it up near you and the doggos, and put the fan on the other side. Air blows through damp laundry, dries clothes, you're cooler on the other side. Same process as dedicated devices, but no extra equipment required beyond stuff you may already have on hand. (And if you're heating air to dry clothes in a dry climate with your AC out, that won't help with staying cool.)
It's tough with dogs that don't like being wet, since the easiest way to cope with a broken AC in hot weather is just to keep wetting yourself down, feel cooler until you dry off, and repeat.
posted by asperity at 12:03 PM on May 25, 2018
It's tough with dogs that don't like being wet, since the easiest way to cope with a broken AC in hot weather is just to keep wetting yourself down, feel cooler until you dry off, and repeat.
posted by asperity at 12:03 PM on May 25, 2018
Just pick up a window AC unit - there's a ton on Craigslist in my area, but if not, they're like $125 on Amazon. Put it in the bedroom and it will be well worth it IMO.
posted by ohsnapdragon at 12:18 PM on May 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ohsnapdragon at 12:18 PM on May 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
When my daughter's dorm room AC went out in August (in SW Missouri) a couple of years ago she put buckets of water in front of a normal box fan and reported that it worked surprisingly well and cooling the room down a bit.
posted by COD at 12:25 PM on May 25, 2018
posted by COD at 12:25 PM on May 25, 2018
Ice packs or ice under a cookie sheet. Some dogs I’ve known have really liked that.
posted by unix at 5:52 PM on May 25, 2018
posted by unix at 5:52 PM on May 25, 2018
Go to your local Home Depot type store and pick up some inexpensive ceramic floor tiles and lay them on a tarp or mat to protect your regular floor. Make sure to create this little cooling zone away from any sunny windows.
It stays remarkably cool and many dogs/cats I know love tiled floors during the summer for just that reason.
posted by Jade Dragon at 8:27 PM on May 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
It stays remarkably cool and many dogs/cats I know love tiled floors during the summer for just that reason.
posted by Jade Dragon at 8:27 PM on May 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
On really hot days my doggo wears a bandana that we keep wet all day and gets lots of ice in his water. We also got him a cooling dog bed which he loves.
posted by snowysoul at 8:29 PM on May 25, 2018
posted by snowysoul at 8:29 PM on May 25, 2018
When my power was out, I took my cat on long air-conditioned car trips during the hottest part of the day.
posted by Jacqueline at 11:24 AM on May 26, 2018
posted by Jacqueline at 11:24 AM on May 26, 2018
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Some dogs also like fans, both of these you can only try and see./
A haircut/thinning may help but only take off a bit: dogs can get bad sunburn after being shorn.
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:13 AM on May 25, 2018 [1 favorite]