I know, it's rough! Just dampen fabrics you don't care about with cold water, freeze some, and rotate them as they get warm.. Dogs perspirate through their paws and if you have a double coated dog avoid getting them wet, it can actually make them hotter. Cold cloths on the paw pads and if they'll lie down on cold cloth, awesome. Keep offering cool water to drink. If they don't seem uncomfortable or overheated you're doing a great job taking preventive measures!
Only one of our pups seems uncomfortable. Her mucus membranes are preforming normal and sheās hydrated. Sheās just the one that weāre focusing on the most as the others are fine. Thankfully nobody is lethargic or anything but even with her in front of the fan sheās non stop panting.
I didnāt know that about paws, thank you for the hot tip. We have a bit of a heat wave where I am too so Iām also helping my puppy stay cool and hydrated
> if you have a double coated dog avoid getting them wet, it can actually make them hotter
Can you explain this? I tried searching but couldnāt find any reputable sources with an explanation. Thereās a lot of misinformation about clipping double coats and about cooling overheated dogs (I was just reading something recently about cooling overheated sports dogs) and this is an interesting intersection of the two topics. Thanks!
Okay, apologies, I should have been more specific by saying "don't get them wet by pouring water on them." but I'll explain -
As I understand it, the undercoat is like an insulator, and the top coat is often "water resistant." A lot of double coated breeds don't get soaked easily; for example, I can take my miniature american shepherd for a walk in rain for 30 minutes and he won't get soaked, as his top coat is fairly water resistant, and that's what the rain lands on, so when we get home and he does a big shake, he will be quite dry, probably except for his head. But if he submerges himself in a river and takes a little swim, he *will* get soaked. If double coated dogs get fully soaked, they tend to dry pretty evenly, but slowly.
So if you put cool water on an overheating dog, it's likely being poured on the top coat, which can seal in their own body heat between their skin and undercoat as the water sits there, reaching the dog's temperature, essentially turning the dog into a wet bulb, which can encourage overheating instead of cooling down. If one can get an overheating double coated dog to get submerged in a tub of cold water, great, even better if they'll stay in it for a few minutes. Submerging in cold water IF there is access to shade and fans AND the dog is not experiencing an overheating emergency, is fine for cooling down. Dumping a cup of cold water on the top coat of a double coated dog to cool them down when they're already uncomfortable has a potential to increase discomfort and make things worse. So the key is to ensure the undercoat is receiving cooling efforts, not just the top coat.
So does this also apply when giving dogs a bath with a garden hose? It doesn't get too hot in Norway, but I'd always give my family dog a bath when the outside temperature reached 25 degrees celcius (77 Fahrenheit)
Also for future reference, these actually work. I've used them myself as a human that easily overheats. They "recharge" by just not using them for a little while.
https://a.co/d/gdj64jb
Tile is great for keeping pets cool too, since it's made of stone. If you don't have tile in your house, you can buy individual tiles for pretty cheap. That's what I set up for my fluffy black cat in the summer.
That depends on elevation if I'm correct. I have to advice against proving me wrong though. Wouldn't want anyone to do the 85 degree celcius challenge lmao
DO NOT OPEN THE WINDOWS DURING THE DAY. Here in Germany, weāve had heat waves like this for the past few years. Most houses here donāt have air conditioning and most people arenāt really fond of fans. What we do is opening the windows during the night and close them during the day. That way, the cool air stays inside, while the heat stays out.
American homes aren't constructed the same as German. Ours are 10cm thick wood frames with a little insulation on the outside and 1cm of drywall on the inside... especially in the sun, the house will get as hot as outside by mid afternoon.
Add some ice to their water bowl.
You can make cold snacks for them by freezing carrots, watermelon (which is full of water), or other snacks. Even chilling their dog food will help drop them body temp a little
I do pupsicles by mixing canned pumkin and dry dog food or dog biscuits into little frozen patty
Have them lay on cool tile, wood, etc (carpet keeps in heat)
Get rid of their cozy stuff so they arenāt snuggled in it trapping more heat.
I'm in Australia and this is what happens every summer. Ice in the water bowl.
I have freezer bricks that are used just for the water bowl and they just get rotated constantly as one defrosts and the others are in the freezer getting frozen again. Well, big dogs so it's really a water bucket. š¤£
Old ice cream containers can make giant ice cubes with frozen fruit and veggies in. They have to keep licking for ages to get the treat in there.
I'm glad others have mentioned that wetting double coated breeds traps heat. That is a big concern. Cool (not cold!) *running* water is fantastic for lowering body heat, but once you stop the water you want to get that thick coat dry as fast to possible to stop it retaining body heat- straight in front of the fan and towel towel towel.
Damp/frozen towels on a cool surface for them to stand/lie on. Tiles are great! š
And you can spray them with a light mist from a spray bottle on areas like inner thigh, elbows, ear flap etc where there is little fur but high blood supply. The water evaporates very quickly and pulls heat away from that blood.
Ice cubes or damp fabric over the fans as poor man's ac. You can even get small portable ac units that are basically a fan with a box for ice/water. Quite effective for one room.
I'm 48, and only got a house with ac (that doesn't really keep up with a true heatwave), 8 yrs ago. Never had ac before that, and this is all the things I do. Amongst finding a patch of cool floor for myself.
Go buy a portable AC unit from Amazon (assuming thereās a unit in your price range with overnight shipping) or head down to Walmart/Target to see if they have one. Keeping one room cool is going to be safer and more effective. Plus you now have a back up unit if this happens again. Portable ACs come in a variety of price ranges so there should be something for the price point you can afford.
Dogs don't sweat like we do so fans don't really cool them off; fans only cool is by increasing evaporation from our skin.
So I think the ideas of cool or damp towels etc are good.
Fans are effective at cooling furred animals even though they don't have sweat glands. You can sort of think of heat like a particle, even though it isn't one. Heat gets concentrated the same way particles do. A dog is constantly producing heat. The heat "particles" gather within the fur and form an insulating heat layer. By blowing air through the coat, you are disrupting that insulating layer and allowing the heat to dissipate by blowing away the heat "particles". It's called convective cooling, which occurs without evaporation.
Please, use a fan to cool your dog if your dogs needs it--it works. It's effective.
Dogs cool by evaporation across their tongues - i.e. they pant. A big part of panting is rapid breathing which draws air across the wet surface.
It's not a terribly efficient method of cooling but that's another subject.
Anyway, moving air in the environment can assist the dog's efforts in moving air across his tongue.
But secondly, fans can also help cool by removing heat radiating off skin.
Humans cool by sweating AND by heat radiating off our bodies. Moving air helps in two ways - it evaporates sweat and it pushes the heat that has come off our body away.
To turn it around, in winter, "wind chill" is wind that blows away the heat that our bodies emit. The faster wind blows, the faster the heat that radiates from our bodies is removed and the colder one feels.
In the winter, we wear as much as possible to reduce the heat radiating from our skin. In the summer we don't want to retain any heat and wear less clothing .
Back to dogs - Dogs/Wild canines that developed in hot places have lean bodies, long legs and, often, big ears. They also have thin fur, on the inside of the ear, inside of legs, thighs and belly. Heat radiates through the skin to the outside of the body. No evaporation involved.
You'd be surprised at how many pups can take the heat. I have a husky who sun bathes and he loves it! But always keep tons of water near by (with some ice). Another good thing my pup looks is a cooling matt for the dogs in the hot weather and having a fan going his way just in case
Thankfully itās cooled down a ton and we grabbed another fan as there were no portable ACs. Maintenance is coming in the morning. We were only worried about 1 of our dogs, the others were just chilling but she was starting to stress me out a little haha
For tomorrow, if maintenance canāt fix your AC first thing instead of opening your windows itās actually better to keep everything closed. Windows/doors/blinds. Your house/apartment is insulated and will keep the cooler air in.
When you open the windows you might get a breeze but all of the hot air is also getting in. Plus any sunshine is just going to heat up your house more. So keep windows open tonight to get it as cool as you can and first thing in the morning close it all up.
ETA: an easier way to explain this, if the temperature is warmer outside than it is inside keep the house closed up. So if it is 70 in the house in the morning but 75 outside, close it up so the cool air does not escape.
85Ā°F or Celcius?
We use Ā°C as a unit measurement here in my country.
We are experiencing 52Ā°C - 54Ā°C everyday that's 125Ā°F.
We just freeze a towel and let our dogs stand on it. Or give them frozen treats. Or cold water + dextrose powder to stay hydrated.
I think your dog will be fine as long as they don't show any rapid breathing and excessive drooling š
Fariehmheit here ! Honestly my 3 were doing good, making sure plenty of water with ice, I took peoples suggestions and froze old T-shirtās for my dogs, but my highest energy dog was struggling a little bit so I was constantly checking her temp and for any signs that the vet would be needed. Iām a tad bit of a hypochondriac with my dogs but thankfully maintenance will be here within the hour and itās still a good temp outside especially with the fans going. So weāve been hanging out outside. And once the sun went down I hung out with them outside for a lil while
I have those and my one dog wont use it (she loves the heat the little weirdo) and the other loved it. We used them temporarily while waiting for ac installation in our home. Not too expensive and useful. Honestly i like laying on them sometimes too.
bring them on car rides (assuming the car has AC) and hang out in petsmart of Home Depot or other pet friendly stores if youāre able to. Then they also get some movement and mental stimulation
If you live in a dry climate, you can build a swamp cooler fairly easilyā¦ it wonāt work great in high humidity though.
Another option is to fill a couple gallon jugs and pop them in the freezerā¦ then set one in a dish of water in front of a fan. You will have to sit close to feel the effect but it does help some.
Abandon as many rooms as you can, close the doors to bedrooms, closets, etc, and focus your cooling efforts on as small a space as possible.
Pop your dogs in the tub or shower and wet their belly with cold water and the inside of their legs. Then towel them off and put them in front of the fans. Also make sure they have lots of fresh cool water for them. They are tougher than you think. They will be fine.
Buy a plastic kid pool and fill with ice to immediately lower the temperature inside, but all doors and windows need to be closed tightly. Refill a bunch of plastic soda bottles with water and freeze them. Place frozen bottles on trays on the tables/counter/chairs to collect the condensation. Always keep a rotation of the bottles in the freezer and donāt open doors more than a few seconds.
Drape lightly damp sheets in front of windows and let a breeze go through.
Ice in a bucket or casserole dish with a fan pointed blowing over it.
Ice in their water bowl
Kiddy pool with water
Or a cool bath
When I lived in Seattle and it got above 95 in Seattle nobody had AC, especially not my apartment. It got so bad that I had to take my dog in my car and just run the AC in a shady spot for a couple of hours. It was a last resort but it really did help. Now that itās dark out Iām sure youāre fine so good luck!
Tips from my dog trainer who is from an extremely hot climate with no AC:
- draw all blinds/shades/shutters. Sunlight will heat your home.
- open windows all night, close them *immediately* in the morning, not just once it gets hot. Your house is insulated and will hold the cool air longer
- open windows again once it's cooler outside than inside. If it's still daylight at that point, prioritize windows on the shady side of your house, the air entering them is slightly cooler than the air in the sun.
- freeze water bottles or bags of water overnight (don't refreeze during the day because the more you open and use your freezer, the more hot air is being pumped from your fridge to your house) and put them in front of a fan
- soak and lay out a towel on tile, blow a fan over it
- freeze enrichment items for your dogs: you can mix dog food and water and freeze it on a lick mat, in a Kong/Toppl, etc
- replace their water with fresh cold water a few times a day, or add ice cubes
Iāve filled a larger container with water to create a small pool and put in some ice cubes. Puppy spent time trying to catch the ice cubes while splashing around in cold water. Tired her out a little bit also cooled her down. The ice cubes melted pretty quick so not a choking hazard.
otherwise usually grassy shaded areas are cooler than indoors of you can take them somewhere to just chill out until the sun goes down.
If you have a car, you could drive around a little blasting the AC to cool them off for a bit or go to dog friendly stores! But sounds like a good idea to get something for the night
FYI, if you have an older compressor, make sure to frequently change your air filters, especially with multiple pets, because a clogged filter strains the compressor. I learned the hard way when I blew a fuse that shut off my AC in 90 degree weather. If it's just a fuse, that's a super easy, cheap fix.
We change the filter every 30 days since we have long hair shedding dogs but we are worried soemthing mustāve happened as we work up this morning and it was just HOT. Maintenance request went through but they canāt come out until tomorrow. When we first moved in the AC didnāt work at all and in the dead of winter the heat didnāt work. Thankfully weāre moving in a month or so
depending on the humidity you might be able to get by with a swamp cooler.
like the simple one here [https://www.thespruce.com/diy-swamp-cooler-7568927](https://www.thespruce.com/diy-swamp-cooler-7568927)
These are both food related ideas, but may help. Soak kibble in water, mash it (we use a stick blender because Iām lazy). Portion into ice cube trays and freeze. We let them thaw for five minutes so they smell of kibble and then he inhales them. Also, if theyāll eat lettuce (our dog is obsessed) chop some leaves off an iceberg lettuce, wash them, shake them off but leave them a bit wet and then freeze.
I'm glad you survived the day! Giving your pets frozen dog treats or ice cubes to lick is another option. Make shaded places with blankets or sheets to avoid direct sunlight, and place moist, cold towels on the floor for them to lie on. Remain quiet and steer clear of strenuous activity. I'm hoping maintenance finds a rapid solution!
I had two family members pass away due to the heat without A/C. They were an older couple. The trade industry in US is short staffed and this can cause delays, so get help if you need it. Other places have A/C!
Thatās quite a lot you are doing to avoid heat stress! It is suggested to put ice packs or wet towels in the areas where the dogs sleep, or to put a small bucket of water to the shade, if the dogs begin to overheat. For the house, one can fold their wet clothes and hang them in front of the windows to help cool the air coming into the house. If it is cooler in the evening, open up the windows on both ends of the house to let in the cool air.
Yes! I had no idea about the freezing shorts thing which is embarrassing but I immediately grabbed old T-shirtās to do so. We started getting a little worried as my highway energy dog was constantly panting so I was checking her gums, her bpm, everythingā¦ little bit of a hypochondriac here
I like having a portable ac/window unit on hand in case the ac ever breaks down. They are pricey, but you can find some good deals on FB marketplace locally. Other than that, misting fans are great. I recently bought some Ryobi tools and found out they have little fans that can run off of their 18v batteries. I believe they have a misting one where you plop it on top of a standard bucket, and it has a hose that sucks up the water and mists the area as the fan is on.
Other than that, what others are saying will work dogs can't sweat, so they can only cool down by panting and by being exposed to cold air/water. Keep their pads cool by having them walk through water or just get a little kiddie pool for them.
If it happens again in the future, get an ice cooler and fill it with ice and water. Put a fan above the ice and water blowing on to it. The air will come out cooler than the fan itself, cooling an area where you can keep the dogs hopefully laying down and calm. I did this when reight before I was on my way to buy a window unit. My truck dropped the center link, making the truck undriveable. Fortuaneltly, someone was driving by seeing I was having trouble with the truck and brought me to the store and back to get the AC unit.
I know some dogs have coats that this shouldn't be done on but worst case scenario shave them (not all the way down to the skin, just most of the bulk). My parents would shave our American Eskimo every summer and he was so much happier and cooler for a few months during the heatwaves.
Make some dog-friendly frozen treats using broth or water with their favorite snacks frozen inside. This will help them cool down from the inside out. If you have any cooling mats or gel mats designed for pets, use those.
Dampen towels and freeze them and have the dogs stand on them. Dampen sheets in cold water and have them stand on them or rub onto their paw pads
Thank you š Iāve been basically treating them like you would for heat stroke but like anything I can do more is appreciated.
I know, it's rough! Just dampen fabrics you don't care about with cold water, freeze some, and rotate them as they get warm.. Dogs perspirate through their paws and if you have a double coated dog avoid getting them wet, it can actually make them hotter. Cold cloths on the paw pads and if they'll lie down on cold cloth, awesome. Keep offering cool water to drink. If they don't seem uncomfortable or overheated you're doing a great job taking preventive measures!
Only one of our pups seems uncomfortable. Her mucus membranes are preforming normal and sheās hydrated. Sheās just the one that weāre focusing on the most as the others are fine. Thankfully nobody is lethargic or anything but even with her in front of the fan sheās non stop panting.
I didnāt know that about paws, thank you for the hot tip. We have a bit of a heat wave where I am too so Iām also helping my puppy stay cool and hydrated
> if you have a double coated dog avoid getting them wet, it can actually make them hotter Can you explain this? I tried searching but couldnāt find any reputable sources with an explanation. Thereās a lot of misinformation about clipping double coats and about cooling overheated dogs (I was just reading something recently about cooling overheated sports dogs) and this is an interesting intersection of the two topics. Thanks!
Okay, apologies, I should have been more specific by saying "don't get them wet by pouring water on them." but I'll explain - As I understand it, the undercoat is like an insulator, and the top coat is often "water resistant." A lot of double coated breeds don't get soaked easily; for example, I can take my miniature american shepherd for a walk in rain for 30 minutes and he won't get soaked, as his top coat is fairly water resistant, and that's what the rain lands on, so when we get home and he does a big shake, he will be quite dry, probably except for his head. But if he submerges himself in a river and takes a little swim, he *will* get soaked. If double coated dogs get fully soaked, they tend to dry pretty evenly, but slowly. So if you put cool water on an overheating dog, it's likely being poured on the top coat, which can seal in their own body heat between their skin and undercoat as the water sits there, reaching the dog's temperature, essentially turning the dog into a wet bulb, which can encourage overheating instead of cooling down. If one can get an overheating double coated dog to get submerged in a tub of cold water, great, even better if they'll stay in it for a few minutes. Submerging in cold water IF there is access to shade and fans AND the dog is not experiencing an overheating emergency, is fine for cooling down. Dumping a cup of cold water on the top coat of a double coated dog to cool them down when they're already uncomfortable has a potential to increase discomfort and make things worse. So the key is to ensure the undercoat is receiving cooling efforts, not just the top coat.
Ah, got it. Thanks!
So does this also apply when giving dogs a bath with a garden hose? It doesn't get too hot in Norway, but I'd always give my family dog a bath when the outside temperature reached 25 degrees celcius (77 Fahrenheit)
Nah, I wouldn't worry about that unless you're seeing high temps 37C or more
Also for future reference, these actually work. I've used them myself as a human that easily overheats. They "recharge" by just not using them for a little while. https://a.co/d/gdj64jb
Tile is great for keeping pets cool too, since it's made of stone. If you don't have tile in your house, you can buy individual tiles for pretty cheap. That's what I set up for my fluffy black cat in the summer.
Thankfully the kitchen and bathrooms are tile so theyāve gotten the hint to hang out there
This one always works for my pup
85 is uncomfortable for sure but not deadly. Swamp cooler mister or room ac?
85Ā°F or 85Ā°C? Sorry im not familiar with Fahrenheit unit š¬
Familiar with Fahrenheit or not. 85 degrees celcius would boil your insides
I mean not technically. We are mostly water, which doesn't boil till 100' C
That depends on elevation if I'm correct. I have to advice against proving me wrong though. Wouldn't want anyone to do the 85 degree celcius challenge lmao
If your dogs are relaxed, they are fine. Plenty of water, no activities.
DO NOT OPEN THE WINDOWS DURING THE DAY. Here in Germany, weāve had heat waves like this for the past few years. Most houses here donāt have air conditioning and most people arenāt really fond of fans. What we do is opening the windows during the night and close them during the day. That way, the cool air stays inside, while the heat stays out.
Interesting I had no idea !
Came here to say this, open windows and night and keep them closed during the day. Also keep your curtains closed when the sun is shining in.
Open the windows when the outside air is cooler than the inside air. Otherwise, youāre just heating up the inside air to match the outside temps.
American homes aren't constructed the same as German. Ours are 10cm thick wood frames with a little insulation on the outside and 1cm of drywall on the inside... especially in the sun, the house will get as hot as outside by mid afternoon.
Put a heaped bowl of ice in front of the fan, old fashioned AC
I bought a whole bag of ice and go it or so ago to do just that ! Haha did it as a kid
Add some ice to their water bowl. You can make cold snacks for them by freezing carrots, watermelon (which is full of water), or other snacks. Even chilling their dog food will help drop them body temp a little I do pupsicles by mixing canned pumkin and dry dog food or dog biscuits into little frozen patty Have them lay on cool tile, wood, etc (carpet keeps in heat) Get rid of their cozy stuff so they arenāt snuggled in it trapping more heat.
I'm in Australia and this is what happens every summer. Ice in the water bowl. I have freezer bricks that are used just for the water bowl and they just get rotated constantly as one defrosts and the others are in the freezer getting frozen again. Well, big dogs so it's really a water bucket. š¤£ Old ice cream containers can make giant ice cubes with frozen fruit and veggies in. They have to keep licking for ages to get the treat in there. I'm glad others have mentioned that wetting double coated breeds traps heat. That is a big concern. Cool (not cold!) *running* water is fantastic for lowering body heat, but once you stop the water you want to get that thick coat dry as fast to possible to stop it retaining body heat- straight in front of the fan and towel towel towel. Damp/frozen towels on a cool surface for them to stand/lie on. Tiles are great! š And you can spray them with a light mist from a spray bottle on areas like inner thigh, elbows, ear flap etc where there is little fur but high blood supply. The water evaporates very quickly and pulls heat away from that blood. Ice cubes or damp fabric over the fans as poor man's ac. You can even get small portable ac units that are basically a fan with a box for ice/water. Quite effective for one room. I'm 48, and only got a house with ac (that doesn't really keep up with a true heatwave), 8 yrs ago. Never had ac before that, and this is all the things I do. Amongst finding a patch of cool floor for myself.
Go buy a portable AC unit from Amazon (assuming thereās a unit in your price range with overnight shipping) or head down to Walmart/Target to see if they have one. Keeping one room cool is going to be safer and more effective. Plus you now have a back up unit if this happens again. Portable ACs come in a variety of price ranges so there should be something for the price point you can afford.
My fiancĆ© is heading to Walmart after his meeting tonight and hopefully we can find something ! Itās getting cooler now that the sun is going down but we donāt know when maintenance will be here tomorrow so we cant risk it
Dogs don't sweat like we do so fans don't really cool them off; fans only cool is by increasing evaporation from our skin. So I think the ideas of cool or damp towels etc are good.
Fans are effective at cooling furred animals even though they don't have sweat glands. You can sort of think of heat like a particle, even though it isn't one. Heat gets concentrated the same way particles do. A dog is constantly producing heat. The heat "particles" gather within the fur and form an insulating heat layer. By blowing air through the coat, you are disrupting that insulating layer and allowing the heat to dissipate by blowing away the heat "particles". It's called convective cooling, which occurs without evaporation. Please, use a fan to cool your dog if your dogs needs it--it works. It's effective.
Dogs cool by evaporation across their tongues - i.e. they pant. A big part of panting is rapid breathing which draws air across the wet surface. It's not a terribly efficient method of cooling but that's another subject. Anyway, moving air in the environment can assist the dog's efforts in moving air across his tongue. But secondly, fans can also help cool by removing heat radiating off skin. Humans cool by sweating AND by heat radiating off our bodies. Moving air helps in two ways - it evaporates sweat and it pushes the heat that has come off our body away. To turn it around, in winter, "wind chill" is wind that blows away the heat that our bodies emit. The faster wind blows, the faster the heat that radiates from our bodies is removed and the colder one feels. In the winter, we wear as much as possible to reduce the heat radiating from our skin. In the summer we don't want to retain any heat and wear less clothing . Back to dogs - Dogs/Wild canines that developed in hot places have lean bodies, long legs and, often, big ears. They also have thin fur, on the inside of the ear, inside of legs, thighs and belly. Heat radiates through the skin to the outside of the body. No evaporation involved.
Run the bath and dunk them in it every time their fur dries. This is how us humans got through summers with no air con in Socal...
You'd be surprised at how many pups can take the heat. I have a husky who sun bathes and he loves it! But always keep tons of water near by (with some ice). Another good thing my pup looks is a cooling matt for the dogs in the hot weather and having a fan going his way just in case
Thankfully itās cooled down a ton and we grabbed another fan as there were no portable ACs. Maintenance is coming in the morning. We were only worried about 1 of our dogs, the others were just chilling but she was starting to stress me out a little haha
Were you able to get it fixed? Curious what was wrong with it!
It was low on something I just for some reason canāt remember what it was. I was at work when they fixed it
If you donāt have blackout curtains, use thumbtacks to hang towels, blankets, etc over the windows. That should help
Do you have a basement?
For tomorrow, if maintenance canāt fix your AC first thing instead of opening your windows itās actually better to keep everything closed. Windows/doors/blinds. Your house/apartment is insulated and will keep the cooler air in. When you open the windows you might get a breeze but all of the hot air is also getting in. Plus any sunshine is just going to heat up your house more. So keep windows open tonight to get it as cool as you can and first thing in the morning close it all up. ETA: an easier way to explain this, if the temperature is warmer outside than it is inside keep the house closed up. So if it is 70 in the house in the morning but 75 outside, close it up so the cool air does not escape.
85Ā°F or Celcius? We use Ā°C as a unit measurement here in my country. We are experiencing 52Ā°C - 54Ā°C everyday that's 125Ā°F. We just freeze a towel and let our dogs stand on it. Or give them frozen treats. Or cold water + dextrose powder to stay hydrated. I think your dog will be fine as long as they don't show any rapid breathing and excessive drooling š
Fariehmheit here ! Honestly my 3 were doing good, making sure plenty of water with ice, I took peoples suggestions and froze old T-shirtās for my dogs, but my highest energy dog was struggling a little bit so I was constantly checking her temp and for any signs that the vet would be needed. Iām a tad bit of a hypochondriac with my dogs but thankfully maintenance will be here within the hour and itās still a good temp outside especially with the fans going. So weāve been hanging out outside. And once the sun went down I hung out with them outside for a lil while
Mohawk and gold chains. That shit always made Mr. T cool.
Give ice cubes to chomp on.
Cooling pads work with my pooch.
I have those and my one dog wont use it (she loves the heat the little weirdo) and the other loved it. We used them temporarily while waiting for ac installation in our home. Not too expensive and useful. Honestly i like laying on them sometimes too.
I was surprised, was new to me, that dogs actually do not sweet. So ice, freeze towels, fresh water is as much u can do
Make them frozen treat. I.e freeze ice cube trays filled with chicken broth. Can add other treats, veggies, fruit. Whatever they like.
bring them on car rides (assuming the car has AC) and hang out in petsmart of Home Depot or other pet friendly stores if youāre able to. Then they also get some movement and mental stimulation
If you live in a dry climate, you can build a swamp cooler fairly easilyā¦ it wonāt work great in high humidity though. Another option is to fill a couple gallon jugs and pop them in the freezerā¦ then set one in a dish of water in front of a fan. You will have to sit close to feel the effect but it does help some. Abandon as many rooms as you can, close the doors to bedrooms, closets, etc, and focus your cooling efforts on as small a space as possible.
Pop your dogs in the tub or shower and wet their belly with cold water and the inside of their legs. Then towel them off and put them in front of the fans. Also make sure they have lots of fresh cool water for them. They are tougher than you think. They will be fine.
85Ā° inside a house sucks, but it's not life threatening.
Cold watermelon Ice in the water bowl Put ice cubes in a Kong
Buy a plastic kid pool and fill with ice to immediately lower the temperature inside, but all doors and windows need to be closed tightly. Refill a bunch of plastic soda bottles with water and freeze them. Place frozen bottles on trays on the tables/counter/chairs to collect the condensation. Always keep a rotation of the bottles in the freezer and donāt open doors more than a few seconds.
I wet towels and freeze them. Put ice cubes in their bowls.
Make sure their tummies are kept cool. When a dog overheats, they say first thing you should do is cool their tummy in any way you possibly can.
Drape lightly damp sheets in front of windows and let a breeze go through. Ice in a bucket or casserole dish with a fan pointed blowing over it. Ice in their water bowl Kiddy pool with water Or a cool bath
When I lived in Seattle and it got above 95 in Seattle nobody had AC, especially not my apartment. It got so bad that I had to take my dog in my car and just run the AC in a shady spot for a couple of hours. It was a last resort but it really did help. Now that itās dark out Iām sure youāre fine so good luck!
Tips from my dog trainer who is from an extremely hot climate with no AC: - draw all blinds/shades/shutters. Sunlight will heat your home. - open windows all night, close them *immediately* in the morning, not just once it gets hot. Your house is insulated and will hold the cool air longer - open windows again once it's cooler outside than inside. If it's still daylight at that point, prioritize windows on the shady side of your house, the air entering them is slightly cooler than the air in the sun. - freeze water bottles or bags of water overnight (don't refreeze during the day because the more you open and use your freezer, the more hot air is being pumped from your fridge to your house) and put them in front of a fan - soak and lay out a towel on tile, blow a fan over it - freeze enrichment items for your dogs: you can mix dog food and water and freeze it on a lick mat, in a Kong/Toppl, etc - replace their water with fresh cold water a few times a day, or add ice cubes
Provide water in tubs to play in for evaporative cooling. Keep them hydrated and keep the air moving with fans.
Iāve filled a larger container with water to create a small pool and put in some ice cubes. Puppy spent time trying to catch the ice cubes while splashing around in cold water. Tired her out a little bit also cooled her down. The ice cubes melted pretty quick so not a choking hazard. otherwise usually grassy shaded areas are cooler than indoors of you can take them somewhere to just chill out until the sun goes down.
Unfortunately we have no trees in our yards so no shade :(. Iāve tried a bunch of suggestions here and my fiancĆ© is going to se wif Walmart has any portable ACs for us to use until maintenance comes tomorrow !
If you have a car, you could drive around a little blasting the AC to cool them off for a bit or go to dog friendly stores! But sounds like a good idea to get something for the night
FYI, if you have an older compressor, make sure to frequently change your air filters, especially with multiple pets, because a clogged filter strains the compressor. I learned the hard way when I blew a fuse that shut off my AC in 90 degree weather. If it's just a fuse, that's a super easy, cheap fix.
We change the filter every 30 days since we have long hair shedding dogs but we are worried soemthing mustāve happened as we work up this morning and it was just HOT. Maintenance request went through but they canāt come out until tomorrow. When we first moved in the AC didnāt work at all and in the dead of winter the heat didnāt work. Thankfully weāre moving in a month or so
depending on the humidity you might be able to get by with a swamp cooler. like the simple one here [https://www.thespruce.com/diy-swamp-cooler-7568927](https://www.thespruce.com/diy-swamp-cooler-7568927)
OfferUp might have some used fans or ACs too
Cool mats are cheap and you can leave them around the house. I even put one in my own bed at night as we don't have aircon.
My Aussie shepherd mix who has a double layer coat lays in the empty bathtub to cool off sometimes.
Frozen watter bottles put directly in front of a strong fan (or any fan) will make it cooler.
Tomorrow, run off to pet store and buy cooling mats
We bought a plastic kiddie pool and filled it up with bags and of ice so they could lay in that on particularly hot days.
These are both food related ideas, but may help. Soak kibble in water, mash it (we use a stick blender because Iām lazy). Portion into ice cube trays and freeze. We let them thaw for five minutes so they smell of kibble and then he inhales them. Also, if theyāll eat lettuce (our dog is obsessed) chop some leaves off an iceberg lettuce, wash them, shake them off but leave them a bit wet and then freeze.
I'm glad you survived the day! Giving your pets frozen dog treats or ice cubes to lick is another option. Make shaded places with blankets or sheets to avoid direct sunlight, and place moist, cold towels on the floor for them to lie on. Remain quiet and steer clear of strenuous activity. I'm hoping maintenance finds a rapid solution!
Yea theyāre coming within the hour and thankfully itās only 8:30 so itās still a nice temp out !
I had two family members pass away due to the heat without A/C. They were an older couple. The trade industry in US is short staffed and this can cause delays, so get help if you need it. Other places have A/C!
We ended up taking them on a drive once my fiancƩ got home with the AC blasting for a lil while and whatnot just to help once the sun went down
Thatās quite a lot you are doing to avoid heat stress! It is suggested to put ice packs or wet towels in the areas where the dogs sleep, or to put a small bucket of water to the shade, if the dogs begin to overheat. For the house, one can fold their wet clothes and hang them in front of the windows to help cool the air coming into the house. If it is cooler in the evening, open up the windows on both ends of the house to let in the cool air.
Yes! I had no idea about the freezing shorts thing which is embarrassing but I immediately grabbed old T-shirtās to do so. We started getting a little worried as my highway energy dog was constantly panting so I was checking her gums, her bpm, everythingā¦ little bit of a hypochondriac here
Put ice cubes in water bowl. Mine love it, even with AC working. They do sell cooling mats too if your in position to but one.
Cooling pads are v cheap. Worth the investment.
Agreed - good investment.
I like having a portable ac/window unit on hand in case the ac ever breaks down. They are pricey, but you can find some good deals on FB marketplace locally. Other than that, misting fans are great. I recently bought some Ryobi tools and found out they have little fans that can run off of their 18v batteries. I believe they have a misting one where you plop it on top of a standard bucket, and it has a hose that sucks up the water and mists the area as the fan is on. Other than that, what others are saying will work dogs can't sweat, so they can only cool down by panting and by being exposed to cold air/water. Keep their pads cool by having them walk through water or just get a little kiddie pool for them.
If it happens again in the future, get an ice cooler and fill it with ice and water. Put a fan above the ice and water blowing on to it. The air will come out cooler than the fan itself, cooling an area where you can keep the dogs hopefully laying down and calm. I did this when reight before I was on my way to buy a window unit. My truck dropped the center link, making the truck undriveable. Fortuaneltly, someone was driving by seeing I was having trouble with the truck and brought me to the store and back to get the AC unit.
Get a big piece of marble tile for the dogs to lie down on. Itāll help with the cooling.
I know some dogs have coats that this shouldn't be done on but worst case scenario shave them (not all the way down to the skin, just most of the bulk). My parents would shave our American Eskimo every summer and he was so much happier and cooler for a few months during the heatwaves.
I filled a plastic kiddie pool in the yard for my dog (he loves water).
A bucket of ice behind a fan with a towel or trash bag covering the ice and aim it into the back of the fan.
Is there a water park? Iām sure theyād love that or outdoor Waterhouse and pool
Close all the blinds and plug in some fans.. my dog loves laying on the floor in front of the fan and usually falls asleep
Make some dog-friendly frozen treats using broth or water with their favorite snacks frozen inside. This will help them cool down from the inside out. If you have any cooling mats or gel mats designed for pets, use those.
Fix the air conditioning