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mulberryknob

Trying to keep the dogs cool...

mulberryknob
11 years ago

would be easier if they would cooperate. Our old dog, who died a year ago, liked to lay on the north side of the porch so I would wet it down every day. The middle aged dog who lived with her for 5 years, evidently thinks it's verboten to lay in her spot. He has also abandoned his favorite hole under the big rose bush, even though I poured water on it a coule times. Dh opens up the pumphouse to let the heat generated by the freezers escape and both dogs (A 10 mo old pup came to live after the old one died) have now decided that the concrete floor next to the freezers is the coolest place to be, despite the heat from the freezers. So Dh set his table fan on the floor, set a pan of water in front of it and placed a block of ice in the pan. They love it. The pup especially, likes to lick the ice. I am thinking about buying a hard plastic kiddie pool for them. I have a friend with a small fish pond in her backyard and as soon as the dogs get out they go stand in it. Anyone have any other ideas for keeping dogs cool in the heat? They are not house dogs and would fight to get out if we tried to bring them in.

Comments (9)

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    11 years ago

    Dorothy, Back when our dogs still were outside dogs, they loved having a molded plastic wading pool. If the pond still had water in it, we'd take them down to swim in it every afternoon too. The outdoor dogs liked to lie on the concrete floor in the garage and we had one of those big industrial type fans out there that we'd run for them at low speed. (High speed was too loud and they didn't like it.) Otherwise, they liked digging holes in shady spots and lying in those holes. Every dog has their own favorite spot and their own hole, and the other dogs respect their space.

    Sometimes with dogs, rabbits, cats and chickens I have frozen milk jugs of water and placed them outside in shady areas in their fenced runs, pens, cages or coops and the animals lie very close to them to cool down, but not quite touching them.

    Last year we brought the outdoor dogs inside so much to lie around in the air conditioning that they became indoor dogs, although in the beginning they didn't like being in the house. Now they get offended when I put them outside in the cool early morning hours and the cool late evening hours. I think they have forgotten what it is like to be an outdoor dog.

    Dawn

  • helenh
    11 years ago

    I bought a small kiddie plastic pool for $8 at Dollar General. One out of my three dogs and will get in it, but all 5 animals are getting drinks from it. I bought a mister kit but it leaks. No dog will go near it. I am thinking of trying again with the mister because before I was trying to water plants and cool dogs at the same time. I think if I put it up higher and worked on it, they might cooperate. Two of my dogs got very bad haircuts.

  • jessaka
    11 years ago

    Our cat and dog come in the air conditioned house. I tried a pool, but our dog wants nothing to do with it.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    11 years ago

    Some of our dogs love the pool, but I think the others are afraid that if they get into the pool, I'll give them a bath.

    My dogs' most favorite way to beat the heat is to go into the garden and dig big holes in the raised beds and then to lie down in those big holes. This is why my dogs are 100% banned from the garden, by the way.

  • TraceyOKC
    11 years ago

    I grew up with dogs, but I have outdoor cats. We found them living in our bushes. The first one was very tiny when we found him and started to feed him and look for his owner. A few years later an older cat turned up and we were unable to find his owners either. I took them to the vet and kept them.

    Last summer the older one lost alot of weight. He put alot of it back on over the winter. Now he is losing again. He seems to eat and drink like usual. I mixed kitten chow with their dry food last year, I should do that again. I dont really think it helped much, but it made me feel like I was doing something.

    Winter time is easy...boxes on the porch with blankets all around and fuzzy catbeds inside. They love it.

    Ive tried a few things, but nothing they seem to like for the heat. It is so extreme, again. My kittys are my gardening buddies, I would like to do what I can to offer them some comfort. Thanks!

  • mulberryknob
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    This mornig the dogs got smart. Instead of laying away from the fan's draft, they laid down right in it, with their backs toward it. The breeze ruffles the hair on their backs. I'm going to look for a kiddie pool when I go to town next time.

  • helenh
    11 years ago

    With lots of cheese that I had in the frig getting some blue on the edges I got the two big outside dogs in the hall. One is old so I got him in first and another small dog who gets to come in regularly. Beau had to be tricked which involved food close to the door and my air conditioned air being wasted. Finally he ventured in and I closed the door. Beau will probably pee on something but there is no carpet and it is just too hot.

  • jessaka
    11 years ago

    and you know dawn, you would give them a bath. ha.

    i had a dog that loved us to squirt her with the hose. she would play attack it and run around behind me to try to sneak up on it. my new dog runs. but oh, this would be a good way to keep a dog cool.

    i got tote boxes for our feral cats dawn. i cut a hole in it, put that insulation all around inside it, taped it in if needed. it was the board insulation. then added straw and tried to put a small rag over the door so it would stay warmer. have them in a few places in our yard. hope by winter that the dusty white cat will come into the yard and find one.

    i like how your dogs lay with its back to the fan, dorothy. you may have to get into the kiddie pool with the dogs so they know it will be okay, but don't have a bottle of shampoo in your hands.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    11 years ago

    Our old dog, Biscuit, was a water-loving dog. He died a couple of years ago, and I miss him. If you held the hose in your hand and waved it around gently, he'd chase the stream of water and "chomp" at it trying to catch the water in his mouth. He'd get in the big pond (back when it actually had water in it all summer before the springs dried up) and swim for four hours if you'd let him. You could leave him swimming, go to the store, come back, and he'd still be swimming. I am sure it kept him cool, but I worried he'd tired himself, get way out in the middle of the pond and be too tired to come back.

    Tracey, Last year when we had the semi-feral mama cat with four feral kittens, they liked to lay right up against the foundation of the house where we ran a soaker hose periodically to keep the foundation area soil moist. They had a favorite shady spot, so I put a fan several feet away and aimed it at that spot. They spent most of every hot day lying on the moist soil near the fan. I'd always turn on the soaker hose for an hour or two early in the day so that there wouldn't be puddles of water there by the time they needed to chill out there beginning around mid-day. Finally, with temps exceeding 110 we used food to lure them onto the sunporch, slammed the door shut, caught them in our hands while wearing leather gloves (it was quite an ordeal) and brought them in. All of them became tame and now come inside whenever they feel too hot and also to sleep at night, except for MiMi, who thinks that coming inside the house is worse than the worst thing on earth. I don't know if we'll ever get her inside again.

    I taught my dogs to enjoy the wading pool by throwing in a toy or even a dog biscuit. They'd stick their head into the water to get the toy or dog biscuit and would decide that the cool water felt pretty good. After that, even the ones that are not fond of getting in the water will stick their heads into the water or sometimes sort of slap at the water with their front paws and make it splash a little.

    It is so hot, I expect the wildlife soon will be knocking at the doot wanting to come inside and cool off in the cool air from the AC.

    Dawn

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