Keeping dogs cool in the hot summer of 2018
The summer of 2018 has been the sunniest in over 40 years, and there are signs that the sunshine and warmth may continue for several more months. Much has been written and said about the risk of heat stroke to dogs, and most people know about high-risk situations that should be avoided, e.g., never leave dogs unattended in cars, be careful when transporting dogs in cars in hot weather, and do not exercise dogs in the full heat of the day. All of these situations incur a serious risk of dogs developing life-threatening heat stroke.
As in many aspects of life, prevention of a crisis is far better than waiting until the crisis has happened and then struggling to deal with it. So what can be done to keep dogs cool, other than the obvious aspect of not putting them into high risk situations as mentioned above?
There are three areas: first, keeping a dog in cooler places, second, adapting the dog’s immediate exterior to keep the body as cool as possible, and third, changing the dog’s activities to keep them cool.
Keeping dogs in cool areas sounds obvious, and to some extent it is: keep dogs out of hot cars, sun-filled conservatories and areas outside in direct sunshine. This is probably the most basic way to prevent overheating: in Ireland, even on hot days, it’s rarely excessively warm in the shade. So if dogs are kept only in open, shady areas, they’re unlikely to overheat. If you go out for a while, make sure that you leave your dog in a cool area of this type. And even if you are indoors, leaving your dog in the garden, check that there’s enough shade for them.
The second point – external adaptations to keep the dog’s body cool – includes minimising the insulating effect of their natural coats. This means regular grooming to remove the dense, fluffy undercoat, using fine wire-type bristly brushes to remove this on a daily basis. For some long haired dogs, full clipping can be helpful: I have seen many dogs (e.g. Cavalier
King Charles Spaniels) who are visibly happier and more active once their long, dense coat has been clipped short. For other breeds (e.g. Siberian Huskies and German Shepherds) there is a theory that full coat clipping is not such a good idea: the longer, guard-type hairs may even act as some sort of shade, stopping the body from heating up too much in the sun. I am not sure about this concept, but I do know that it can take several years for a normal coat to regrow in such breeds, so many owners prefer not to clip the coat, focusing instead on just grooming out the dense fluffy undercoat.
Other ways to keep the body cool include the use of cooling coats, or T-shirts, such as the Equafleece ones in the photo, that can be placed on the dog’s body. These are based on the idea that heat is drawn away from the body by water evaporating, yet even if you soak most dogs in water, they will dry out in less than an hour if they are in the sun. So cooling coats are special jackets that are soaked in water, and placed on the dog. Water evaporates continuously from the coats, and this in turn draws heat out of the dog’s body. It’s ultra-important that the coats are kept wet all the time: regular topping up is needed. If the coat dries out, it will simply act as a layer of insulation, and it will make a hot dog even hotter. So these products need to be used with care and continual supervision.
Alternatively, a simple wet towel can be draped over a dog on a warm day: this can help to keep them comfortable, but you need to remember that if left on for too long, this could have the opposite effect, causing a dog to warm up (if you can imagine placing a damp towel over yourself on a warm day, you will get the picture).
You can also buy cooling mats for dogs to lie on: these work in a similar way, with continual evaporation of water from the surface to keep them cold.
Another simple way to help a dog stay cool is to introduce a big, stationary electric fan near the dog’s sleeping area. The blast of moving air towards the animal will increase the rate of evaporation of fluid from the surface of the body, increasing heat loss and keeping the animal cooler.
And of course, it goes without saying that all animals need plenty of fresh water within easy reach during warm weather, with multiple drinking bowls.
The third aspect – changing a dog’s activities to keep them cool – is simply a matter of thinking carefully about how your dog spends its time. For example, vigorous exercise causes heat to be produced by the active muscles. For this reason, dogs should never be exercised in the full heat of the day. Instead, they should be taken for walks as early as possible (between 6 and 8 a.m.) and as late as possible (after supper). You can also consider cooler types of exercise, such as swimming, or even just paddling in shallow water. Another point to remember is that the digestion of food generates heat inside the body; it’s often advised that pets’ daily food intake should be reduced by around 10% in warm weather to take account of the fact that they won’t need as much food, because their body no longer needs to generate heat to keep warm.
In this long, hot summer, it’s worth taking time to review your dog’s lifestyle. Some simple changes and adaptations may be all that’s needed to create a cool, comfortable lifestyle instead of an overheated, potentially risky daily routine.