Hot weather

[Zoeymil]

So first I just want to say thanks to everyone for always answering my silly questions. What a great support system. To follow up with yet another! Lol. We live in Wisconsin, and it has been almost 80degrees the past few days. Zoey is acting like she is the most miserable dog in the world! And it's barely even hot lol. She is supposed to go to doggy day care for about three hours (daughter works there and wants to take her). They play outside mostly and I'm worried it will kill her. But she should probably get used to some warm weather since it's right around the corner! How do your dogs do in the heat? She goes to park for an hour and pants for 2! I think she would prefer Alaska and snow!

 

[mmyrto]

Same here!We live in NY and it was abt 80 yesterday we went to the dog park for an hour in the morning and she just found a place with shade and spent half the time there. When we came home she was panting for an hour laying in the bathroom the coolest place in the house so im wondering what to do with her in the summer.We will have to go to the park at 7 in the morning

 

[AKBull]

As long as they have some shade, water and aren't forced to play hard they should be fine.

Can't believe the heat wave you guys are going through. I woke up to 9 degrees F this morning!

 

[STEVSH]

I'm in WI too. I'm along the lake though, so it's only been in the seventies/sixties. In the summer, Topaz certainly slowed down and wasn't as active. Plus she is all black so she just soaked up the rays. But you could tell she loved it. I would watch her get up every 15minutes or so from laying in the backyard and go lay in a shady spot under a tree. So she knew what to do to keep cool. And I just keep their ginormous water bowl filled with nice cool water and both dogs are OK.

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Thor and I BOTH don't do heat at all. The most we can tolerate is about 75, needless to say I dread the summer months.

 

[ruby55]

We live in heat & humidity most of the year. We also don't have air conditioning. So the dogs have learned to slosh through their kiddie wading pool, come inside to the ceramic tile kitchen floor, & spread out as much as they can in front of the fans. Seems to help if they get their feet cool.Ruby is famous for slopping through the pool, climbing up on the couch, & laying on her back so her feet are in the breeze from the fan.

 

[ruby55]

Whenever we take them out in hot weather, or even kind of warm weather, I always take a couple of bottles of cold water. By the time they're getting warm, the water isn't ice cold anymore but still cool. I pour it on their feet & make them stand in the puddle for a minute. Seems to help. Learned this trick from the goldens I used to work with, who would stand in their 5 gallon water bucket when they got hot. With a BIG smile on their face.

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Hmmm... great tips Ruby, we just avoid the heat of the day and leave when its cooler.

 

[NeoBull]

I'm jealous, I'm sick of the cold! It got to 60 here a week or 2 ago and Branka was panting at the dog park! I think we'll have to go really early or really late in the summer.

 

[hedgehog]

We love the kiddy pool idea

 

[dpenning]

We love the kiddy pool idea

We have both the kiddie pool and an actual swimming pool. I've wondered how many mastiffs like to swim?

 

[hedgehog]

I have wondered too. I had Dozer out near the lake today. He likes to walk right in, but hasn't actually swam yet. Just because I want to be able to get into the water if I need to. This particular lake isn't recommenced for human swimmers.

 

[Kelly]

If your dog is acting like he's hot then he probably is. My brothers 2 greyhounds couldn't be more different. The male likes to hang out outside in the winter on the coldest days, and the female likes to be inside under a blanket all time except on the warmest of days.

Tess, my mastiff, gets pretty warm here in the summer, but living on the ground floor my place stays pretty cool. On the really hot days tho I soak a towel in cold water and rub her chest with it and lay it around her neck, she seems to find relief with that.

 

[STEVSH]

kiddie pools are a must! They are fun for everyone, especially the dogs! I love watching the dogs freak out over the water in the kiddie pool However, my mastiff is half weimaraner and absolutely obsessed with water. We can't get her out of the lake during the summer and I have to lock her inside when I wash the car. Otherwise I get attacked (or the hose does while I'm holding it).

 

[DDBsR4Me]

My dogs do horribly in the heat, which sucks because I would like to be able to do more activities with them when the weather is nice - but they just can't take warmer (75 degrees or higher) weather.

Not that I want to out in 90 degree weather all that much - I live in KS and the humidity is horrible. But 75 is still fairly comfortable to me, whereas my dogs want the A/C on!

In the summer, my dogs generally go out to potty, and come right back in to the A/C. In fact, they dictate when the A/C gets turned on - if they are panting in the house, time for the A/C....even it its only 75 out!


Both of mine like water and mud, especially my male. He loves to play in the water hose, and he will get in the bathtub when he's hot and beg me to turn on the faucet....which he then proceeds to wallow around in the tub like a pig! It's pretty funny.

I used to have a kiddie pool, but it cracked and I never got another one. Maybe I'll get one this year. The bad thing is, my male likes to play in it, but then he likes to go roll in dirt while he's wet! I think he's truly have pig!

 

[Jeri]

My Neo hasn't shown any interest in getting in the pool yet, although he does like to go out in the rain. I've read that you need to be careful with the giants & swimming as they are so dense & top heavy that it can be hard for them to hold their heads above water while swimming.

 

[ruby55]

We've taken the dogs to the ocean & the harbor in the heat. Ruby & Bella like to wade; Bella will go far enough out so that her feet can't touch & she tries to swim. Evidently swimming isn't something bullmastiffs do well; she sinks like a rock. Sunny & Bella like to wade out till the water touches their bellies. That's it. The water last year seemed really warm to me, like bath water. But I guess when your body temp is 100+ even warm water feels good.
We also have cool blankets; they're like chamois. We get them wet, freeze them, & take them when we're going out with them & it's supposed to be on the hot &/or sunny side. They wear them over their heads & across their backs. We just keep getting them wet with cold water. Keep in mind that our dogs are slugs. We're not talking dog park running like a maniac thing. Just walking in the heat & sun can get them overheated. We usually don't take them anywhere in the summer unless we're sure they can be in the shade. Then we make sure we're home again before it gets really hot.

 

[Kelly]

That's a good idea Ruby, I didn't think of taking cold towels with us when we go out. Should pack a cooler specifically for that.

Wish the kiddie pool idea worked, I can't get my dogs into it. Have tried. I will go in to get them to join me, but no, not really interested. We have one of those pools that you can set up, it's 3' or 4' high and 16' across, Jovo will happly jump in there and playfully claw us to death, but we're afraid he'll tear the lining. It doesn't feel very thick. But he wont get into a 6" kiddie pool. Goof.

 

[Smart_Family]

We do kiddie pools plus we live on the water so we will go play on the beach when it's nice. Just gotta keep them hydrated and make sure they aren't in direct sun for extended periods of time. They also make bandanas that you can soak and will keep them cool.

 

[ryan00016]

It's really getting hot not only outside but also inside our house. Installing an air-conditionig unit will help cool down the temperature. It will help you relax and also your pets.

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