A good "snack" for dogs in this weather ...

peasant

...are ice cubes !!

They cool down their tongue (a dogs' radiator), can be crunched and licked and are absolutely harmless (plus they leave no stains:D )

Wokie

peasant wrote:

...are ice cubes !!

They cool down their tongue (a dogs' radiator), can be crunched and licked and are absolutely harmless (plus they leave no stains:D )

Excellent, Thanks Peasant! I was only thinking about this, this morning and wondering whether it would be a good idea or not.

RandomOne

Drop a couple in their water bowl for them to "fish" for too. Keeps them amused whilst cooling down them and the water.

(Some dogs won't fish, but it still cools the water down)

wasted_winter

My sisters fridge had an ice maker - her collie goes absolutely mental for ice-cubes. It started last summer when we would pass him ice from our drinks... then get got some when we were making drinks.... and now it's an addiction!!!
I've never seen anything like it! The ice maker produces this clunking noise when the ice is ready, the dog goes mental barking runs over to the fridge and will only stop when he gets some ice.

You can give him a handful of ice and he'll just gobble it down in seconds... really freaky!
I always wonder if it would damage their teeth.... (chomping as opposed to licking the ice)

As far as my dog is concerned... you can't beat a hose down.... she takes off like she's had speed or something (poor thing is jet black aswell!!!)

wasted_winter

btw... the NOISE of the ice being crushed just cuts right through me!!!!

Nails on a blackboard anyone???

Gaaaah!!!! :eek:

EGAR

Don't overdo it though, the ice can damage the enamel of the teeth .

Wokie

wasted_winter wrote:

As far as my dog is concerned... you can't beat a hose down.... she takes off like she's had speed or something (poor thing is jet black aswell!!!)

One of mine is jet black as well. I wish he did like the hose but is afraid of it He does love sitting & playing in rivers, lakes and the sea along with the forbidden ponds:eek: in the park. Def going to go home and give them some ice cubes in water:)

FranknFurter

EGAR wrote:

Don't overdo it though, the ice can damage the enamel of the teeth .

Is'nt all that great for their gums either, ice can damage their gums, so I would say only give it if your dog is young, an older dog might have dental issues you may not even realise yet.
And the gums of a dog who eats only tinned food (not dry), are especially sensitive. (Dog should always have some dry food unless there is a medical reason not to imho)

Putting it in water bowl is great though, if nothing else it keeps them cool.

(One of the funniest things iv ever seen, put a peice of dry cat food, a single peice, into an ice-cube tray and freeze, making an ice cube with a kitty treat inside, hysterically funny and kitty gets LOADS of excercise, body and mind! )

b

smurfbaby

I was so surprised to read this thread! For the last couple of weeks we have been giving our dog and ice cube to suck on-bite and he absolutely loves them, but we get very strange looks from people who see us doing it!
He has been panting a lot after his walks, but would treat a hose down as a punishment for being naughty, does anyone have any other good ideas on how to keep him cool? Sometimes on his walks he swims along the river for a short stretch (still on his lead) but is still hot and panting by the time he gets home

Wokie

Yep.....My dogs loved them:D

peasant

does anyone have any other good ideas on how to keep him cool?

Got a nice cool room in the house, possibly with a tiled floor? Bathroom or guest toilet maybe?
If so, allow him in there

RandomOne

smurfbaby wrote:

any other good ideas on how to keep him cool?

Mine won't swim, and he's predominantly black. He'll wade into very shallow water for a drink and that's about it. If I'm going somewhere I don't know there's drinking water available, I take a "sport" bottle of water. He'll drink as I squirt it, but only because I tell him to, and he won't touch it once it lands on the floor. (Fussy sod )

To be honest, as long as there's water available, I've stopped worrying about it. I stick a couple of ice cubes in the water bowl when we get home and leave him to sort himself out. In this instance I think he actually knows best and he has the run of the house to decide where's coolest to lay.

lightening

I was in South East Asia recently and stayed in a house with two huge rothweilers, the owners used to hose the dogs down to keep them cool. The dogs seemed to hate it, they tried to run away every time, yet it did seem to cool them down, whadayareckon? Good or bad?

RandomOne

Mine would think he'd committed some major doggy-crime if I did it to him so I would say bad. If it stresses them out and makes them try to get away, they've probably gained more heat/stress than the hose has cooled. If you're getting them used to it for long-term ben's, then fair enough, but otherwise if they don't like it I reckon leave well alone. Unlike the twice a year bath they actually need* which unless you're really lucky, everyone hates.

* - Different dogs may not need this, or may need more. I'm going on a coat-changing season bath routine because unless my dog rolls in something gross, he doesn't need bathing except when his coat changes.

FranknFurter

My mothers wicklow collie (HUGE horse of a dog he is!) goes wading in her (Small in comparison to him), garden pond when he gets too hot, it really is a sight!
Hes so old now and hes almost blind and semi-deaf, (doing the math he must be 17 now :EEK: ) so he has to be watched while he does it these days, but he seems to enjoy it

b

LisaO

Can't beat a frozen Kong. Keeps em busy, too.:)

http://www.kongcompany.com/

FranknFurter

FranknFurter wrote:

(One of the funniest things iv ever seen, put a peice of dry cat food, a single peice, into an ice-cube tray and freeze, making an ice cube with a kitty treat inside, hysterically funny and kitty gets LOADS of excercise, body and mind! )

b

Seems to be even funnier when you put catnip in the ice cube!!!

b

Archeron

FranknFurter wrote:

My mothers wicklow collie (HUGE horse of a dog he is!) goes wading in her (Small in comparison to him), garden pond when he gets too hot, it really is a sight!
Hes so old now and hes almost blind and semi-deaf, (doing the math he must be 17 now :EEK: ) so he has to be watched while he does it these days, but he seems to enjoy it

b

One of my dogs kept doing this as well, and scaring the bejaysus out of the fish. We ended up buying him one of those Hippo shaped kiddy pools, and he just dives in and splashes around for hours.

A madra with his own swimming pool,eh?

DBK

I normally put a sandwich bag in the freezer and drop that into their bowl for the day time (removing the bag of course ) Keeps their water cool for a fair bit of the day. Found the ice cubes either melted quicker or the dogs just ate them shortly after I put them in.