How do you look after your pets in this heat?

Tranceypoo

I'm not walking mine except first thing in morning, the patio door is open when I'm home (most of the day) so they can go in and out, kitchen gets the sun in the morning so I leave kitchen door open so they can go into the hall and front room which are much cooler (leaving the blind down in there and window open so it's dark and cool), lots of water out for them changed regularly, made them a cooling treat by freezing natural yog & peanut butter which I wanted them to lick and cool down slowly but they both practically swallowed them after 2 chews, the older one is fairly settled he lays out for a while then comes in on the cool floor and repeat repeat, the younger one can't seem to settle and is following me round a lot, I don't know if there's anything else I could do, they're both afraid of the hose (for no reason), so I can't hose them down and to be honest I'm too hot myself to do anything anyways. Just feel bad for them that they might be hot and bored (I know I am!!)

Hooked

Like you - walks are 7am and after 8pm. Nice and cool.
Avoiding hot pavements or roads. Their poor pads...

I freeze their food in those take away style cartons and just turn the block of food out into their bowl. or on the grass/patio.

For example:
Kibble, brown rice and carrot - in an inch of water...
Fish, raw meat and veg - as above, in the tub

With:
Frozen kongs with treats, yoghurt and/or peanut butter during the day.

My OH is at home most days - so the boys can have the living room floor to themselves (solid wood, and cool).

When really hot, I like to stand them in a bath (old kids clam shell pool) of (not very cold) cold water, as dogs sweat and cool via their feet.

NEVER ever shave a dogs coat. We have 2 Huskies, with thick coats.
Shaving or excessively trimming a dogs coat, exposes their very sensitive skin to harmful rays.

We add ice cubes to the water and sometimes they even take a few to crunch on/play with...

That's all I can think of for now, bar a swim... Our 2 hate the water. :rolleyes:

Unitedfandoc

I try to get as much water into my dog as possible and when on a walk, I take 5 minute breaks cooling down in the shade under a tree. He generally chills out in the living room(hardwood floor) during the day as the sun shines into the back of our house so the living room is heaven at the moment.

Raminahobbin

Got her clipped a few weeks ago so she's not dying with loads of hair thankfully. Other than that, she just gets walked in the evening (after 9pm) and gets the run of the garden / house all day. She usually either finds a nice cool spot under a bush to dig herself a little sit-hole, or enjoys the luffly cool floor in the kitchen under the table.

Food wise we don't really change anything, although I might give her an ice cube (one, under supervision) and give her a bit of a hose down out the back.

Oh! And for treats: cucumber. She LOVES cucumber.

sambuka41

For my cat I have frozen the cat milk in an ice cube tray. I give him a little block during the day when it is really warm. I've also started adding some cat milk to his water, just to be sure that he is drinking enough (he is on a dry food only diet for his teeth so fluids are important).
I'm only playing with him at night, like after 10pm, and even with that I noticed he is not playing for as long before he is off to cool down on bathroom tiles

Whispered

Doors open all day. Our living room stays nice and cool so they spend a bit of time in there.
We make ice pops out of whatever ingredients we have like banana and yoghurt with coconut oil or tuna cheese and egg.
They have a paddling pool which I fill when I'm here to supervise them.
We don't walk them until late at night. Last night we brought them swimming at 10pm. They loved it.

tk123

We've been having early walks for a few months now so still doing that. They like to either lie on the cool floor in the house or in the shade outside. Cool treats - kongs, frozen halves of apples, frozen pizzle etc . I got some great bones at the weekend so they've been working away at them each evening which tires them out. For evening walks I've either been waiting until after 8:00. Some evenings I've thought it was too warm so left the walk and did some training with them instead which they're fine with - they're not bounce of the wall type dogs!! I like to move when we're out - I don't see the point in talking them eg to the park for them to just sit in the shade panting. The park is packed with people anyways and I don't want the dogs annoying them or vice versa! :P The river was contaminated this week and while the signs and barriers are gone it's still full of dead fish so I don't feel right letting them in to cool off

Pumpkinseeds

Our cats are fairly sensible with the heat. Toby has no interest in the sun at all. He doesn't show any interest in going outdoors until about 9pm at the earliest. The other 3 are in and out of the gardens a lot, we get the sun on the front until lunchtime and it's really hot at the back of the house until sunset, plus the concrete on the shed roof stays warm and Felix and Poppy love to sleep on it.

We've a big bowl of cold fresh water in the back garden and a water fountain in the kitchen. There's a parasol in the back garden and they like the shade in the front garden. I really really hate to see people walking/running with dogs in the heat when the sun is beating down, it's obvious the dogs are too hot.

Hellrazer

Frozen dog food here as well.Get can,stick it in the freezer,wait till can freezes solid and then take the frozen food out.Our two love it!!!

Pretzill

The odd frozen treat goes down but I wait until they cool themselves a bit in the shade first - don't know why I just think if their too hot an icy treat might shock their tums! Outside most of today trying to ignore my girls demands for play whilst the young guy is running around like a mad thing! They love this weather but seek shady spots the younger guy found a shady spot under the hedge and on a bed of cleavers (sticklebacks) I'll be all night pulling them out - it's actually warmer inside then out as theres a nice thin breeze - walking out in the evenings and a little run in the morning but they are generally less bored than normal because the door to outside is always open this weather! A huge bucket of water left in the shade and their bowl indoors - they are both young and don't seem too affected by the heat.

ABajaninCork

Walkies at 7am! Quick trot with hubby at 9pm on the green.

Frequent changes of water. Bought him a ceramic bowl last year as the water was literally boiling in his stainless steel one! I take the water from the Brita jug in the fridge.

Back door open, windows open upstairs and open the living room window, so that he can sit on the windowsill, survey his kingdom and catch a breeze!

We have tiled floors too, so the dog frequently lies flat out on them to keep cool.

Mountainsandh

We bring our dog to France every year, and when it's between 30 to 35 degrees, I spray him regularly with water (gently, with a little hand held spray, and rubbing it down) on the head, and then on the body. If it is really hot like that, then I try to keep him a bit damp all the time, the top of the head especially. Seems to work nicely, he's well used to it now and doesn't mind at all. I make sure he's clipped before we head off.

Here I don't think there's a need for much more than providing fresh water, shade, a cool floor to lie on, and avoiding hot ground in full sun tbh.

My cat is clever enough to find the cool spots himself, he usually naps under the hedge on hot days.

Please don't get me wrong, I think it's great that some pets have such thoughtful owners here, but the cats and dogs in France seem to cope pretty well with the heat without the ice lollies
My sister did bring her dogs into the pool with her once when temperature got close to 40 degrees all right. They were coping less well that day. :eek:

bumper234

Bought a sprinkler gadget to ad onto the end of the hose, dog and young lad spend the afternoon running through that

tk123

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Please don't get me wrong, I think it's great that some pets have such thoughtful owners here, but the cats and dogs in France seem to cope pretty well with the heat without the ice lollies
My sister did bring her dogs into the pool with her once when temperature got close to 40 degrees all right. They were coping less well that day. :eek:

I think though places like France or Spain etc - people are living in houses that are equipped for the climate with a/c, tiles, pools etc. Also they have seasons and will be more sure of the temperatures - unlike this bloody place lol!!!

Whispered

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Please don't get me wrong, I think it's great that some pets have such thoughtful owners here, but the cats and dogs in France seem to cope pretty well with the heat without the ice lollies :

The iced food is a nice way to encourage your dog to relax in the heat. Neither of mine would be savvy about keeping cool.

It's also a nice way to make a meal last longer, but not something I'd Often do when it's chillier out. It certainly chills my boys out both physically and mentally.

It's fun to indulge them at times with frivolous things. Like ice lollies and paddling pools in the summer and a doggy beer at Christmas.

ABajaninCork

Coming from London, we've been known to have some stonking summers. Managed to buy a couple of fans for my cats - one floor fan, and another smaller desk fan both of which I still have.

Brought the floor fan home, plugged it in. My girl immediately got the idea and positioned herself to get the breeze from it. The boy (who wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer) hissed at it and took off running!

Put the fans on for the dog. He immediately turned away, as he didn't like the noise. Now, he getting the idea. Especially as my neighbour's dog came round yesterday, and made a beeline for it!

Mountainsandh

tk123 wrote: »

I think though places like France or Spain etc - people are living in houses that are equipped for the climate with a/c, tiles, pools etc. Also they have seasons and will be more sure of the temperatures - unlike this bloody place lol!!!

That's true, most have the a/c, and down in the South where my sister is, most have pools in their garden.
Although because it's expensive and people don't really want to live with all their windows closed all the time, they don't use it as much as you'd think.
Tiles are the business for hot pets all right. My sister has lots of cats and 2 dogs, and it gets hard to walk around at times in the summer, it's like an animal carpet in the house

Whispered : Dog beer ? :eek: What is it ? Not sure my pint sized Gizmo would be able for it. :P
He's not very much into food at all my dog (except for the Lidl dog sausages, he'll dance for that), so I would guess the icy treats would be wasted in my case, but yeah, it's nice to spoil them anyway. They deserve it.

tk123

Mountainsandh wrote: »

That's true, most have the a/c, and down in the South where my sister is, most have pools in their garden.
Although because it's expensive and people don't really want to live with all their windows closed all the time, they don't use it as much as you'd think.
Tiles are the business for hot pets all right. My sister has lots of cats and 2 dogs, and it gets hard to walk around at times in the summer, it's like an animal carpet in the house

Whispered : Dog beer ? :eek: What is it ? Not sure my pint sized Gizmo would be able for it. :P
He's not very much into food at all my dog (except for the Lidl dog sausages, he'll dance for that), so I would guess the icy treats would be wasted in my case, but yeah, it's nice to spoil them anyway. They deserve it.

Lol I use the sausages to hide my dogs medicine!!

Mountainsandh

I use them to get him back in from the garden, he's a stubborn little thing, and won't do recall except when it pleases him. Otherwise he'll plump his bottom on the ground and look at me as if to say : "go on, get the sausage".

nala2012

My guys are fine without walks so just bring them 2 minutes down the road to the shore for a dip. Yesterday i was weeding and had the dogs out with me, turned around to check where Nala was and she was lying in a big dirty puddle! Think she is hinting that she'd like a paddling pool! Bruce is not enjoying the heat. He's an old cavalier and has sensitive pads on his feet so he's been only going out to toilet and has to be carried onto the lawn otherwise he only does a quick wee and runs in. Anyone tried any of those paw protector creams or boots?

fred funk }{

Jesus folks, it isn't that hot. Once they have shade and fresh water they'll be just fine.

angelfire9

My cats are weird
The black oldie spent the day on the tarmac under my car
The triplets hid in the neighbours long grass
Then when the kids came in (around 7) the 4 of them made a beeline for the paddling pool (only about an inch of water left in it after my small lady discovered the plug and soaked the grass to make muddy puddles (thank you peppa pig)
Four cats plus neighbours oldie spent a good hour just chilling in the pool
The older tabby spent the entire day in my ensuite bathroom (cool floor plus spare litter tray)

tk123

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Jesus folks, it isn't that hot. Once they have shade and fresh water they'll be just fine.

28 degrees is petty hot for here. Also I have 2 double coated retrievers who feel the heat because they're not used to it - the younger one in particular hates it

Tranceypoo

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Coming from London, we've been known to have some stonking summers. Managed to buy a couple of fans for my cats - one floor fan, and another smaller desk fan both of which I still have.

Brought the floor fan home, plugged it in. My girl immediately got the idea and positioned herself to get the breeze from it. The boy (who wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer) hissed at it and took off running!

Put the fans on for the dog. He immediately turned away, as he didn't like the noise. Now, he getting the idea. Especially as my neighbour's dog came round yesterday, and made a beeline for it!

Might try and get a fan actually (although they're prob all sold out now), I used to have one when I was in London, no pets just for myself! Not sure how they'd take to it but worth a try!

bluejelly

I bought a kiddies plastic pool for 20 euro but my lab will only drink from it so its just a giant water bowl! I give her frozen kongs, leave plenty of windows & doors open & we have tiled floors. It's just a short early morning walk & short late walk at night. Hopefully it will cool down a bit today so she can stretch the legs a bit more.

Whispered

It's supposed to be cooler today as far as I know .

My little fella was hesitant about getting into the pool so I floated a few plastic cups with cheese in them to encourage him to get in and dunk, his fave toy (now wrecked) and I also got in myself when it was really hot. Now he's practically belly flopping in.

bluejelly

Great idea Whispered on using plastic cups for treats....ill try this later, thanks

Hooked

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Jesus folks, it isn't that hot. Once they have shade and fresh water they'll be just fine.

You own a couple of Siberian Huskies, do you? Shade and fresh water just doesn't cut it in 27 degrees I'm afraid.

Pumpkinseeds

If anyone is thinking of getting a pet drinking fountain, I highly recommend the Drinkwell Platinum. It's got a nice large bowl that holds about a litre of water and a storage tank at the back that holds at least a litre. Our cats love it and it's big enough for dogs too.

sambuka41

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Jesus folks, it isn't that hot. Once they have shade and fresh water they'll be just fine.

It was 32 degrees in London this week, I'd call that hot!

My dog is in Ireland and it was 28 degrees the other day, she is an excitable dog at the best of times so in that kind of heat I would be worried about her over doing things and getting heat stroke or heart attack!! She is also usually the last one to the water bowl (3 other dogs) so that's another thing to keep an eye on.

Better safe than sorry.

ABajaninCork

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Jesus folks, it isn't that hot. Once they have shade and fresh water they'll be just fine.

Of course you do know that dogs and cats cannot regulate heat in the same way humans can? Temperatures in Cork have been as high as 30 deg this week with high humidity. For a brachycephalic (short-nosed) dog like mine, that can cause real problems if it's not managed properly.

So yeah - it IS that hot.