Keep your dog cool in hot weather with ‘best’ method requiring 1 item

As the weather is getting warmer, a dog trainer has urged pet owners to look after their furry friends and make sure they stay nice and cool during the hot sunny days.

While it’s important for us humans to stay hydrated and keep ourselves from overheating during the summer, we also have to make sure that our four-legged friends do the same, but it may be easier said than done.

According to the Blue Cross, dogs rely on panting and releasing heat through their paw pads and nose to regulate their body temperature. If they cannot cool down, they can quickly develop heatstroke, which can be fatal.

To help, Adam Spivey, director and head trainer at Southend Dog Training, has answered a follower’s question about what the best ways to help keep our dogs cool are, and he went on to share a long list of ideas.

At the start of the video. Adam said: “The best way to cool your dog down on a hot day, provided your dog is fit and healthy is you can use things like cooling mats, you can use things like cool jackets, which is a coat that you put on your dog. You put it in water and you bring it out. […] And the dog wears it and it keeps them nice and cool.”

He then continued with his list, and shared the importance of keeping lots of water around for your dogs to drink, even on walks, as they can get dehydrated.

“Make sure there’s plenty of water for them to drink,” Adam said. “Make sure there’s plenty of shade, you can use fans, you can use air con. And what you do is you get up earlier and take him out for a walk, or you go out much later when it’s not so hot and overbearing.”

As for giving them cold food, he said: “You can also give them frozen treats. You can also get a little paddling pool for the dogs. There’s lots of ways you can keep your dog nice and cool.”

He then went on to say: “Just think of all the ways that you like to keep yourself nice and cool. How do you keep yourself nice and cool [in] hot weather?”

Lastly, Adam went on to urge dog owners to keep their dogs inside if they weather gets too hot, as it can be fatal for them to be outside in that heat.

“But most importantly, if it’s too hot and it’s heat stroke weather, do not take the dogs out on a walk. That will kill it,” Adam said.

According to the Blue Cross, to prevent your dogs from getting heatstroke, they recommend always keeping bowls filled to the brim with water around the house. You can also add ice cubes to the water to make it even colder, as well as offering cold treats such as ice licks and dog-friendly smoothies.

You should also limit walks and exercise to early morning when temperatures are lower. On extremely hot days, the recommend avoiding exercise altogether.

They also recommend putting on a fan near their favourite resting spot, and to stay on top of grooming as matted fur can prevent dogs from regulating their own temperature.