Keeping pets cool tips

[Mairte]

What does everyone here do to keep pets cool and comfortable on these brutal summer days?
Mine are inside so I keep the fans and ac cranked up. To heck with the electric bill. I would rather pay it than have the pets suffer.
I keep water in the fridge and refresh their water bowls frequently.
I give ice cubes to the dogs that enjoy them. (Which right now is everybody,lol)
I try to take them out in the early morning and evening with just a time or two during the hottest part of the day.(Though it hasnt made much difference since its barely cooled off, even at night.)
I hose off the dogs that LIKE it. (One,lol)
I guess thats all common sense but is there anything else that can be done?

[renfairephotog]

Freeze organic plain yogurt in small paper cups.

[Mairte]

Good idea!!!

[Lady Rosaline]

We used to freeze two liter bottles of water and put it in the cage with our rabbits for them to lay on/next to. You could do the same for dogs I would guess.

[maeven]

We used to freeze two liter bottles of water and put it in the cage with our rabbits for them to lay on/next to. You could do the same for dogs I would guess.

I used to do that with our rabbits too. Gatorade helped them too.

I try to keep my dog comfortable with cool water, dark rooms (he keeps cool in there and since he likes to nap, it's an extra bonus) along with AC of course.

[Mairte]

I forgot all about the frozen bottles in with rabbits!! We used to do that. Yes, I think it WOULD work for dogs...
They sure didnt want to stay outside today, did their business and then beat feet for the door!

[Scotty Hunter]

We have no air conditioner so take the days heat as it comes (and lately it has been in the high 90's and 102 the other day), we have 3 birds, 3 reptiles, 7 cats (most are feral captures, will be altred and released) and a chipmunk at the time.

The cats find a shady spot in the grass and snooze the days away, they don't seem to suffer much, we make sure they have cool water and no direct sun. They do pant on occasion, so we mist them off with cool water and it helps.

The reptiles are sun worshipers so they love it, but we keep a bit of water sprinkling in an area of their cage from the waterhose. Keeps them cool and moist all day, but also gives them a chance to head back to the dry sunny spots.

The birds are pigeons, and the adults are from Las Vegas so are no strangers to heat. The third is their week-old squab, and he's learning about the temps now. Their water dish is large enough to offer baths, so I usually end up cleaning it 4x daily. lol. But they cool off easily while splashing around in their 'pool' and then they go back and sit on the squab, which cools him off too. Plus, their cage is large and in shade all but early morning, so they cope.

The chipmunk on the other hand is a bit harder. She stays in her cage in the van so I make sure the windows near her cage are covered in double-layer insulated reflective cover. Plus she has a large stainless steel water bowl she runs through on occasion, and I mist her if she seems too hot. When we get ice (which is rare because it gets expensive) I always put some in for her too. She chews on them, lays next to them, and just generally seems to enjoy the cooling area it gives.

For us, its not easy, but we have yet to have an animal get sick from the heat in a few years of 'roughing it' across the country. Though this year is an improvement over the last since we were in Vegas last year with no electricity or water access. lol.


We had dogs, Pugs, but decided it was just too stressful for them. Pugs for one don't handle heat well at all, so they went to new homes where they will be kept indoors in the AC comfort.

[LadyStitch]

A friend of mine lost 8 of her 12 ferrets to a power cut that the power company did to her street during 110 degree weather.  The 4 that survived happened to be in a cage that was right next to a fan.  Soon as the power got back on they got air, their buddies were not so lucky    Since then we monitor the temps, just in case.  We no longer have ferrets but have back up plan for the dog.  Thankfully we have a few windows in our home, and have thermal shades on them.  Then very good insulation.  That has helped greatly.  The one time we had a powercut this morning it only got up to 85 in the house, and the dog had a bowl full of water. 

Oh we put towel covered water bottles in with our ferrets when we had them.  They didn't use them much, but it made us feel better that they had them just in case.

[Mairte]

We had a power cut today too, luckily it was around 6 am and only for an hour but it still was getting quite toasty....
Since they anticipated a short wait, I let the dogs out into the back yard where at that time of morning it was cooler.
We do have a lot of trees and shade and it helps to keep the house comfortable in the summer MOST of the time.

[DonaCatalina]

We have a baby pool out in the back. The dogs love to stand in it or lie down. There is only about 2 inches of water in it.

[LadyFireKissed]

A nice summer treat is to take one of those gallon buckets, fill it with water, and then fill THAT with all manner of goodies(treats, veggies, toys)  then freeze it.  once it is frozen, then put it out in the yard for them to enjoy.

[Lady Christina de Pond]

i have a boxer who lives outside all year round we make sure she has access to plenty of shade and lots of water she also has a kiddie pool with water in it which she can lay down or just stand in to cool off

[kcdcchef]

My mom every time she would make a roast would freeze the beef drippings in an ice cub tray and would throw the beef dripping ice cubes to the dogs to munch on in the heat, they liked it a lot!

[Mairte]

I love all of the ideas!!
I do have a wading pool for the dogs but on days like today, they only play in it mornings. Afternoons are too hot and evenings are warm and mosquito ridden..
LadyFireKissed, I have never heard of doing that! I imagine for inside I could do that with something smaller than a gallon bucket.
Beef dripping ice cubes I havent tried!! Bouillion ice cubes I have.

[Rowan MacD]

Ice cubes and free access to the cellar.