Five Ways to Keep Your Dog Cool This Summer

Summer can be fun for humans and dogs alike! Though dogs don’t need to wear any sunscreen, it’s still important to keep a close eye on the health of our four-legged friends in the summer heat, especially if you live in a geographic region that regularly experiences high temperatures or humidity.

Here are five tips on how you can help to keep to your dogs cool this summer:

1. Keep up with regular grooming.

Being conscious of how often your dog needs grooming comes with owning most any dog, but this is even more important once the summer months begin to roll in. Making sure your dog is regularly groomed, especially for traditionally long-haired breeds, ensures they can look sharp for summer and still maintain a healthy internal temperature. A regularly groomed dog is also easier to clean up after when giving them baths after they get dirty from playing outside in the many days of nice weather that are sure to arrive.

2. Take advantage of water sources.
Most dogs love water, and summer is the perfect time to take advantage of both natural water sources and man-made structures filled with water. Sprinklers and kiddy pools are great for smaller dogs that want to have fun in the sun. For larger dogs, taking a dip in a river or lake could prove to be a better alternative. Depending on the personality of your dog, a dip in the shallow end of a pool (with human supervision) can also be a fun way to keep cool. If you live near a dog-friendly beach, taking your dog with you on a family trip to the beach is fun not only for you, but for all the dog lovers on the beach that day as well.

3. Cold treats.

Dogs love treats no matter what time of the year it is, but summertime is a great opportunity to make frozen treats that your dog can enjoy. One recipe for “puppy popsicles” can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HWVME4Cnk). A friend of mine recommended adding crumbs from a dog treat bag into the blended mixture as an added bonus for your dog! If you do make these, be sure to make sure that they aren’t enjoyed on any carpeted surface; they are bound to make quite a mess.

4. Provide plenty of water to drink.

Whether it’s a short routine walk or a longer hike, always keep water on hand for your dog to drink if they get thirsty or overheated. Portable water dispensers are common today if you don’t want to opt for a traditional bowl used at home. Depending on where you live, there may be parks or dog parks nearby which offer public water fountains that can be used to refill your water dispenser of choice.

5. Keeping your living space cool, too!

Even if it’s not too hot outside on a given day, keeping your living space cool might turn out to be a completely different challenge all on its own. Air conditioning is probably the easiest solution to this, but if you don’t have regular access to it there are plenty of other solutions. Keeping windows open to create air flow and using fans to push out or pull in air are helpful in regulating the temperature of a living space, which I’m sure your dog will very much appreciate (even if they can’t say so in words).

How do you like to keep your dog cool in summer? Let us know in the comments below!