Six Tips for Keeping Your Dog Cool

Image of a dog in a wading pool.

Many areas of the world are seeing record high temperatures, which makes it even more important to ensure that your pets are kept cool. Veterinarians commonly see dogs with heat stroke, but most of these cases could easily have been averted with some easy precautions.

The following six tips will help you keep your dog cool:

  1. The best method for keeping your dog cool is to simply allow him or her to stay inside a house with air conditioning. Dogs want to be part of the family and almost always enjoy being inside.
  2. If your dog must be kept outside in the heat, one tool to help keep your dog from overheating is a child's small hard plastic swimming pool. Place it in a shaded area of the yard and fill with a few inches of water. Your dog can drink from it, walk through it, or even lie in it.
  3. Misters are another good tool which can be installed on your patio or any shaded area of your back yard. These emit a fine mist of water that your dog can use to keep cool.
  4. Another trick is to take large plastic jugs such as milk containers, fill them with water and then freeze them. Place outside in an area where your dog usually stays, preferably in a shaded area. Behind the ice-filled jugs, place an electric fan so it blows across the ice and creates a cool breeze for your dog.
  5. Of course, never leave your dog in a car without the air conditioning on. Even in relatively mild outdoor temperatures, on a sunny day the environment inside the car can get dangerously hot in just a few minutes.
  6. Never leave your dog tied to a tree or a post. A common scenario is for a dog to keep circling the tree, winding the rope shorter and shorter until it is caught close to the tree trunk. As the sun moves across the sky, eventually the dog is in the full sun, and not able to reach its water bowl to try to help keep itself cool. Heat stroke can quickly ensue.

If your dog is heat stressed, it will be panting heavily, with its tongue hanging out long and wide. This increases the surface area of the tongue and allows for more evaporation to happen, which helps keep your dog cool. Another symptom is the color of the gums will be a very bright red or sometimes a muddy color. If you notice any of these symptoms, take action immediately! Cool down the dog and call your veterinarian for further instructions.

Heat stroke in dogs is usually easily preventable. Using these tips will let you enjoy hot weather safely with your dog and may even save your dog's life!

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  • "We bring both our girls Ava and Nellie. Our latest visit was due to a limping issue after a visit to a dog park with Nellie (Greyhound and Healer mix). Staff was very kind and gentle with Nellie who is timid with strangers. In the end Nellie thanked both the vet and tech by licking their hands. Great team go see this vet office."
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  • "Dr. Sutton and the loving staff at Union Animal Hospital are amazing! They've taken wonderful care of my dog's since they were puppies. We've added 2 more dog's to our pack, a rescue and a re-home, after my Springer passed this spring. Dr. Sutton and here staff are so good with dog's they don't even mind going for their visits. Thanks Doc!"
    Mike P.
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  • "Union Animal Hospital is the best place! The first time visit was great even during the Pandemic, the techs are wonderful and friendly. Best of all is that they are definitely affordable compared to the rest of the clinics in Spokane."
    Lori J.
  • "The most caring and compassionate animal hospital and veterinary clinic I've found in Spokane. Everyone is so nice and they are outstanding with my 11 year old Pomeranian. I've been searching for a while to find a new Veterinary clinic to take my Pomeranian. I'm so happy to have finally found a place with such caring people whom I can trust to care for my dog and give me all the information I need. They even gave me a print out estimate for everything. They are a bit more expensive than some other places I've researched but with the quality of care they give in my opinion it's well worth the few extra dollars. Thank you guys for treating us so well."
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  • "Our fist time having a pet emergency and Union Animal Hospital took us in right away and helped our Fur baby get better again. We won't go anywhere else, good prices and amazing staff, this is the spot if you care and love your animals take them here to be treated with the utmost respect and quality. LOTS IF LOVE TO YOU GUYS FOR BEING THERE FOR OUR FAMILY"
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