When the weather is super hot, it is noticeable for a dog to be panting with its tongue out of its mouth. Don't wait for your dog to suffer heat stroke. In those cases, water with ice is best to cool down the body temperature of the dog. And to keep the dog comfortable, train an electric fan so the dog will not feel the extreme heat. If possible, put him in an air conditioned room or hall. Not to brag but we installed a 2-horsepower air conditioner in our living room for the benefit of our dogs.
In extreme cases when the dog is already acting strange due to the severe hot weather, wipe his coat with a piece of ice so his body temperature will hastily stabilize. Once he gets cooled, the next best thing is to give it cold water and place it in a cool location.
This is some great advice. I didn't know that wiping down a dog with ice cubes could be helpful. I have wet my dog down with a hose during the summer time, but I have never used ice. I always assumed that ice would make them overly cold, but I guess it makes sense. Ice feels good to us, so why not dogs?
I read somewhere that giving your dogs ice water can be terrible for them, but I don't think it's true. I don't remember where I heard this, but I've been giving my dogs ice water for years and I have never had any issues.
That's definitely some good advice, I tried the trick with wiping my dog's coat with a piece of ice and it does work indeed, usually when it's hot outside and I take my dogs for a walk I keep a bottle of water and a bowl on me just in case they're thirsty, you can't risk anything.
Thank you for those great tips [USER=37]@Corzhens[/USER]. 🙂 Extreme heat indeed is not only severely detrimental and negative to the health of humans but of animals as well. I have also noticed the feeling of heat exhaustion from our dogs during the hot summer season. During extreme heat, I make sure that my dogs are well hydrated by always checking if their bowls are filled with water for them to drink. I also bath them more frequently during the summer season to help them relieve the heat they feel in their bodies. I've never tried using ice but I might as well try it out soon so thank you for that tip.
There is one dog in the neighborhood which was caged in an open vacant lot which I usually see on my way to work. During summer when the heat is unbearable, I wonder how that dog could survive. When we didn't see that dog in the cage anymore, I took time to stop the car and ask the owner. Well, the dog had a stroke which rendered the lower part useless. The hind legs were paralyzed and the advice of the vet is to put it to sleep. It's really sad to know that story. And it was caused by dehydration.
Oh my, that is really sad [USER=37]@Corzhens[/USER]. Hearing stories like that really makes me so emotional. I guess it's because I consider dogs as part of our family. I love them like they are real persons. Dogs also provide us the kind of love that is so unconditional that's why hearing sad stories about them makes me cry most of the time. I really feel bad for that dog. 🙁
I read somewhere that giving your dogs ice water can be terrible for them, but I don't think it's true. I don't remember where I heard this, but I've been giving my dogs ice water for years and I have never had any issues.
I don't give my dogs ice because I don't know what they are feeling when they touch it. I always think about things like brain freezes. I'm not saying that's what they will get, but I don't know what they are feeling so I just keep with natural remedies.
I give them cold water, but I don't even keep them out in high heat for more than 30-45 minutes because I'm scared of dehydration. I don't know how to check if they are dehydrated, so I play it safe and just take them back in the house.
We personally take the dog out only during the evenings in the summer season to avoid dehydration and I have personally set a reminder to look after the water consumption and food consumption of the dog during the summers.
We have got a indoor dog bed recently for the dog and it ensures that the dog is always in the controlled climate of the home, which helps us in better avoiding the problem of dehydration.