Is it hot enough?

[Eliz222]

I couldn't pass up taking this picture of Finch. She is usually sitting by the door waiting to go OUTSIDE, but here she is waiting to come INSIDE! I think it's too hot, but I'm sure it's really hot for them!!!! I 've been taking them out for 15 minutes at a time with a bucket of icecubes. They don't seem to mind going outside, but I worry about overheating them....and myself!

How long do you keep your dogs outside and how do you keep them cool? We have shade in our yard, and I always keep cool water out for them. I know everyone's weather is different...we have been in the mid 90's for the last week or so and NO rain!

[savannahsmom35]

Shoe - we are in Georgia and it has been really hot here as well. I try to keep Savannah inside until the sun starts going down so it isn't so hot out for her. Then I make sure that she has plenty of water outside. We have a small porch with a celing fan so I keep the fan on for her when it is hot out. She seems to know it is there because after she runs around and explores, she gets RIGHT underneath the fan to lay down and rest. If I notice that she is panting excessively, I bring her in and make her cool off. Usually she just plops down on the cool tile floor in the kitchen with her legs sprawled all over the place. Sometimes, I will turn on the sprinkler during the day and let her play in it until she is soaking wet. She seems to like the drowned rat look. I always tell her that she looks like a stray orphan dog when she gets wet! I want to get her a baby pool as well because i think she will like it but I haven't gotten around to it yet (I am a bad Mommy) I am interested to hear other tips as well!

[Cairns2]

Cute picture! The heat arrived in RI yesterday and will last the week. I have no tolerance for it. I only let my two out for bathroom breaks and then back into the AC. I bought them a kiddie pool but they think it's a giant water bowl! Emma did have fun chasing the water coming out of the hose. She actually flies through the air to grab the stream of water. I will try to get a picture. Posting it will be another story!

[Anna_525]

Finch looks so cute waiting to go inside!

Alfie has not made the connection between hot=outdoors. He still likes to go out, yet he starts panting after a few minutes, and I have to tug at him to go back in. In one of our daily walks, he sat underneath a tree on someone else's lawn and didn't want to continue walking, yet he still won't go inside our house after the walk is over. We do have a stream in our backyard where I let him wade but that lasts only for a few seconds, then he wants to walk around again.

[bubba]

Can't help....it's 62 and drizzling here....imagine that!

pat.

[Saidi'sDad]

It's been hot here, very hot! Saidi usually does not want to stay outside unless someone is with her. Even then she will let us know when it's been too much. Usually when I'm out with her I'll have a glass of ice water or something with ice in it. She will come up to the table, stand on her hind legs and bark at the glass till I take an ice cube out for her After devouring an ice cube she's good to go for another few minutes, running around like she's possessed!

I also keep the lid of an old sandbox my step daughter used as a kid full of water. It's about 4' by 2' and 6 inches deep. Saidi will walk through this and it seems to cool her off. If she's been out for a long time and extremely hot she will even sit in the water. However, sometimes enough is enough and she just wants to go back inside where she does the floor sprawl right next to the air conditioning vent.

Last week I saw mention of the frosty paws in another thread. Was going to pick some up over the weekend but forgot. I'll have to get some on my way home tonight

[Gracie's Mom]

It has been mid to high 90's here in Missouri so I have been limiting outside time for Grace and Spike to potty walks in the backyard and then when the sun is lower they can go out and play for 20 minutes or so. I keep cool water out when they are playing and they come inside and plop down on the cool kitchen tiles afterward. We are going to pick up a baby pool tomorrow and try that out. I think maybe they will like it since I caught them playing in their water dish yesterday. My kitchen floor looked like a flood! I am also going to try the recipe for Frosty Paws and cool them down that way too!

Linda

[Guest mrskti]

This is what Ellie does!!

[Eliz222]

Lucky, Ellie!!!!!!!!! That looks soooooooo good!

Linda, we are in MO too...St. Louis! I hope the heat breaks...they promised by Thursday

Scout doens't like the heat....she slinks off into the shade...but I have to watch Finch because she will go and go and go! They got to go outside this morning for about an hour because it was in the mid 80's, which was nice! It's now 91 and they are plopped down on the kitchen floor..lol!

[Scully'sMom]

Scully usually does her potty thing out front where they is no shade except for by the front door where we have an awning. In this high heat I only put her out for potty breaks. Even if I put her out back with her pool where there is shade - for some reason she goes and lies in the sun! The heat bothers ME, and definitely worries me where she is concerned so the only time she goes out for any length of time is in the evening when the sun goes down.

P.S. I want to be Ellie!

[MikeC]

It really has not been hot here in NorCal, but when Duffy and Mickey feel the need to cool off their favorite place is the tile in our entry way. We tried getting them an inflatable childs pool to cool off in but Duffy bit a hole in it and that was the end of that.

Mike

[smartin529]

Rufus doesn't like the heat either. We are in OH. It's been 90+ for the past 3 days. He only stays out to go potty then comes right back in to lay on the cool floor. Wow we haven't had the excessive barking problem since we've had the heat wave. We did unfortunaely have two running away incidents yesterday.

I tried to get Rufus in the sprinkler and kid's pool, but he would have nothing to do with it. I even sprayed him with the hose while watering, but he didn't appreciate it at all!

Love the Ellie swimming pic.

Shelly

[Guest Darcy's Mom]

I must have the only two couch potatoes of everyone. Darcy and Molly will go outside in the early morning for about an hour and then when it starts getting hot, in they come. Summers in Alabama do get awfully hot and humid. Also, Molly's coat (she's the mixed Scottie/JRT) is so much thicker than Darcy's. So wiry too. She starts panting the minute I put her out for a potty break during the day, stays about 5 minutes and is ready to come back in. She jumps up on the fireplace where it is cool moss rock and cools her belly off. Then she heads for the vent in the kitchen on the tile floor.

Darcy just stays on the couch and won't usually go out even for a break until I get home and make her go out. Even at night it is still hot. I guess I've just got wimps because neither one of them enjoy the heat at all. Comfort is the name of the game where they are concerned.

[toomanypaws]

Love that picture, Shoe!

Ellie really has the good life w/ that pool. I'm not sure why I'm living in Florida. I'll never get use to this heat. We're thinking about another pool at this house but for now we're enjoying the clubhouse pool. My cairn girls stay cool in their kiddie pool.

They prefer the indoors during the heat of the day but will start getting vocal around 3 p.m. to go out and play.

Here's Hannah's favorite game of trying to catch the fish in the pattern.

Abbey holds this ball like a pacifier and has just recently learned to fetch. Her favorite way to cool off is attacking the hose. Here she is watching Hannah and wondering why she's bobbing for fake fish.

All Kiara cares about is that green dumbbell and will wait until it floats to the side to retrieve it. When she gets really hot, I squirt her down. Abbey looks really small because the pool is up on a patio.

[kayharley]

Oh what great pics. Ellie looks like she was born to swim. I wish I had somewhere to take Elliott to swim. My daughter won't allow him in her pool because we caught Elliott peeing in HIS little pool

Elliott and Madison go out early in the morning, hang on the deck and it's a revolving door from the heat to the AC for the rest of the day. I know how I feel going from 93 degrees to 68 and it takes it's toll.

Winnie does not do well in this humidity and I can't leave her out for more than a couple minutes. When I see the start of panting, it's cool off time.

Gee, doesn't it seem like yesterday we were chatting about sub-zero temperatures, snowstorms, rain and MUD!!

[Kate]

We are in Ohio and it has been very hot and dry. We bought Mila a kiddy pool yesterday and thought she'd love it, Not!!! She didn't want anything to do with it, so I got in and got cooled off. I took her in with me and put the water over her to cool her off. All she did was run away - I guess she isn't a water dog.

[Guest mrskti]

Dori has to be hanging on, she doesnt like the pool as much as Ellie. But I like to cool her down a bit. My Grandaughter loves Dori though, she calls her Pudge!

[Guest mrskti]

Oh my gosh, Ellie has really gotten into this pool thing. Yesterday she started walking off the edge of the pool onto the air mattress and the pool rings!! She's getting so brave. She just chills out in the pool with me, it's too funny.

I'll download some pics from yesterday and see what I got of her.

I take Dori in up to her neck, just to cool her down. She isnt' as thrilled with it as Ellie Mae.

[Eliz222]

That graduation picture is such a hoot!!!!!!!!!

Here's another favorite picture I have of Scout. It shows her true colors and her typical expression..."what do you want?". LOL!

A typical picture of Finch. She carries this frisbee in and out of the house all day long. We took it away from her a few days ago because she was limping (she's not now) and we wanted her to rest her legs...no running or jumping for a few days....and the sight of the frisbee was driving her crazy and her whining was driving US crazy!

Brad, is there any way to set up an album for us on this site? If not, maybe I'll set one up at Yahoo for us.....I LOVE looking at all of our talented, beautiful, dogs!

[Eliz222]

Ooops....thought I was posting for the head shot message....sorry!