Hot weather.....

[Diana Allen]

Does anyone have any concerns about the hot weather and their Doodles? We want to go camping this summer but I am worried that the heat will be too much for Cagney with his coat.... I am curious to know how other dogs have fared in the heat?

[Amanda and Quinn]

You definitely need to be careful, or at least we do with Quinn - he does not handle the heat well at all, and when he's busy or distracted it's almost impossible to get him to drink. We take him hiking fairly often, but only in areas where he has places to swim (or at least dunk) along the way. Then he's fine. If they won't drink or swim, it helps to wet their bellies with water or even put a cold compress on them. Hard to keep a compress cold when you're camping though.

[Diana Allen]

You are so right about using the nearby streams etc. to keep dogs cool.... will most definitely do that where one is available.... thank you so much for the reply....:)

[Christina and Cooper plus Benny]

Cooper gets HOT! Especially in the sun because he is dark brown. I like to get him in the water to cool down, and he is starting to see the benefit in that, but didn't like it so much as a baby. I did find a great product that should cool him right down, a Swamp Cooler! Cooper's Swamp Cooler is on order, and we haven't had much need for it yet as we live in Oregon, but I know he will use a lot when hiking this summer - especially when there is no water to cool down in and shade is limited!

http://www.ruffwear.com/Swamp-Cooler-Dog-Cooling-Vest-Sun-Protectio...

One user of this coat said he even got it wet in the morning before leaving to go out in the heat all day, and put it in a water tight container and then got it out later in the day to put on his dog. Of course, if you are in an area that has a stream, you could re-wet it along the way and wouldn't have to worry about that.

[Diana Allen]

Hi there... I checked out the site... that looks like an awesome idea! I will order one too! Thank you so much for the tip!!! It gets very hot up here in Canada... I don't want Cagney to come down with heat stroke... I really appreciate the help....:)

[Amanda and Quinn]

I'm ordering one too - this looks great.

One tip: if he does get overheated, don't give him ice cubes. I did that a couple of weeks ago when Quinn was really hot. He promptly barfed all over me.

[Diana Allen]

Oh you poor dear... geez eh... ahhhh !!!!!!! At home we use a kids pool for him to go in to cool off... but he seems to prefer to be indoors... I love the idea of that cooling vest.... so happy to know that is available.... awesome....

[Sue & Willy Babe]

The cooling vest could I even use it for our walks I haven't take Wilson for any evening walks because it has beeen 80 at 8:00 pm Luckily the last few mornings i walked him only for a mile then his tongue starts to hand out and we head home.
I am hopping it cools off soon for the big guy

[Diana Allen]

Hey Sue... I love the name ... Wilson is my maiden name... Cagney could have very easily been Wilson too... ha ha.... I can't wait to order one of those vests... I am so excited about the product.... great invention... !!!!! :)

[Frannie & Callie]

Callie suffers in the heat too. She's got such thick, black fur. She'll be happier after June 4th when she gets her summer cut, but will still not be able to go on our favorite walk around a local park (it's a two mile loop - I'd be carrying her the last leg of it). She won't even enjoy the dog park - she'll play for about 10 minutes then go lay in the shade. Back to throwing a tennis ball down the stairs!

[Ann Kurtzman]

I live in South Florida and have used a "cool collar" for Dudley. It is a sort of neck tie with a gel sewed in. One soaks it in water and the gel re-hydrates. It is tied around the dogs neck and the evaporation cools the main arteries. I started making my own...but they can be found in some pet specialty shops, or less expensively, in a hardware store like home depot (the construction workers wear 'em to keep cool).

[Joy Williams]

Sounds interesting! You should post your instructions on how to make them in the DIY group!

[Gwen and Hoda]

A good summer cut! I dread every summer when it starts getting hot because it totally changes their look. We cut as much hair off as we can. Also bring an electric fan and plug it in outside if there is electricity. If we plug a fan in our doodle will lay right in front of it.