Every summer, dogs die from heat-related illness in preventable circumstances. Cars are the most notorious cause, but overheating happens on walks, in yards, and in homes without adequate cooling. Understanding how dogs manage heat — and how quickly they can't — is the first step to keeping them safe.
How Dogs Cool Down
Dogs don't sweat through skin the way humans do. They release heat primarily through panting and secondarily through their paw pads. Panting is significantly less efficient than sweating — a dog's ability to manage heat is far more limited than ours. This is why dogs overheat in conditions that humans find merely warm.
10 Practical Summer Cooling Tips
- Walk early or late — pavement temperature at midday can exceed 60°C in summer. If you can't hold your hand on it for 5 seconds, your dog's paws can't handle it either.
- Use a cooling mat — a self-cooling gel mat gives your dog a cool surface to rest on without electricity or refrigeration.
- Provide shade always — a dog in a sunny yard with no shade is in danger. If you wouldn't stand there without shade, neither should your dog.
- Fresh water constantly — dogs drink significantly more in heat. A pet water fountain encourages drinking and keeps water fresh and cool.
- Never leave in a car — a car in 25°C ambient temperature reaches 50°C inside within 20 minutes. Not for a minute. Not with the window cracked.
- Frozen treats — frozen lick mats, ice cubes, frozen fruit. Cooling from the inside out.
- Paddling pools — a shallow garden pool gives dogs the option to cool their paw pads, which is a primary cooling mechanism.
- Damp towel on paws and belly — cool water on the paw pads and belly cools the blood that circulates back to the core.
- Air conditioning — if you have it, use it for your dog. If you don't, a fan over a tray of ice provides meaningful cooling.
- Know the signs of heatstroke — excessive panting, bright red gums, drooling, staggering. This is an emergency. Cool immediately with water and get to a vet.
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