Best MSE ways to keep your pets cool in the summer heat - 2019

gettingready

May be something to think of for Zara if she has the surgery, thanks for that link

Darren_G

I take Harley out quite early in the morning for a long walk and also take a shaded route. If it's been a hot day, he usually isn't interested in going out later in the evening Luckily we are only ten minutes walk from a fabulous country park.

When we get back home from the morning walk, I open the patio doors and all windows to air the house out. Also leave a second bowl of water if no-one is going to be home with him during the morning.

If we get a run of very hot days, I set up one of those coolers that blow air through a water soaked wick and leave that on near his bed

Mrs_Egg

We've got 3 huskies so at the moment it is project keep cool in our house.

Things we do -
Wet towels out in the garden for them to lay on
Paddling pool (hard plastic ones are the best)
Sand pit with cold water poured on it, sand keeps cool for them to lay on.
Stone flags in the shade as they keep the cold
Fan inside
Ice cubes in their water bowl
Freeze their food, or make ice pops (tuna mixed with water then frozen is their favourite)
Freeze a water bottle and let them have it as a toy
Make sure there is lots of shade in the garden

We also keep the blinds down in the kitchen as it tends to keep that room cool with the tiles of the kitchen floor cold.

And of course lots of water for them to drink.

giantmutantbroccoli

Some really good ideas on here for keeping your dogs and cats cool! I have a few tips for other pets, I hope they're of use to somebody.

Rats (and other small animals)
With mine I switched their bedding from their usual big pile of hay and biocatolet cat litter (a paper-based litter) to sand or sainsburys own brand cat litter (clay based, non-clumping) and a smaller amount of hay. The sand or clay-based litter stays cooler than the paper-based litter.
When it gets really hot inside I spread a damp towel over the top of the cage - the evaporating water cools the cage down very quickly. Don't expect to use the towel again though!
Instead of the usual plastic or cardboard tubes, they have a very wide terracotta pipe that was left over from fixing the drains. Again, things made of stone or clay take much longer to get hot than other materials. You can also use spare tiles for them to lie on and big rocks for them to climb on.
Ice in the water bottle. Pretty straightforward that one!
Make sure the cage is situated somewhere shaded and well-ventilated.
They will very happily eat frozen fruits, vegetables or fruit juice. Keep an eye on them whenever you're giving them a new food - it sounds horrible but as rats have no gag reflex they can choke on food very easily.
Get a big tray, fill it with water and float some food in it - frozen peas work well for this. If your rats are the adventurous type they will happily swim about to find the food. If they're not, you can always bathe them in cool water.

Chickens
Depending on the breed, chickens can be very heat resistant, but you should still keep a close eye on them when the weather is hot, particularly as they will spend most of their time outside - and let's face it, they're not the brightest of animals!
Make sure their enclosure has shade available, not just the henhouse itself but also some shaded ground. You can hang up old sheets to provide a shady patch if need be. Feed them inside the shade so they get the idea it's a good place to hang out.
Make sure the water is cool - keep the drinkers in the shade! It goes without saying that you need to make sure that fresh water is always available, but it does need to be cool as well - some fussy birds will not drink warm or hot water. You can add ice to the water too.
Chickens will happily eat cold and frozen foods.
All pests and parasites seem to thrive in the heat, so keep a close eye on the health of your birds and their surroundings. You will need to clean out the henhouse more often in the heat to avoid problems with mites or flies. Give your chickens a tub full of sand to use as a dust bath, or let them make their own, and treat them regularly for mites.
Chickens can get heat exhaustion/sunstroke the same as any other animal. If you notice any of your birds showing the following symptoms: breathing through their open beak, panting continuously, staggering, falling over (or lying on the floor) or standing with their heads drooping they're likely suffering heat exhaustion and you need to cool them down immediately. Take the sick bird into the shade, preferably indoors, and cool them down - a fan and misting cold water over them is the best way, although just soaking them with a hose can do the trick. If the birds don't recover quickly or if they collapsed you should take them to a vets.

Ducks and Geese
Pretty much the same as for chickens, except they will need A LOT of water in the heat. If you have a pond you likely don't need to worry. If not you will need to provide them with large buckets of cool fresh water. Expect to have to refill their buckets 3+ times a day as they will spend a lot of time drinking and bathing as well as tipping the buckets over. A brick in the bottom of the bucket can help with the last one, but a heavy goose can still tip a weighted bucket so you will need to check them regularly.

krlyr

Horseunderwater wrote: »

Have the fur trimmed if long and shaggy - yes they will look a bit odd, but they will appreciate the air getting to their skin. Not too short though as you do not want them to get burnt.

Depends on the coat. Double coated breeds like the GSD, Golden Retriever, Border Collie etc. have their own mechanism for keeping cool, which is their thick layer of fur! The two coats act like loft insulation - they keep the dog warm in winter but they also keep the dog cool in summer. Clipping the topcoat off prevents this from happening and may result in the dog getting hotter now that the sun can heat up their undercoat/skin directly. Dogs don't sweat through the skin like us so don't get the benefit of a breeze making them feel cooler, as there is no sweat to evaporate off the skin and cool it down like in humans. Not to mention it can really affect how the coat grows back and cause problems, not only aesthetically, but with issues like knotting and matting of the coat. Best to leave the coat as it is for most dogs.

Person_one

krlyr wrote: »

Depends on the coat. Double coated breeds like the GSD, Golden Retriever, Border Collie etc. have their own mechanism for keeping cool, which is their thick layer of fur! The two coats act like loft insulation - they keep the dog warm in winter but they also keep the dog cool in summer. Clipping the topcoat off prevents this from happening and may result in the dog getting hotter now that the sun can heat up their undercoat/skin directly. Dogs don't sweat through the skin like us so don't get the benefit of a breeze making them feel cooler, as there is no sweat to evaporate off the skin and cool it down like in humans. Not to mention it can really affect how the coat grows back and cause problems, not only aesthetically, but with issues like knotting and matting of the coat. Best to leave the coat as it is for most dogs.

Some really do benefit from shorter hair in summer though, so if in doubt maybe contact a good groomer or ask breed specific advice on a dog/pet forum.

paddypaws101

chris_n_tj wrote: »

http://www.chillowuk.com/canine_cooler.html

Chillows are great for humans and animals. I share mine with TJ. They are not cheap, but they are well worth the money

Purchased!

dontone

I have a Basset. He loves sunbathing but because of his weight and extra folds, I only let him out for a short period of time and have to make him (bribe in other words) come inside.
I have a 12" desk fan that i put on the floor and he loves to lay in front off, I put ice cubes in his water dish when he goes to it, and he loves orange flavour ice lollies.
He hasn't been walkies for a few days as he struggles to cope, even when it gets a bit cooler. The car has been a no-no too. He's currently snoring his head off in his basket atm, the heat doesn't half get to him (bless)

BTW a little off topic, but does anybody else's pooch get hayfever?

rising_from_the_ashes

Even my cats were lying in front of the fan in the bedroom last night!

Was up to a very uncomfortable 28 deg in there - has been known to get up to 37 deg (at which point the air conditioner comes out .... not very MSE but impossible to sleep at that temp).

Upstairs is like an oven - good thing is I never need the heating on up there but it's awful in the summer.

Maisie isn't being allowed upstairs (the other reason being it's not good for their joints to go up/down a lot) - really as once they start, it's impossible to get them to stay downstairs (and hard when they get old & can't get up anymore).

Downstairs is much better but I still keep the curtains closed in the lounge (patio doors) all the time to keep the room cool and tiles on the kitchen floor help as they provide somewhere cool to lie on.

Lots of water available, walks early morning & later in the evenings etc.

PixieDust

I've been bringing the ferrets inside from their outdoor court whenever I'm home because it's so much cooler in here than out there. I've been putting kitten milk in ice cube trays and freezing it for them, giving them one a day to lick, which they love. We tried introducing our youngest andnewest ferret to the "pleasures" of a warm bath...he was less than impressed...but it did cool him down . They take absolutely no notice of ice cubes...and would chew (and possibly eat) any icepack/frozen bottle type thing.

While in the court they have a covered dig box of compost which is cool, damp and fresh, and they have a hammock in the shadiest part and two hanging baskets at various spots outside the nest boxes that they move to as the day gets cooler. One of their nest boxes has their usual fleeces and blankets but at the moment the other one is left with its lid open (it's in the shade) and has old cotton school shirts in as they do like to burrow even though it's hot.

I think I shall nab the idea of the towel over the rat's cage and find a single sheet that I can wet and peg along the sunny side of the court tomorrow.

The sloping roof of their court is clear corrugated perspex...I've been toying with maybe painting it with that "greenhouse paint" that wipes off....does anyone have any experience with this type of thing? Does it make greenhouses cooler?

Any other ideas would be appreciated

Just to clarify - the court is mesh on the best part of three sides, with one solid wall where the nest boxes are built. Floor is concrete.