Hot Weather Pet Tip--Weekly tips from Family Disaster Dogs

 Here's the weekly tip from FamilyDisasterDogs.com

Keep pets cool by using frozen water bottles 

placed in crates or sleeping areas where pets can lay 

next to the water bottle and stay cool!

Great for other animals like chickens, rabbits and birds!

all photos copyrighted

Have a great summer !

Here's a great idea for your dog's next car ride or outing in the hot weather!

Working Dogs in Summer Heatwaves-Tips to Know when Your Dog is Hot

The hot days of summer are here again and dogs generally know what to do when the weather is to warm. Unless we ask them to go with us or to do something for us dogs slow down in the warm weather, they find the coolest spot to relax and stay out of direct sunlight if possible.

There are plenty of articles online about what to look for when your pets are overheating, and I highly recommend reading a few to learn more about heat-related canine conditions because a heatstroke can kill your dog, cat or rabbit and actually any animal, including yourself. Here's a good article to start with from the AKC Canine Health Foundation


As a master groomer who has worked in many pet grooming shops and show or boarding kennels without air conditioning in some of the hottest locations in the USA, I have dealt with animals overheating and saved the life of quite a few. I also worked search dogs in 100 degree weather and have shown weight-pulling pit bulls in Texas summer heat over 100 degrees.

Here's a few tips I've learned through the years of raising and working with dogs indoors and outside. 

1. Watch your dog in the heat of the day, usually between the hours of 10am-4pm if they are not in a cool place.

2. Do not leave pets where they can overheat and not reach water. Like in cars, yards without shade, kennels on cement slabs without dirt or shade. Sunny house rooms without AC-pull the drapes to keep the heat out.

3. Always try to make sure they are in a nice cool place with plenty of water.

4. Beware of grooming shops because when there are many pets in one room, in cages and hair dryers blowing the room can overheat quickly. Dogs die often in grooming shops because of this. (No I never lost a pet while working) Ask your groomer if they have AC ? and what do they do to ensure pets stay cool when hair dryers are running? Do they cage dry pets? Cage drying is Very dangerous in hot weather if they use heat. It's best to get an early morning appointment if you can.

5. Ask boarding kennels and pet sitters about air conditioning and how they keep pets cool too. Just think of the number of animals housed in one spot and how quickly that spot can heat up. Be sure to inspect the place your pets will stay in hot weather. Many kennels run misting water spray over outdoor runs and this keeps the wire and cement cooler. Pets can get burnt feet too if dog walkers or kennels are not careful.

source

Panting with the tongue hanging out is normal for dogs to do in many areas of daily life, they pant when they are happy, stressed or excited and also as a means to sweat off heat in the body. They cannot sweat like we do because of the fur covering their bodies so they sweat where there is no fur, the pads of the feet, a little bit on the ears, the belly or underarms a little but nothing like we humans do. Dogs don't get smelly sweaty underarms, thank god!

Panting is a good indicator for when your animal is overheating, especially in pet birds, chickens, rabbits and cats who do not pant unless they are overheating or really stressed out. When you see these animals panting then the time has come to cool them down by spraying water around and over them or moving them to a cool place. If stress related, calm them.

Keep an eye on panting dogs who are working or in warm location and watch for the dog's tongue to roll over at the end when they are panting and the mouth drying up, not slobbering as much means the dog is starting to overheat. Time to act and cool them down, now!

Frozen water bottles are great to place in cages and crates when transporting animals in hot weather. A large frozen soda bottle of water lasts a couple hours in outdoor rabbit cages or dog crates. Tie in place so the animal can lay next to the bottle. Of course make sure they have water or they will try to get the ice.

Stay cool and safe this summer everyone!

copyright A. Higgins Daisy's pups pool 

Did you know they make dog scarf that acts like a cooling off aid??

Here's a good one to try!

Here's one like a collar too!


Last but not least, a really good idea for crates, car rides, elderly pets and puppies-a cooling blanket





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Water your dog for the Best Scenting Abilities

How does watering your dog affects the scenting abilities? 

JR is Daisy's son and he sure knows how to cool off!
Great Search Dog too! Thank you JR for saving lives.

A dog's nose is wet by nature and dogs can dehydrate just like us humans on very ht days. Dogs do overheat and have heatstroke so when the weather is hot the best thing to do for a dog that is working a scent is to wait until the cooler part of the day.

As the dog gets warm while working in the hot part of the day the nose gets drier inside which will naturally make taking in and absorbing the scent particles more difficult for a dog. 

Pay close attention to the dogs nose when working in hot or extremely cold weather and when the nose looks dry water the dog. 

Many dogs will put the whole muzzle down under the water, Bloodhounds always do this trick to wet the inside of the nose too. They do this as they lap up water. Wetting inside and outside of the mouth and nose so that they do not dehydrate.

Read more about how a dogs nose works at Family Disaster Dogs Home

Willie knows how to cool off! 

Have a great summer everyone!

Remember do not leave pets or children in cars this summer!

Scent Dogs in Heatwaves and Hot Days

Heatwaves and High Temperatures affect the Scents !

Daisy and Willie photo by A.Higgins

Here's some advice from many years of working search dogs and Bloodhounds in very hot weather.

As heat increases in the environment where a dog is working; the scent particles change with the rising temperature. The easiest way to explain the process is to think of the scent particle your dog is looking for as shirking up the hotter the day gets and possibly before the nose gets to it.

The dog is always right but the scent may be harder to locate for the dog so giving the dog more time to look and work the scent makes sense!

Due to evaporation just like other organic or living things in the environment, the scent particle pool or trail the dog is following can dehydrate until moisture reawakens the particles, often at night or before dawn. Non-organic items or objects collect moisture during darkness as condensation that will make the scent easier to locate.

When night comes and darkness, the environment becomes wetter naturally, think of dew in the mornings. The earth absorbs the heat and the evaporating moisture during the day with the air we all breath, some of the scent too which is released at night with the exhaling of the Earth in its daily cycle.

This makes night and dawn the best time of day to search for people, pets or evidence with a dog.

If your dog is having a hard time working scent either in training or a real incident then try the same plan of action later in the day when dusk falls. Rest in the heat of the day from 10 am to 4 pm.

I always train and work at night or the coolest part of the day to get the best scents for the dog to follow.

Go out in the early morning dawn and smell, then think of how fresh the air smells and all the wonderful scents we humans can smell then multiple that to what a dog would smell and you can really tell the difference.

Try the same smell test in the afternoon and you will know the difference.

Think of the dry dust kicking up under your feet as you walk, and how that would affect a nose so close to the ground.

Give plenty of water to any dog working in the heat because the nose will dry out also making working scents more difficult..

I'll write more on how watering your dog affects the scenting abilities in another post. Until then be careful in the heat! and Good Luck!

Bloodhound Daisy photo by A.Higgins

Here's a big thumbs up and pat on the back for all the working dogs and handlers enduring the heatwaves in many parts of the world to aid in the recovery of harmful items, drugs and missing persons or pets. 

photos by A.Higgins- all rights reserved

Family Disaster Dogs invites you to learn how your own dog can rescue you ! Visit the home page for more dog training lessons and advice on tracking and trailing with dogs!