Summer is a great time to get out and spend some time away from home with your pup! It’s time for vacations, camping, outdoor exercise, and the parks and beaches are full of other dogs to play with. But don’t forget that your dog feels the heat outdoors just like you do – and he has a fur coat he can’t take off.
Though your dog may be great at a number of things, cooling down isn’t one of them. His body doesn’t sweat the way ours does. Dogs have very few sweat glands and they’re all located in the pads of their feet – not very efficient. Can you imagine sweating buckets on a hot day – but the only place you’re sweating is from the bottom of your toes?
Some dogs like to cool off by getting wet in a sprinkler or pool, but the hot summer sun can evaporate the water in no time at all, leaving them in the heat again (and nobody likes the smell of a wet dog.) Even worse – some dogs like to roll in mud to cool off. It may be more effective, but what a mess!
A cooling collar like the one above, available in the iHeartDogs store, can be put in your freezer for as little as 20 minutes and then cool your pup down for hours. The gel inside the collar will take on the cold in the freezer, and retain it better than an ice pack. By slowly (slowly!) releasing the cold, it can cool your dog off instantly and still be good for hours more.
Your dog’s neck is a key area for cooling off the rest of their body as there are some big blood vessels there that can distribute the cool to other areas. Think of it as doing the sweating for your dog that he just couldn’t do. Bonus: no wet dog smell or mud to wash out of his fur.
A cooling collar can buy you and your buddy a little more time out in the sun. Together the two of you can stay out a a bit longer, have a little more fun, and make a few more friends. Isn’t that what summer is about?
