How to Cool Off Your Dog in The Summer

When you think of summer you may think of the pool, the lake, the beach, and the hot sun beating down on you as you relax in the water. But have you ever thought about your dog? Just like you a lot of dogs really enjoy the water, especially on a hot day.

I recently bought a wading pool for my dogs, primarily for my Boxer Leah since she is so dark and get hots quickly. However, it's my Jack Russell Brody who is obsessed with the pool and stays in the water for hours chasing at invisible frogs, leaves, his shadow and whatever catches his eye.

Seriously we sometimes have to empty it at 10 o'clock at night to get him to come out. So it got me thinking of all the other ways dogs enjoy the water and what other ways I could include my dogs in my summer fun.

There are other ways to keep your dog cool during the summer, remember they get hot and are at risk of heat stroke and dehydration.

Sometimes a pool isn't a practical choice for keeping your dog cool during the summer. Ideally your dog should be inside during the hot summer days, but just like people dogs like to be outside. How can you protect your canine from heatstroke and over heating during high temperatures?

Shave Long Haired Breeds:Many people shave their long haired dogs during the summer months to remove their heavy winter coat. It goes without saying that shade should always be provided during the summer and plenty of water.

Use Cooling Wraps or blankets:Cooling wraps are dog vests, jackets, collars, or blankets contain freezable liners which will lower the body temperature of your dog.

Provide Cool Water and Frozen Treats:Always keep fresh cool water available to drink at all times. Frozen treats are a nice addition to the summer routine and can either be homemade, a frozen chew bone or even a garden sprinkler in the back yard. You can water your yard and cool off your pet at the same time.

If you are considering buying a dog pool for your pup there are a few things to take into consideration. One, if your dog is a chewer or a digger don't get an inflatable doggie pool. They will scratch right through the plastic and your pool will leak. Sure you can buy pool patches, but is that how you really want to spend your time?

I bought a "traditional" hard plastic baby wading pool at Walmart, but they are getting harder and harder to find. Several stores don't carry them anymore and a sales clerk said it was mainly due to size and shipping. The newer wading pools fold or roll away and take up less space.

As you can see it doesn't take much for a dog to learn that water can be fun, cooling and refreshing.

Seth Casteel is a dog lover and a very accomplished photographer. Put the two together and you have a recipe for some outstanding photographs. His Underwater Dogs series hit the New York times best seller list and for good reason.

Who can resist funny looking photographs of dogs opening their mouth and having fun underwater. The facial expressions are priceless on these water pups.

My best friend and her family go boating and water skiing every weekend and they take their dog with them on every trip. Rocky loves the water, and can't wait to get on the boat. Everyone wears life jackets, both the two legged kids and the four legged children.

More than one he has jumped in the water and the life jacket has saved him. They have now learned to tie their pup when pulling a skier and when they are cruising will let Rocky have free roam of the deck.

Get your fill of dogs having fun in the water. Maybe it will inspire you to take your pup to the lake or beach, or better yet give him his own pool in the back yard.

Once your dog gets in the pool, how do they get out? They can't climb human ladders. If you have an in ground pool and dogs install a dog steps or a dog ladder and train them to use it right from the start.

I can't help it, dog video make me smile and laugh. My son has pointed me to many of these videos and even at age 21, when I hear laughter in the computer room at 1am I know he's watching animal videos.

Since my Boxer is intimidated by Brody's exuberance and barking she is hesitant to get in the water. But she loves to play fetch so I throw a pool toy in the water and she will tip toe in, quite lady like and fetch the toy. All their current toys sink and she has to stick her nose under water to retrieve it, but that she does and she comes up snorting and plopping her prize on the grass.

I have watched water dogs and retrievers fetch floating retrieving toys at the docks and can watch for hours as they jump in the water time and time again and swim back to do it all over. On vacation I watched a black Labrador Retriever jump into the water over 100 times. She never tired.

Meet my dogs Brody and Leah, Brody is a 10 year old Jack Russell and Leah is Boxer who is just turning three. They are best friends and Brody is the one who loves the pool. I think Leah would like it too, only Brody hogs all the fun. In addition to water they both love the snow as you can see here.