...DO this!
If you don’t have the opportunity to walk your dog directly by waters, you always shall take water with you, so that the dog can drink as much as possible. There are practical folding bowls that fit in your pocket or water bottles you can attach to your cloths. Dogs who like to swim, may be easily cooled down. For dogs, who only find the water nice up to their bellies, you can invest a little time and used them to be thoroughly "soaked" in water by humans. As the water evaporates, it helps them to cool their body. In extremely hot days we can shower off our dogs. There are special dog pools for home, but a children’s wading pool or plastic sandpits can offer the dog an additional cooling possibility – searching for treats, small apport games or watercourse are good for thermal regulation. We can simply moisten the dog a little on the legs and belly too. Please do not use ice cold water directly, especially not when the dog is already heated. Better lukewarm water that is gently used starting from the legs.
If the dog is not thrilled, we can still motivate with games and treats, or why not a little trick training in the water? "Put your paw in a bowl of water" would be a nice and at the same time a literally refreshing clicker idea for the summer!
- Off to the ice cream shop
If no intolerance speaks against it, we can treat our beagle in the summer now and then with an ice cream! The simple yogurt variety from the ice cream shop, for example. But you can also do it yourself as a kind of doggy ice cream - just plain yogurt or cottage cheese in the freezer. Of course you can flavor it with a little canned food, baby food or sausage for flavor. Or make some fruit puree and freeze with water in a bowl. You can serve a longer ice joy with employment factor while stuffing and freezing a Kong! Notice my beagles prefer yogurt with honey and applesauce, but they also never say no for a baby food ice thinned with water! Be careful to test slowly if your dog tolerates the cold in his stomach!
Walks should be possible done in the early morning or late evening when it is cooler. Keep he lunch time walk - if absolutely necessary - as short as possible. A dense forest is preferable to a walk to a wide-open field. And better avoid paths that offer no shade.
At such temperatures, many dogs prefer cool places. Tiles, or stone floors, the space under a bush are very popular. In the hot summer, you can maybe put away the rug out of the way or even fill the dog's basket with cooler, thinner material. Outside, we can create more shade with umbrellas. Many dogs dig a hole in the ground in the garden to feel cooler in there. You really can accept this arbitrary landscape transformation as the dogs art for cooling.
Since dogs can give off heat on the body surface, it is logical - the less hair, the better (it of course never means to shave any coated dog, but to take care of their coat). No matter how long or short the fur of the dog is, regular brushing removes dead hair and facilitates cooling. It has indeed a reason that most of our beagles shed like crazy in summer. Thick undercoat needs to be thinned out. There are a variety of different tools that help to thin the undercoat of a dog, for example, the "Furminator". The more air can pass to the skin, the better.
Dog days to come!
Maybe some of these tips help you to spend the warm days more enjoyable with your dog.
