Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 (edited) Hi guys, Anyone who is not in Adelaide - It's Hot!! We are in the middle of a 5-days over 35 degree November heatwave! While the house has managed to remain relatively cool (it's only a matter of time before the double brick place heats up though) I'm really worried about Pete during the daytime. The current setup he has outdoors while I'm away: There is always an area of the backyard that's shady - although it's not the same spot all day, there are always a couple of spots at any one time. He has a couple of big tubs of water, has a clamshell with water in it - generally in the shade most of the day, a clamshell with dirt in it - generally in the shade most of the day, I leave him with some frozen waterbottles and frozen chicken necks (although I think both of those things last about 2 minutes) The problem is he doesn't like going in the clamshell with water, he only puts his feet in under protest - so when I'm away all day I really stress that he's going to get too hot. Do you think if he really needed to he'd get in the clamshell? :S I just stress about him all day! Edit: This is my first year with him in the summer, so I'm a bit of a new-mum Edited November 8, 2009 by Pete.the.dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Does your house heat up a lot? Do you have air con? Could you leave him inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 Does your house heat up a lot? Do you have air con? Could you leave him inside? I share house in a rental, which gets very hot in summer. We don't have air con either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 (edited) find a sandy patch which WILL be in shade all afternoon. Stand there with the hose and SOAK it ..make sure it's wet at least 15 cm down. he will lie there if he's hot..and maybe dig a hole .. perfect or, move the sandy clam shell into permanent shade and wet that! cool, damp sand is a very good thing as far as dogs are concerned. Mind you, most indoor dogs wouldn't know what to do with it If there are areas of concrete in the shade.. that's a good spot to leave his water.. Water left in the sun will heat up. if he has shade and water, and he's young, and fit.. he will be fine edit to add have a look HERE..put it on the south/east side of the house, so you know it will produce good shade in the afternoon. Put his water etc there, maybe ? Edited November 8, 2009 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 find a sandy patch which WILL be in shade all afternoon.Stand there with the hose and SOAK it ..make sure it's wet at least 15 cm down. he will lie there if he's hot..and maybe dig a hole .. perfect or, move the sandy clam shell into permanent shade and wet that! cool, damp sand is a very good thing as far as dogs are concerned. Mind you, most indoor dogs wouldn't know what to do with it If there are areas of concrete in the shade.. that's a good spot to leave his water.. Water left in the sun will heat up. if he has shade and water, and he's young, and fit.. he will be fine. The clam shell has potting mix in it at the moment - but is in shade all afternoon - maybe I'll buy some sand to fill it instead and soak it in the mornings before I go to work - I just hope he figures it out better then the water clamshell His water is placed behind his kennel on the concrete but a table is in front of it effectively making sure it is in shade all day I just worry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 (edited) potting mix is NOT a good thing for a dog to play in..... it may contain all sorts of nasties. i would not use it. Good coarse sand is best... put drainage holes in the clamshell, tho, or it will stagnate and go smelly!! Damp the sand, and bury a few treats in there, so he learns to dig, and feels how nice & cool it is A table does not provide anywhere near enough shade.. it is too near the ground..... and the table itself will heat up and radiate heat. edit.... we have mostly outdoor dogs, and live where it gets to almost 50 on more than a few occasions.... Edited November 8, 2009 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I wouldn't leave any animal out in this, its horrendous & the temperatures are only accurate right near the city. I am an hours drive from the city centre & it was 42 degrees in my garden yesterday & is 40 now. Also if he gets bitten by a snake, & they are rife & nasty at present, average time before death for a dog is 20 minutes. Leave him inside, bathroom, passageway, kitchen etc. Better to be cramped & make a bit of a mess & be safe & cooler. Adelaide summers are awful & getting worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Leave him inside, bathroom, passageway, kitchen etc. Indoors can often be hotter and stuffier than open heavy shade Are there many reports of suburban snakes around Adelaide this year?.Weare lucky out bush so far.. have only seen one (touch wood) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 potting mix is NOT a good thing for a dog to play in..... it may contain all sorts of nasties. i would not use it. Good coarse sand is best... put drainage holes in the clamshell, tho, or it will stagnate and go smelly!!Damp the sand, and bury a few treats in there, so he learns to dig, and feels how nice & cool it is A table does not provide anywhere near enough shade.. it is too near the ground..... and the table itself will heat up and radiate heat. edit.... we have mostly outdoor dogs, and live where it gets to almost 50 on more than a few occasions.... the table isn't for him to lie under, and the water isn't under it - it's just so that there is always shade falling on the water, it's a big bucket and it's always cool - I've checked. I'll buy him some sand and thanks for the tip about the drainage holes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 always shade falling on the water, it's a big bucket and it's always cool Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 Leave him inside, bathroom, passageway, kitchen etc. Indoors can often be hotter and stuffier than open heavy shade Are there many reports of suburban snakes around Adelaide this year?.Weare lucky out bush so far.. have only seen one (touch wood) Yeah we have to shut off all parts of our house as the bathroom and kitchen and laundry areas get the hottest. The only place that stays relatively cool is the hallway and it's just not feasible for him to stay in a tiny hallway all day, would probably make it worse. Ideally I'd love to leave him inside all day but in the current living situation it just wouldn't really work, the back of the house which leads to the backyard heats up very quickly so it's not as if we can leave the back door open for access - plus the security issues that go with that *sigh* We live on the city edge so I know I'm getting accurate weather reports, I haven't heard about any suburban snake reports yet but I'm sure they are around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 Just went to bunnings and he's sitting quite happily in wet sand - what fun that will be getting all that sand out of his fur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Begging of this year when we had that run of 40 plus days in Adeliade I went through the following each morning: 2 clam shells full of water in different areas of the yard so that there was always 1 in full shade. Partially filled ice cream containers of water frozen (5 or 6 of them) the night before and placed in different areas around the yard Every dog bowl filled with water and the big terracotta 1 in a shady location (the water stays really cool in that) A frozen bone to each dog as I left in the morning The 2 dogs that like water I would encourage them to play with the hose before I left while I went around filling clam shells and saturating the dirt under our biggest shadiest tree. I think that was all. I will start the same process again this week although now Jazz is older and more settled I am leaning towards leaving them inside on the worst days (revised forecast has 2 days at 39!). I am also thinking about wetting down some towels and placing these on their sack bed and in the crate? I have a cool mat but none of them will lay on it due to the feel of it I suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 have to laugh at the more settled comment about Jazz. Its 36 here at the moment and that hasn't deterred mine from being a lunatic, having a training session and fetching the frisbee (although not quite the million throws she would usually insist on). Admittedly the yard is shaded a bit but I was hot out there and she is still waiting for more activity at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I have a cool mat but none of them will lay on it due to the feel of it I suspect. I had one like that - try putting a single layer of sheet over it, worked here but no guarantees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 Begging of this year when we had that run of 40 plus days in Adeliade I went through the following each morning:2 clam shells full of water in different areas of the yard so that there was always 1 in full shade. Partially filled ice cream containers of water frozen (5 or 6 of them) the night before and placed in different areas around the yard Every dog bowl filled with water and the big terracotta 1 in a shady location (the water stays really cool in that) A frozen bone to each dog as I left in the morning The 2 dogs that like water I would encourage them to play with the hose before I left while I went around filling clam shells and saturating the dirt under our biggest shadiest tree. I think that was all. I will start the same process again this week although now Jazz is older and more settled I am leaning towards leaving them inside on the worst days (revised forecast has 2 days at 39!). I am also thinking about wetting down some towels and placing these on their sack bed and in the crate? I have a cool mat but none of them will lay on it due to the feel of it I suspect. Thanks for that - some great ideas!! I think I will have to get up super early for the days walks considering it was 30 by 9.30 this morning! Not looking forward to sitting through a 2.5 hour exam on thursday afternoon in a tin shed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Yep, it's HOT in SA!! 40+ all week where I am We have to get up at 6am for walks if we dont want to fry If you have no airconditioning and have to close everything up then outside is probably safer for Pete. Soaking the ground is a great idea, dogs will naturally seek out the cool areas. The other thing you could try is a cool mat (or collar). They're fantastic and will stay cool for days even in the heat outside so if you give it a soak each morning you wont have to worry about it drying out :D Have a read here: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=179815 Pools are great if you can get your dog to use one, but not all will. Otherwise, and I might get flamed for this (water restrictions ), but could you leave a sprinkler running for him for part of the afternoon ie. set it on a timer?.. Good luck with your exam. Tin shed hope there is a fan at least! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 Yep, it's HOT in SA!! 40+ all week where I am We have to get up at 6am for walks if we dont want to fry If you have no airconditioning and have to close everything up then outside is probably safer for Pete. Soaking the ground is a great idea, dogs will naturally seek out the cool areas. The other thing you could try is a cool mat (or collar). They're fantastic and will stay cool for days even in the heat outside so if you give it a soak each morning you wont have to worry about it drying out Have a read here: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=179815 Pools are great if you can get your dog to use one, but not all will. Otherwise, and I might get flamed for this (water restrictions ), but could you leave a sprinkler running for him for part of the afternoon ie. set it on a timer?.. Good luck with your exam. Tin shed hope there is a fan at least! Thanks for that - cool collars sound great! I hope there is a fan too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete.the.dog Posted November 8, 2009 Author Share Posted November 8, 2009 Just bought a polar collar - thanks for the suggestion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 just make sure that he has more than water bowl just in case something happens to that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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