How to keep your pets cool and comfortable in summer

Summer is in full swing for us and while we as a family absolutely love the summer months, the intense heat of our summer days can leave you feeling drained and Zara is not immune to this and neither is Ollie or the bunny girls.

Most dogs and pets in general can suffer from heat stroke really quickly and most pet owners know that heat stroke is no joke! I am very aware of how hot it gets for us and I am constantly making sure Zara, Ollie, the bunny girls and us stay cool and comfortable so we can enjoy our beautiful hot sunny days to the fullest.

So here are some tips and things I do to make sure we all stay cool during our hot summers.

*this post contains affiliate links.

Water Toys

Water toys in summer are an absolute must have! We have a few gems we found on Amazon and in the shops. Zara is a water goddess and loves nothing more than a water toy or shell pool to splash around in. She loves sprinkler toys and there are some fabulous ones available! Our latest water toy is her sprinkler pad which is great for Gia too. The two of them can sit for hours playing in the water together.

Zara’s sprinkler pad

Zara’s Sprinkler Flower

Zara’s Water Fountain

Kids Shell

Cold Water + Ice Treats

Cold water and Ice treats are a must for all of us. You can make them interesting by adding fruits and veggies. The bunnies particularly love a fruity ice treat. I usually pop a blueberry, chopped strawberries or chopped carrots in each ice mould before filling it with water and freezing. Zara loves eating ice and it definitely helps in keeping her body temperature down. I also make sure she has a big ice block in her water bowl all afternoon so she has lovely cold water to drink. Ollie drinks Zara’s water too and I have noticed he quite enjoys it when its really cold. Of course you can make yummy frozen yoghurt treats and doggy ice cream too but on a hot day I find those can make Zara extra thirsty so I prefer fruit and water to be honest.

Frozen Water Bottle

When I know it’s going to get really hot I freeze a few full water bottles. Once frozen I wrap a small towel around them (to prevent ice-burn) and I give it to Ollie to lie next to for his afternoon nap. When the bunnies are really hot I give them one too.

Swimming

As you know Zara loves nothing more than swimming in the big pool. She’s a fish in a rottweiler body! This is the most effective way to cool her body temperature down fast, but not all dogs love to swim and that’s ok! Water toys are just as much fun and absolutely help in cooling down. Gia is learning to swim too so the two of them have great fun in the pool together.

Offer a Fan or AC

We have both fans and air-conditioning in all areas of the house, our summer is too hot not to have these things. Zara quite enjoys both! On extreme days I put the AC on and she takes up position right under it and enjoys her afternoon snooze. Ollie also enjoys the AC on a hot afternoon. Otherwise I put the fans on to circulate the air and this works well too.

Some Don’ts

I never let Zara sunbathe on extremely hot days. Our sun is too powerful and she gets really hot really quickly and ends up coming inside panting like she’s just been on a 5km walk! We also never walk Zara past 10am, even at that time our temperatures are getting high. We usually do early morning or late afternoon past 4pm or even later. We try not to run around and play too much during the hottest times of the days either and that’s why we have so many water toys- so we can still have plenty of fun while keeping cool even tho it’s roasting hot!