22/06/2026
SUPPORTING YOUR DOGS IN A HEATWAVE
As many of you will be aware much of England has been issued with heat alerts for the next 4-5 days, with red alerts being issued in many areas.
Temperatures may reach as high as 40° in some places with many others reaching the mid-thirties. Causing even more problems is the overnight temperatures remaining above 20° meaning no opportunity to truly cool everything and everyone down.
These are significant temperatures that could cause many people and their dog’s problems.
With two senior dogs I have to be doubly careful as they will not cope with the heat well these days.
Please feel free to use this post to share your top tips for keeping yourselves and your dog’s cool during high heat and humidity.
Do you have any tried and tested products – fans, cooling coats, cooling mats, anything that you have found has helped you or your dogs.
I will share what we do hear at Dog’s Pov HQ in case it’s helpful to anyone.
KEEPING THE HOUSE COOL
🏠I get up at 4am – walk the dogs and open all the doors/windows when we get back – turning on the fans to blow the cooler air around the house
🏠 As soon as the temperature starts to rise – in these temperatures this will be around 8am - I will close ALL the windows.
🏠 I close the curtains on windows facing the rising sun
🏠 I also aim a fan at these windows because they get really hot! Having the fan blowing on the curtains helps to stop the window & the curtains heating up and the room absorbing that heat.
🏠 As the sun moves round, I will close the curtains on those windows and open the curtains on the ones the sun has moved away from
🏠 We have 18" industrial floor fans (from screwfix) - as long as the house stays cool these do a phenomenal job!
🏠 I have frozen lots of bottles to use with the fans if the house becomes unbearable – or if the overnight temperatures are too much for my guys.
🏠 I avoid turning the oven/cooker on or any appliances that will kick out heat - that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it! 🤣
🏠 I also have washable toileting pads that I spray with water and have laid around the house day and overnight should anyone want to lay on them.
Obviously for those of you with aircon - probably not needed! (I'm not jealous at all!)
EXERCISE 🚶♀️🐕
Normally we do two walks a day for ‘exercise’ – but in these temperatures, they do not need exercise.
We do, however, have to go on ‘walks’ because Tramp doesn’t do No 2s in the garden 💩😁 something I know to be true for quite a few overseas rescue dogs. So, here’s what we do...
Toilet walks – one at 4.30am and one around 7.30am before the temperatures really start to ramp up. These on lead walks will be in the shade, on mud tracks – 20 mins tops.
I will keep these walks short for toileting purposes only, not just because of the temperature at the time, but because of the cumulative heat stress they will be dealing with this week.
Walks in general for any dog this week in the ‘hot zones’ should be:
✅ Early in the morning and very late evening – although be mindful of walking in the evening this week as even at 10pm temperatures are showing as still being 25+ with high humidity.
✅ Shorter walks on grass and in the shade as much as possible
✅ Slower walks
✅ On lead sniffari walks instead of off lead
✅ If your dog makes it clear they don’t want to walk in higher temperatures, listen and respect that choice.
ACTIVITIES
Throughout the day my dogs will get little food activities and frozen treats – they don’t really need ‘occupying’ as they just want to laze around!
SUPPORT THEM AT HOME
✅ Make sure they have access to shady cool spots to lay in – many of these dogs will look for dirt beds or space under shrubs and bushes to cool down.
✅ Do still keep an eye on them though – even in the shade at these temperatures they can start to overheat.
⚠️ Keep an eye out for ‘spatula tongues’ - When you see your dog’s tongue start to widen at the bottom, that’s an indicator that your dog is having to work harder to cool down.
Tramp does NOT like to come inside the house when it’s hot – to the point that he can get stressed by being indoors.
The last heatwave a few weeks ago, we had temperatures of 34 degrees here – and even in the shade he started to show signs of struggling to regulate his body temperature.
Watch out for those signs and if you see them take action to cool your dog down. Either try and get them to lay on a damp/wet towel or area of dirt. If they will tolerate it wipe them over with a wet cloth.
LEAVE THEM IN PEACE - Just as with us, this weather can lower tolerance and cause snappiness - bites could happen when they wouldn't normally.
🚨SIGNS OF HEATSTROKE TO WATCH OUT FOR & WHAT TO DO
If your dog is showing any of the following, act immediately:
• Excessive, heavy panting
• Excessive drooling
• Bright red or pale gums
• Lethargy, weakness or stumbling
• Vomiting or diarrhoea
• Glazed or unfocused eyes
• Seizures or loss of consciousness
If you suspect your dog has heatstroke or any other heat-related condition:
COOL FIRST ➡️ TRANSPORT SECOND
⚠️⚠️Do not drape wet towels over them - This can trap the heat make things worse - It's fine to lay them on top of a damp towel
1️⃣ Take them to a cool, well-ventilated space
2️⃣ Pour cool/cold water over their body (not head) to cool their body temperature - but NOT ice cold water
3️⃣ Phone your vet immediately and tell them you're on your way
4️⃣ Transport to the vets in a cool, well-ventilated vehicle
Keep your dog’s safe in the warm weather everyone 🐕
They rely on us to make the right decisions for them ❤️
And of course stay cool yourself and keep hydrated! 💦
(and roll on Christmas! I’m not even joking 🤣❄️)
And if everyone on the south coast could aim their fans at France that would be great thanks! 😁🤣
