Summer is here and it is HOT. While it hasn’t been overly warm here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s still warm enough to make the fluffies uncomfortable. This summer, they seem to have two favorites for keeping cool: splashing in their pool and enjoying a frozen treat.
Baby Pool for Dogs
I absolutely love getting the baby pool out for Mauja and Atka. Atka hops in the pool as soon as I turn on the hose and waits for the water to fill around him. Mauja prefers to wait until the pool is full before she hops in to cool off.
While Atka will lay down in the pool, Mauja prefers to just splash around (or use it as a massive water bowl). However, they both love to dig in the water. If your dog is fond of water, does he dig in the pool, too? I’m always thankful we have a plastic pool that they can’t tear easily with their nails!
Check out Atka’s digging action!
Wellness Grain-Free Frozen Treats
Fillable treat toys are a great way to keep your dog busy, but freezing them makes them last so much longer. Recently, they have been enjoying their treat toys stuffed with Wellness CORE wet food or Wellness Complete Health Grain-Free dry food and some sodium-free chicken broth, wet food, or a little cottage cheese.
Since Mauja and Atka’s tummies can be pretty sensitive, I prefer to fill their treat toys with foods they’re already used to. Plus, it’s a great way to ensure they are eating in the warm summer months. It’s not uncommon for pyrs to lose weight in the summer due to an unwillingness to eat. While I haven’t checked Atka’s weight, Mauja is down about 10 pounds which is consistent with previous years. As fall comes around, she’ll regain the lost weight. Offering frozen food encourages them to eat ensuring they receive the nutrients their bodies need.
Preparing your dog’s frozen treat toy with wet food couldn’t be easier. Simply grab your toy, stuff, and freeze! I like to shove some treats at the end for them to work toward – it’s like a prize at the bottom of the box.
Our second method of using dry food and broth can be a bit trickier, but it’s still a simple process. The biggest struggle is making sure the broth doesn’t leak out of the bottom of the toy until it freezes. I’ve found a treat that fits perfectly into the opening in Mauja and Atka’s treat toys which keeps at least 95% of the broth in. If you use this method, just be sure to remove the treat at the end before giving the toy to your dog to prevent it from suctioning to your dog’s tongue (always use treat toys with at least two openings).
The combination of a baby pool and frozen treats does an excellent job at keeping the fluffies cool. I’m waiting for the day that Atka takes his treat into the pool with him 😉
Thanks again to our awesome sponsor, Wellness Pet Food, for supporting our phenomenal trip to #BlogPaws!
How do you keep your dog cool in the summer?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogPaws Pet Influencer Network. The opinions and text are all mine.
We adopted a Great Pyrenees/TIbetan Mastiff mix back in December which was a perfect time of year for him. We live in Michigan’s U.P and get TONS of snow and cold weather, so he was in heaven. Now that summers rolling in (our first 90 degree day predicted tomorrow) he’s not so happy. We’ve taken him on walks on warmer days and even in 70 degree weather he pants like crazy and just wants to lay down. Since then we’ve kept his walks short and in the evenings when it’s cooler.
He is terrified of water so other than the frozen treat idea I’m wondering if you have any other advice on how to keep our Rollo cool? We don’t have air conditioning in our home but freeze jugs of water and place in front of fans to blow the cool air his way when he’s in the house. It’s outside we are having a problem with. He wants to be out with us all the time but he just gets too warm!
Any advice is appreciated!