My 100+ lb GSD pants and pants and pants after exercising from about May until September. We have hot, humid summer days and he’s a stock coat (longer haired) and pitch black. Yesterday was very humid and about 90 and we did 2 miles in the evening, I got a little worried about him even two hours later. I keep him hydrated, make him drink before the walk, during if there’s a creek and after before we get back in the car. He’s not overweight at all and I’ve even slowly dropped 5 lbs off him in the past 3 months purposely. He goes to the groomers and was just there last week and most of his undercoat is brushed away. I just purchased a “Swamp cooler coat” for him this morning. You dunk it in cold water, wring it out and put it on him. It got great reviews. I’m really hoping it cools him off enough. Anyone ever use any type of these? Hubby is gonna roll his eyes when he sees my quote “spoiled worse than my daughter” dog sporting this! LOL
This is the one I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/Ruffwear-Swamp-Cooler-X-Large-Graphite/dp/B00B23PNR4/ref=pd_sim_sbs_petsupplies_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ENET9093H2WXBVFFQQ5
I have something similar for my black lab mix for the summer - he has a cool coat which is white - and it reflects the sun off of him. Its mesh and I can also dunk it in water and soak him with it. When I am at shows or clinics, I keep it in my cooler till I need it, then I put it on him and keep wetting it as needed. I think it helps.
I’ve been looking at these for my black lab/boxer cross. I’ve been doing agility with him, and he just loses his drive and gets a little vacant looking when the weather is hot. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the cooling vests that depend on evaporation won’t help much in humid conditions–just like scraping the hot water off after you hose a horse, if the water can’t evaporate b/c the air is already saturated, you will get insulation instead of cooling.
Will be interested to hear how it works for you!
I bought one at Petsmart on a whim - it was on sale - this spring and used it one day, when we hadn’t put in all the A/C yet but the weather was suddenly warm. It definitely worked; my dog is elderly and shaggy and suffers in the heat, and there was a visible difference in her demeanor after she’d had it on a while. I wouldn’t rely on it to keep her safe outside in the heat; she was also lying indoors in front of a fan. But for a warm, dry day it was useful to get her cooled down a bit more. I can’t see it working in humidity, though. The weather turned cooler but more humid the next day; dog didn’t need the vest but it took about a week to dry completely.
I looked into those for my dog, but I don’t think they really work in the humidity… and my environment is very humid.
Let us know how they work for your GSD!
I know it’s probably not what you want to hear and it sounds like you’re keeping up with the coat maintenance. . . .but have you considered shaving him for the really hot months? Especially since you and he enjoy being active?
If the coat fits over his back, then it won’t do much good. Besides panting, dogs lose heat through their pads and bellies. Running cool water over his pads and belly/thighs will help cool him down much better than a coat that goes over his fur. One thing I used to do when I was tracking and field trialing my dogs was to freeze a liter bottle of water and put it in their crate to help cool them down. I would also sugest cutting back on the exercise during the summer months.
Have you considered a cooling pad for when you get back? Most dogs gravitate to it. As wireweiners said earlier, dogs get cool through their bellies and their pads, so laying on a cool pad will cool them down quickly. This particular system works by circulating cool water from a “cooling system” to the pad. It operates on 4 D batteries that last up to 75 hours of use. Plus the dog doesn’t get wet, so you do not have to worry about the evaporation issue in high humidity. I think it is a great system for those of us who take their dogs to working events, field trials, shows and even camping, where we cannot always rely on air conditioning.
http://www.shopforpuppy.com/AKOMA_Hound_Cooler_HC_1001_p/hc-1001.htm
I have the swamp cooler for my boston and it works very well. I live in a dry climate which probably helps. You need to be able to wet it if it dries with bottles of water or I have used creek water too. Had one for boxers as well … Highly recommend.
