NOT SO DOG DAYS ......


Phew! it’s hot – lovely innit?

Well! for some of us, the chance to bask in a garden chair with a cool glass of something in our hands and the dog snoozing happily in the shade, can be a true delight accompanied by those wonderful sounds of summmer - but in real life it is jumbo jets thundering over head,  police and ambulance sirens screaming; lawn mowers, strimmers; neighbours' kids screaming the place down and those radios placed on the window ledge and turned up full blast playing house music while the occupant sits inside; the smell of charred flesh and lighter fuel from next door's barbeque...........hmmm! definitely the sounds and smells of summer in urban London.

Sadly, these summer days of  extreme heat can be brutal to your dog. Excessive heat can make your dog's life a misery because they can't control the temperature.  They get restless, just can't seem to get comfortable; they pant a lot, can't settle.  One reason for this is that your dog wears a ready made full length fur coat all year round.  Its no good saying "Ah! but they are used to it."  They are not, especially when we have freak temperatures of 32 degrees. Something that none of us is used to.

While dogs do have sweat glands on their feet, they don't have them on the rest of their body so they rely on panting - a method of breathing out excess heat - to cool themselves down.  This is not as excessive as sweating but in extreme temperatures of heat, they can't cope.

I am sure  that everyone has their own favourite methods of cooling down their dogs and making the days comfortable for them.

Here are few of my favourite tips.

My dogs have the luxury of sleeping with a fan blowing full on them.  They all look comfortable, blissful and chilled. Talk about a 5-star lifetyle!

I cool them down after their walks by using a wet cloth on their  heads, chests, paws and stomach areas.  Its rather like you wetting yourself down with a wet flannel. It feels soooooo cooling.

I have a children's paddling pool in the garden filled with water and they jump in and out having a wonderful time.

I carry a bottle of water in the car so that they can have a drink after their strenuous and exciting walks of  dog blog reading and pee-mail sniffing. That's hot and tiring stuff for any dog!

Many dogs suffer from hay fever in the heat and they snuffle and snort alarmingly.  When it seems they are having great problems clearing their nose and having difficulty breathing, give them some human help. Simply use your thumb to rub the indent of their nose up and down then follow up with a wet cloth gently pressed against the snout. (this gets rid of pollen and other dry bits and pieces that are causing the snorting).

If the snorting continues, an antihistimine tablet, such as Piriton, in their dish of food or in a piece of cheese, will help considerably. And before you squawk that 'you shouldn't give human medication to dogs', that is exactly what the vets will prescribe.

I buy a bag of ice cubes from the supermarket and store it in the freezer.   A handful in my dog's water dish gives them nice, cold water to lap up when they are thirsty.   Occasionally we all have iced milk lollies to lick. Yummy!

And need I remind you that no dog should be left in a car, even with all the windows open.  If you park in a shady spot, do remember that the sun can swing around and the car will get the full blast of hot sun that can heat up to the temperature of a furnace.  

Much better idea to leave the dog at home.

And finally..........I know this has no connection with dogs, but it is such a wonderful clip that I felt you should all share it.

As a child, growing up in different parts of West Africa,  every July we would see drunken scenes like these when the Merula tree fruit (or Mow-wah as it was known locally), would come into fruit. Birds, insects, reptiles and animals would go on a drunken binge and react exactly as humans with hangovers.

biggeekdad.com/2011/07/happy-hour-in-africa/

                                                       Enjoy............. until the next blog.

                                                               Dawn ("")