The British weather never fails to keep us on our toes; one minute we're drowning and covered in mud and the next it's a mini heatwave.
Although we all love to see the sun, the heat can be difficult for dogs to adjust to and potentially dangerous too. We're sharing our favourite ways to keep them cool and relaxed.
Cooling accessories
You can of course buy fancy cooling coats and vests but if you don't have one of those, grab a bandana, wet it, pop it in the fridge or freezer for a few mins and pop on your dog. As the water evaporates, they'll stay nice and cool. This also works with t-shirts but make sure you take them off as soon as they're dry, otherwise they'll make your dog hotter not cooler.
Create a cool den
Why not create your dog a quiet area in your home with their bed, some water (with ice cubes) and a fan. The best thing they can do when it's hot is rest. If you have a cooling mat pop that in their den too.
Don't be afraid to skip walks
If it's too hot for them to walk, then stay home and do some sniffing and enrichment type activities instead. We like to scatter treats in long grass or a snuffle mat in the shade. 10 minutes sniffing can be just as tiring as an hour's walk.
Frozen treats
Prepare ahead and pop some frozen treats in your freezer. Our tracheas stuffed with pate are a great hot day treat as are frozen lickmats with pate grated onto them. For a longer lasting treat, why not freeze kongs or toppls stuffed with pate, treats and a little water, greek yoghurt or dog friendly bone broth.
Paddling pool
Dogs sweat through their paws so keep those little toe beans cool. If you don't have a paddling pool, just a large bowl of water will do. Encourage them to splash in the water (a few treats to fish out usually does the trick).
Let us know how you keep your dogs cool on a hot day and as always share any photos with us on social media.