1. Keep your dog hydrated
First and foremost, keep your dog hydrated. This is pretty obvious, but my pets go through water quickly in the summer, so I have to keep an eye on the water bowl at all times and refill as necessary. On particularly hot days, I’ll add some ice cubes to the bowl.
2. Purchase a kiddie pool for your dogs
Angie has no time for water (unless she is drinking it), but Kira is all about splashing around. If your dog is more of a Kira than an Angie, I recommend getting one of those cheap, plastic, child-sized pools for them to wade or lie in. Not only are you cooling them off, you could even sneak in a secret bath!
“What? No. This isn’t a bath! This is playtime!” your dog screams. “See how you’re not in a tub? This is a completely different thing!”
3. Use evaporation to your advantage
The whole point of sweating is evaporation. You sweat, it evaporates, and with it goes heat. It’s physics.
It’s a cruel trick on our four-legged friends that they can only sweat through an extremely small percentage of their body. Given that they have less area to work with, it would be nice if the heat could evaporate faster, no?
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) has a much lower boiling point than water and thus evaporates much more quickly. If you suspect that your dog needs some help lowering his or her body temperature, give those paws a swipe with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol.
Don’t overdo it though; alcohol can get a little drying.