keeping your chow cool?

[nicoleirene]

hello! it doesn't get terribly hot where i am located compared to some area's, about 90 maybe in the summer. It is about 65 out right now on the nice non rainy days but i have noticed the other day it was around 71 and she was already panting and drinking water like crazy, i understand with alot of fur she gets hot quickly, but i want to know tips or tricks that Chow owners use to keep there pup's cool. I regularly groom her with a shedding/detangling brush and ive heard that cuts down on heat as well, always keep her where there is plenty of shade (even though she stick right to my side) and have a self watering bowl or "automatic watering bowl" i also have a little blue kiddie pool filled up that i change the water in regularly. anything else you've learned that will help i greatly appreciate, just wanting to keep my girl as comfortable as possible with the heat!

[Sirchow]

A friend of mine who lives in a somewhat hotter place than Scotland has a fan that blows out a mist of water at the same time and her chows love that. She also clips their tummies so they can put them down on the cool stone floor in her kitchen.

[MissV]

i'm in South Africa where its effing hot all the time.
My chowlie isnt as plushy as most, so keeping her cool isnt such a problem. If its a boiling hot day, we hose her down a little with a fine mist - and she goes and plonks herself down in front of the fan. Thats her favourite

ps. Aircon all the way!

[Cam Atis]

Weather here in my country is between 80 to 98 degrees fahrenheit. Cassie is being bathed every 3 weeks. And I always leave her a gallon of freshwater everyday. She is always wet underneat but i just let her be because the heat will dry her coat in an hour or less. It is summer now. Anyway, weather pattern are changing so even though it is summer we still got heavy rain showers. It is awful hot before the rain.
Grooming cassie is once a week or 2x. She is not allowed to go out when it is hot. Just early morning, afternoon and night time when it is cooler.

[Victory]

Minnesota has the weirdest weather, it's cold and snowy in the fall/winter/spring, (well most years anyway) and hot and humid in the summer, we can easily get into the high 80s, low 90s with humidity almost the same, or at least well over 70%. And that's really what you have to watch for, they can handle dry hear to a certain extent, but the humidity is what really gets to them. (can cause heat stroke and death very easily) Mine are kept in during those days except for the early morning or late evening hours when it is cooler. If we do go out at any other time it is a potty break only, 15-20 minutes max, no running or chasing things either. A/C runs 24/7 during these times, and even in the new apartment, there are tiled floors in the kitchen and bathroom which will remain bare, so they can lay down there and cool off. Plenty of water, and of course keep the under coat combed well, even when it is growing out, keeping it from being matted allows air to get to the skin, the longer guard hairs trap the cool air close to the skin and that helps too. Also don't worry if the appetite fades a bit, it's normal for a chow not to eat so much when it is too hot and they aren't moving around as much. Not a concern if you are feeding dry only, but if you are adding wet food, cut back on it a little if they don't finish it. As the heat will spoil it and you don't want them eating spoiled food.

[Ursa's daddy]

I am here in south Mississippi, and it can get very humid and warm. My wife clipped both of our chows to about 1/2 inch (12mm) when they started to shed. She does not like to fool with all the hair. They have lots of water in bowls which are all around. They typically stay in the back, which is fenced. They have access to the screened porch, which is well shaded, the deck, which is either sunny or shaded depending on the time of day, or can go out into the grass and be under the shrubs. We also will open the screen door and allow them to come into the breezeway if they want. The floor is concrete and usually cool. Once the weather warms up enough to turn on the A/C they spend time inside the house. My wife is retired, and I am semi-retired, (That really means I can't find a full time job in this economy) so there is usually someone here. They are not shy about speaking up should they want either in or out during the day.
Sirchow mentioned a water spray system. http://www.orbitonline.com/mist-cooling/ I had purchased a mist system for the dog house when I was in Savannah, but never hooked it up. I may hook it up this year to spray on the planters on the deck. The dogs do like to stay on the deck, so that would help keep it cool.

[Piff Poff]

My kennel lady is ordering a cool mat for Henry from her suppliers. I was telling her that Henry was hot the other night and kept us awake stomping around all night (we don't like to let him out ALL night long. He had to go for a playdate on Monday and his kennel Mom said about these gel cool mats that are paw activated. I bet Henry ignores it and still stomps though.