How to Keep Your Dog Cool in Hot Weather

May 02, 2025•8 min read

Warm weather in the summer months is lovely, and something that people up and down the country enjoy by getting outdoors, often with our four-legged friends in tow! It's great to be able to experience the joys of summer weather with our pets, but it's equally important to keep in mind their safety when temperatures begin to really rise.

In this post, I'm going to recap for you some information about Heatstroke, and give you some tips and training advice for keeping your dog cool on hot days!

How to Keep Your Dog Cool in Hot Weather

The Risks of High Temperatures

How Do I Keep my Dog Safe in Hot Weather?

Preventative Measures

Regular Active Cooling

Scentwork and Decompression

Resources

The Risks of High Temperatures

Temperature chart showing approximate risk level at various temperatures

Unfortunately, really hot days pose a considerable threat to dogs. Some are more susceptible to heat-related illness (HRI) than others, including older dogs, those with flat faces (like pugs or bulldogs), dogs with thicker coats, or dogs who are overweight [5][6]. However, all dogs have the potential to suffer from heatstroke, and although this could occur at any time of year, it becomes more likely that a dog could develop an HRI during periods of high temperature.

The majority of heatstroke cases are triggered by exercise, with over half of all cases included in the 2022 VetsNow study attributed to exercise in hot weather [1]. Other triggers for heatstroke include being confined to a hot, unventilated environment such as a car, conservatory, or small room, and stress [6][7]. According to the VetsNow study findings, "This suggests that owners should consider actively cooling their dogs as a standard preventative measure against HRI during periods of high ambient temperature, particularly for dogs that are brachycephalic and/or double coated."[1]

Heatstroke is often fatal, with 102 of the 384 confirmed cases in the aforementioned study sadly resulting in fatality for the dog [1]. Even if a dog survives heatstroke, unfortunately damage suffered to the internal organs can cause lifelong complications, and this could lead to reduced quality of life, and further expense in the form of veterinary treatment or medications.

How Do I Keep my Dog Safe in Hot Weather?

Preventative Measures

Here are a few things that you can do when it's hot to reduce the risk of your dog becoming too hot.

Restricting Activity

As mentioned above, the majority of heatstroke cases are triggered by exercise in hot weather. Therefore, it makes sense to consider restricting activity when temperatures are high as a way of reducing the risk of heatstroke developing.

This will look different for everybody - for those of you who carry a ball with you on every walk, leaving that at home is going to be key when it's hot out! Here are a few key restrictions you could consider:

Reducing the length of walks, or skipping walks altogether
Keeping dogs on-lead rather than allowing them off-lead to limit activity whilst walking
Leaving toys at home (yes, especially the ball thrower!)
Choosing solo instead of group walks / meetups to avoid excessive play

Avoiding Peak Temps

When it's forecast to be hot, it's always advisable to try to avoid exercising and outings during the peaks of those temperatures. This relies on checking the weather reports regularly, and keeping an eye on not only how the temperature is due to change hourly, but also what the 'real feel' is due to be, which takes into account other variables including wind.

A good rule of thumb to follow is that during the Summer, it's often best to do your walks early in the morning, or late in the evening. If walking in the evening, take care when using pavements or roads as these can retain heat from the sun long after exposure, meaning that even if it's past sunset, the floor may still be too hot for your dog's paws.

Avoiding Travel

Being confined to a small, un-ventilated space in hot weather is one of the top triggers for heatstroke, and a car can easily fit that bill, even when in use! It's important to always take steps to make that environment as cool as possible if needed, but if it's possible to avoid travel in high temperatures, especially longer journeys, then it's better to do so.

Similarly, if using public transport, it's unlikely that you'll find trains or buses particularly cool, and you should also consider the movement in-between vehicles which could expose your dog to those high temperatures even if the transport is cooler.

Useful Equipment

My favourite piece of equipment for keeping dogs cool in summer are cooling mats. You can buy these pretty much anywhere, including pet shops, supermarkets, and online retailers, and they’re great for use in the car and at home, particularly if you don’t have any cold flooring available such as tile.

One of the key ways that dogs will cool themselves is by laying ‘splatted’ out on the floor, with all of their limbs outstretched. They do this to expose the small bald patches under their armpits to the cool floor, and this helps to reduce their body temperature right down. I love cooling mats because they give a dog autonomy - cooling vests and shirts might work well for some, but I prefer an option that doesn’t involve adding extra layers to my dog’s body, and that they have a choice in using.

Active Measures

Here are some things that you can be doing when it’s hot to help maintain an even body temperature for your dog.

Head Dunk

This exercise was tested in a 2024 study which aimed to compare the effectiveness of different cooling techniques. Dogs were exercised until they became hot, at which point one of the chosen methods was used to try to bring their body temperature back down again.

The result of this study was that dogs who had been taught to voluntarily dunk their heads into cool water were able to cool off a lot faster than dogs who were cooled using other methods. According to the study;

“the head dunk… was the only protocol to immediately decrease core body temperature in the first 30 seconds of cooling. No other protocol prevented the initial rise in core body temperature after exercise. Additionally, the head dunk protocol led to the lowest temperatures in the initial postexercise time period, an important factor in treating heat injury.” [8]

This demonstrates the Head Dunk to be an invaluable skill for any dog to have, as it allows for rapid cooling and temperature stablisation after exercise, or even just on a particularly hot day even if the dog hasn’t been physically active.

Check out my video demonstrating how to teach your dog this skill below:

Regular Active Cooling

Offering your dog cold, fresh water at regular intervals throughout the day and particularly during periods of exercise is any important method of maintaining a cooler body temperature. If we save water until the end of a walk, we risk body temperatures peaking whilst we’re in the middle of the walk, whereas allowing the dog regular drinks as you go will help to keep it more even and cool.

If it’s very hot and you find that your dog is struggling even indoors at rest, you need to consider doing some active cooling. If possible, provide cooling surfaces such as a mat, and a fan or air cooling unit. You can also spritz your dog with cold water, or cool them with wet towels. If your dog is overheating, another effective method is to submerge their body into cold water. [7]

Scentwork and Decompression

Helping your dog to stay calm and relaxed can go a long way to reducing the risk of heatstroke. Scentwork is a great way to keep your dog busy and engaged, and offering decompression after activity will also help your dog to wind down and rest.

If you’re new to scentwork, try teaching your dog what ‘Find it!’ Means using my video, available here:

Hopefully you've found this article helpful, and have some good tips to take away with you into the summer months. Check out the resources below for further reading and information, and remember to always consult with your vet if you have concerns about your dog's health at any time.