Well a heatwave is upon us here in BC and since it is so hot it has forced me to cut our exercise down to twice a day aside from 3.

I would normally take her out right after work but now instead we sit in the air conditioning while she drives the cat crazy.

I try to work on obedience and tug games , little bit of fetch I doors but never hold her attention long enough to tire her out.

What do you guys do to beat the heat and have fun indoors?

I'm not concerned just looking for fun ideas.

Walk early and after the sun goes down.
In my experience, dogs adjust to less exercise due to heat.

Kiddy pools filled with water and ice are fun for dogs when it is hot.

I have tile from the kitchen, thru to the entry and straight down the hall, so it's a good sized area...and I'll slide ice cubes from the kitchen all the way down the hall where my two will either chase them or be at the end ready for them to hop the carpet edger thing and launch the ice cube into the air so they can catch them. All I have to say is "you guys want ice?!" and they run into position, haha. If you try this, make sure they eat the entire thing. More than once I've gotten into bed and found it to be wet from where Kohdi didn't finish one

Ami is a slug in the heat we have had this summer. Not interested in more than a brief walk late at night. In the worst of it he spent the days in our bed in front of the air conditioner (mind you, we don't use it for ourselves during the day...but the dog? Now that's a different story.

I am wishing tundra was a slug during the day lol maybe I should turn down the central air.

early morning walks, kiddie pools or a nice romp through the sprinkles. Leo is usually very lazy during the summer month he only wants to walk no playing during that time of the year.

I have the Ruffwear swamp vest for my dogs. It does well for temps under 90. Once it gets over 90 it's hard to keep the water on them for very long. I find the swamp vests are ideal for hour walks in the 85 degree range.

My husband thinks our house NEEDS to be an icebox in the summer and that has actually made tolerating heat much harder on my dogs. last summer my husband worked different hours and wasn't around as much to whine about the temperature of the house. This summer he's around much more and refuses to have anything set above icebox grade. They don't have near the tolerance for the heat they had last year. Acclimation goes a long way to being able to function in the heat of day.

TwisterII wrote:

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Acclimation goes a long way to being able to function in the heat of day.

Very definitely a true statement, Jenn! It amazes me when the folks 'up north' talk about their dogs being rugs at 70+ and mine (and other hot climate folks) are just getting started.

Avalanche will sun bathe at 90 and, while he checks in for water, will spend a couple of hours running around the house. Sasha with her heavy coat is a lot more apt to be a rug, but even she's out and about at 80+ The new addition, well, she likes it on the cool side still but figure that will change in time.

Obviously I don't run them - it's seldom cool enough to even think about a scooter, etc - but getting them out for a walk in the evening, when it's often still in the 90's is a way of life here.

Adaptability, thy name is Dog.

We're in Florida where it's 95+ right now; even at 5am, temperatures are in the high 80's.

Anya has adapted well; we go for a long walk in the morning and another late at night.

If she's hyper, we do some indoor games:
1. We're in a fairly small apartment, but if we open the bedroom door to the living room, there's a good 20 feet. So my husband and I will sit at either end with a few kibbles, and will take turns calling her. She sprints in between us. We'll add tricks and obstacles if she seems to be bored of it.
2. Obedience/agility course: We make use of our space and make her do obstacle courses. She has to jump on the couch, jump off, jump over pillows, crawl under a box then hop into the bed. We'll do that five or six times.
3. Fill up the bath tub with a couple inches of water and heavy bones. She splashes and digs for the bones and tuckers herself out.
4. We'll put on her backpack and fill it with ice packs and go to PetSmart or other dog-friendly stores. We'll walk the store for a half hour or so, and the weight helps tire her out while staying in air conditioning.

Artemis doesn't mind the heat that much. I guess she just got used to it? She has a pool that I put water in, and on really hot days I run over to the gas station and get a bag of ice. She thinks that is the best. Pasha, on the other hand, will do *nothing*. He refuses to move himself off of the air vent from about 12pm-6pm. He also hates water, so that put a damper on that. We have a fairly shady yard, so they will run and play with balls and things. The walking track here that allows dogs is also very shady and runs along the river, so that is usually fine for Artemis.

In the house, we have the air conditioner. I put their crates close together and put a large blanket over the sides and back. I have a blower fan, like the ones that you use to dry paint in houses, that I point in there at them. I place it near the air vent, so it gets extra cool air. They seem pleased with that, and sleep soundly through the night.