Dog Days of...Spring???
Well, it's not quite the "dog days of summer," which, if you have a Sibe in your family, summer is not really the season of dog days, winter is...but, anyhow, here on the East Coast it's been pretty warm, reaching 90 during the day, and only dropping down to 60 at night. We didn't really have a true spring yet, so the temps do this drastic one-day-it's-40, the-next-it's-90 kind of jump. No gradual temps here. While the warmer weather is nice for the Hu-family, it is always a challenge to keep our Sibe kids cool. Of course for our big wooly Sibe boy, Gibson, we keep an extra eye on him so he doesn't overheat and have a seizure (he is the epileptic and runs way warmer than the other four clocking in at 113 pounds!). He gets one of the cool waterbeds in his kennel; the rest will as we get closer to summer, but since he runs really warm, he gets his a little earlier. His routine includes checking out all the rooms to see if it's cooler on the floor under the fan in the living room, on the floor under the fan in the kitchen, but then usually makes his way down to the much cooler Husky bedroom in the downstairs family room. There he takes a very long nap on his cooler bed in his crate, under a fan! The crate door is left open so he comes and goes as he pleases - usually it pleases him to just stay there until it's absolutely necessary for him to get up and go out! So for cooling aids for winter-loving Sibes, there are some great cooler beds out there; there are also fans, a/c (yes, ours have their very own a/c in their very own bedroom!), and most recently, out came their pool. Only a few inches of water actually got in before they were in it, splashing, running through the yard, digging in the dirt, then back into the pool. The pups even have their own version of "tag" that includes slip-sliding into and out of the pool, around the yard, and back. The pool is kept out on "their" deck (which just had a roof put on to give them more shade - I kid you not!) and throughout the day they come and go and play and splash and sometimes just stand in it to cool off their paw pads.
Another good "cooling" tip is to keep crushed ice in their fresh water throughout the day. They love chomping on the bits of ice and it helps keep the water cooler longer.
Does anyone else have any good tips for their Sibes to beat the heat? I'd love to hear them. Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and cool!
The only thing I can tell you is what Beth does for me....she makes the air conditioner go colder....I like that....
ReplyDeleteHaving just come in from a very warm walk, this was a perfect post. The water bowls have been emptied, Ciara spilled some to lie in. Phantom is on the hardwood floor, and Thunder is under the fan on the carpet. Ice cubes are very welcome:)
ReplyDeleteWoos - Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
Woooos! I had one of those cool beds, but never used it. I like the cool ceramic tile with a ceiling fan on and the air conditioning cold! A nice swim is fun too!
ReplyDelete~husky kisses~
-Kira The BeaWootiful
Mom feels the same about this 'spring' -
ReplyDeleteI'm not an ice khube girl BUT I do love to splash in my water bowl -
I like the shade on the cement patio - it stays khool
BUT I have been known to be pretty silly and nap in the sun too -
I have a kiddie pool fur when it gets really warm -
Thanks fur sharing how woo handle it!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
Khady lays on the a/c vents. I like to lay in the basement on the cool tile floor. We tend to stay inside as much as possible and only go outside to do our business. Ice cubes are definitely a plus!
ReplyDeleteHolly
Our parents crank the AC for us; I like to lay right on the vent, like Khady.
ReplyDeleteExercise in the early morning or at night, then lounge around during the heat of the day!
Luv,
Dave
It's still been cool here in Seattle. Last summer, we had about a week of 100 degree days and we don't have air conditioning in our house. So during the day, we stayed in front of a big fan and Mom froze a big container full of water and used that to keep our water bowl cool. Then after work, she let us swim and we went for car rides to get some A/C.
ReplyDeleteKat