Keeping Your Dog Cool In Summer

Keeping your dog cool.

Hi everyone, hope you’re staying cool and safe now that summer has officially arrived and it’s going to be hot, hot, hot!
This month I thought I would share a few favourite treats with you all, they are super easy and cheap for your humans to make, but will keep you cool, amused and exercised for hours.

My absolute favourite treat is the frozen treat ball, not only is it cool and full of treats, but I can roll it around as much as I like and try to gnaw away at the ice to get to the really tasty parts. Apparently the ball is a bit harder to make than the cube, but sooooo worth the trouble in my paws.

What your humans will need to do:

Prepare some tasty treats, some broth or stock and even some small toys if that’s where your entertainment runs.
You will also need a balloon, size is dependant on how long you want the treat to last and the size of the dog. Personally I love HUGE balloons, but sometimes there’s too much food in the freezer for it to fit. And a container for the balloon to sit in while freezing.

Fill the balloon with a small amount of water and some treats, place in the container and freeze for at least an hour.

Pour more water, or the broth/stock, in the balloon, add more treats/toys. Place back in container and freeze again.

Get them to continue adding water or broth/stock and treats/toys until the balloon is the size you want

Allow to freeze overnight

In the morning get your humans to peel the balloon off the frozen ball and place it outside for you. Some humans get a little funny about carrying a frozen ball (apparenetly it’s cold) and they throw it, but this just breaks it up before you have a chance to enjoy it fully so keep an eye on them if you do have a thrower in the house and try to ensure they place it instead.

If your humans don’t want to use the balloon they can use an ice cream container to make a cube instead. If they are really keen they can also curl some rope in the bottom of the container before freezing and then use the remaining rope to hang the cube from a patio beam or a tree branch too so that it is harder to grab hold and gnaw at, sometimes I like the added challenge and sometimes I love to roll that ball around and try to get to all the treats and toys I can see in the ice.

During the really hot days I don’t’ always feel like eating so sometimes my human realises it’s just too hot and sticky for my normal meal and instead pulls a bone out of the freezer.

Oh, and the bone broth … not sure whether it does anything to help me, but I love the taste .. and the meat that falls off the bones in the cooking process. I have made it known I would like to test this for quite some time yet, to truly get a feel for just how beneficial it is to me 

Don’t forget, over the festive season not to eat too much human food. Some of their food makes us doggies, and our moggy friends, very sick so best to avoid them altogether (for more info on this you can visit http://www.pethealth.com.au/Page/human-foods-that-poison-pets). The rest, everything in moderation is the key.
And try not to play with the Christmas tree too much, apparently that is a very touchy subject with most humans, not sure why when they bring a tree into the house!

Also, if you tend to be a little stressed with lots of people in your home why not ask your humans to organise a safe place for you go when things get crazy. Somewhere quiet that you won’t be harassed by visiting people or pets. I find my crate, in a quite part of the house is ideal, however if you don’t have a crate then a room, or an area of the yard where people don’t go is ideal. When we are at our grandparents and it is best to avoid all the craziness we have the entire side of the house away from kids running around and the temptation of food dropped on the floor, we can then come out and say hi when we, and the visitors, are all calm, but if we don’t want to socialise we can stay right where we are.

High paw and woofs to everyone, your friend,
Morf