How To Keep Your Siberian Husky Cool During Summer

It’s important to make keep your Siberian Husky cool during the summer months and here are 4 easy tips you can implement today.

From the moment we brought Suede home, we automatically treated him as another member of our family. From vet appointments to a special diet, we do our best to ensure that he is as healthy as possible. Since we live in the south, we also keep a close eye on the weather conditions. 

In the south, it gets really hot in the summer so we adjust Suede’s schedule to accommodate for the weather. So if you have a Siberian husky puppy or any dog breed, you should be aware of the health complications that dogs can experience when they aren’t kept cool and/or are in extremely hot conditions for long periods of time.

So keep reading to learn some things to be aware of with your dogs in the summer heat and to learn how you can keep your furry friend healthy and happy all summer long. Before we get into the tips, I want to share a few signs that your dog may be experiencing a heat stroke. Heatstroke and heat exhaustion is extremely serious and it’s important that you know the signs.

Signs of Heat Stroke/Heat Exhaustion include:

Difficulty breathing
Diarrhea
Heavy panting
Seizures
Extreme fatigue

If your dog exhibits any of these signs, bring them to your vet immediately to get proper fluids and treatment for heatstroke.

1. Consistently Provide Fresh Clean Water

This tip may seem like a given but many pet parents don’t consider that if water is kept on the patio the water will get hot very quickly and your dog won’t be interested in it. Instead, put the dog’s water bowl on a cool spot on the patio, perhaps in the shade or under an umbrella. You also want to be sure to change the water often so it is always clean and fresh

A fun thing that we like to do for Suede is to put ice cubes in the water when we set the bowl out since it helps keep the water cooler for longer. Water is absolutely essential for your dog in the hot summer season. They need it to cool off and it will help prevent heatstroke.

2. Ensure That Your Husky Has Adequate Shade

Let’s face it, It might not be realistic for your dog to be indoors at all times, such as when you are at work or when you are letting your dog out to potty, get some fresh air or play.In these situations, make sure your dog has enough shade and cool areas outdoors. If you have cool grass with big trees, that is perfect. If not, try to create more shade either by getting tall potted trees or with a canopy set up. 

A good rule of thumb for the heat outside is if it feels hot to you, it feels hot to your dog. I believe this even more so since Suede’s coat is so thick. 

3. Adjust Your Routine

The next thing you might be wondering about is how and when to walk your dog in such warm weather. So what we did in the summertime was adjust our routine. We try to walk Suede during the coolest parts of the day. This often means taking for a walk early in the morning and late in the evening. No matter what time you go, you want to be sure to avoid the hottest time of the day, which is usually between noon and 4 pm, depending on where you live.

When walking your dog, you want to be mindful of hot surfaces. You should never let your dog walk on hot surfaces without testing the ground first. Surfaces like concrete and asphalt get very hot when the sun shines down on them. So if you can’t stand on it for more than a few seconds without feeling like your feet are burning, imagine your dogs walking on it on their bare footpads.

By walking on those hot surfaces your pup is at risk for dog pad burns. So we typically take our pup to the park or in a field that has a lot of cool grass so that he can run around and get exercise without burning his little paws.

4. Other Ways to Keep Your Siberian Husky Cool

In addition to the tips above, there are even more ways you can keep your dog cool and happy during the summer.

Another easy way that we keep our Siberian Husky Cool is by making fun little frozen snacks like chicken broth iced pops, frozen fruit, and peanut butter ice cubes. These are all foods that our dogs love but in yummy frozen form.

Another fun way we keep our husky cool is by putting a kiddy pool outside in a shady spot. It’s Suede’s favorite way to cool off and love to play in the water. We just fill it up a little bit with some cold water from the hose and let him jump in and out as much as he wants during the summer.

There you have it!

4 ways to keep your Siberian Husky cool during the warm summer months.

Thinking about getting a Husky? Be sure to read this before getting a Siberian Husky and this puppy shopping list will have everything your puppy will need once you bring him (or her) home.