Dog cooling vest

[wanda573]

Hi,

I have a Shitzu who overheats easily when he goes for walks. Has anyone tried either a gel or some other kind of cooling harness vest for the dog to wear on walks? I have tried getting his vest wet with water and wringing it out. I can't say that really provides much relief from the heat. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks for your help.

[wanda573]

Thank you for all of your suggestions and info. I will give them a try. I only walk him early morning, and late evening for his potty breaks on any day with temp.past 70. According to my Fitbit, his walks are only about 600 steps each. The rest of his potty breaks are in our shady backyard. He's definitely enjoys the A/C.

[Bionic_Man]

rockhillmanor wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
We use one of these for our dogs on our boat. https://www.rei.com/product/855790/ruffwear-swamp-cooler-cooling-dog-vest?cm_mmc=cse_PLA_GOOG-_-8557900002&CAWELAID=120217890000815446&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_PLA_GOOG

Bought on Amazon for cheaper. Our dark color dog used to be miserable, but he now does well. Haven't yet tried it on a walk.

Here's link:
https://www.rei.com/product/855790/ruffwear-swamp-cooler-cooling-dog-vest?

This cooler dog vest is based on the same thing we did years ago when showing dogs in the south only more expensive. :W
We took a bathroom towel the size of the dog and cut out a vest to fit, including a strap for underneath with sewed on velcro catch.

We put the entire towel vest completely submerged and soaked in a small cooler with water and ice cubes. We'd bring that little cooler ring side. A must have if you had a black dog!

When the dog started getting overheated standing waiting to go in the ring, we would pull out the wet iced towel vest and put it on them.

Drops their body temperature back to normal to keep them from heat stroking and the whole swamp cooling theory of air over the wet towel 'kept' them cool.

OP: Shitzu's are one of several breed's of dog that really should NOT be walked on hot days.

""...Breathing difficulties may also occur because of an abnormally small windpipe (or trachea), another characteristic common to brachycephalic breeds.

Some of the more common brachycephalic breeds are the pug, bulldog, boxer, chihuahua, and shih tzu....""

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_multi_brachycephalic_airway_syndrome

Thanks for adding the link. I will say that there is another difference between this and a towel. This vest also seems to have some reflective properties. More important with a dark colored dog.

[rockhillmanor]

Bionic Man wrote:
We use one of these for our dogs on our boat. https://www.rei.com/product/855790/ruffwear-swamp-cooler-cooling-dog-vest?cm_mmc=cse_PLA_GOOG-_-8557900002&CAWELAID=120217890000815446&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_PLA_GOOG

Bought on Amazon for cheaper. Our dark color dog used to be miserable, but he now does well. Haven't yet tried it on a walk.

Here's link:
https://www.rei.com/product/855790/ruffwear-swamp-cooler-cooling-dog-vest?

This cooler dog vest is based on the same thing we did years ago when showing dogs in the south only more expensive. :W
We took a bathroom towel the size of the dog and cut out a vest to fit, including a strap for underneath with sewed on velcro catch.

We put the entire towel vest completely submerged and soaked in a small cooler with water and ice cubes. We'd bring that little cooler ring side. A must have if you had a black dog!

When the dog started getting overheated standing waiting to go in the ring, we would pull out the wet iced towel vest and put it on them.

Drops their body temperature back to normal to keep them from heat stroking and the whole swamp cooling theory of air over the wet towel 'kept' them cool.

OP: Shitzu's are one of several breed's of dog that really should NOT be walked on hot days.

""...Breathing difficulties may also occur because of an abnormally small windpipe (or trachea), another characteristic common to brachycephalic breeds.

Some of the more common brachycephalic breeds are the pug, bulldog, boxer, chihuahua, and shih tzu....""

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_multi_brachycephalic_airway_syndrome

[Bionic_Man]

We use one of these for our dogs on our boat. https://www.rei.com/product/855790/ruffwear-swamp-cooler-cooling-dog-vest?cm_mmc=cse_PLA_GOOG-_-8557900002&CAWELAID=120217890000815446&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_PLA_GOOG

Bought on Amazon for cheaper. Our dark color dog used to be miserable, but he now does well. Haven't yet tried it on a walk.

[windinmyface2]

they make a cooling vest for motorcycle riders. It is soaked in water for 20 minutes. maybe you could adapt one for your pup.

[Happytraveler]

If it was up to me I wouldn't walk the dog, maybe small walks to go to the bathroom! The dog gets stressed out especially if you have to go through all this. The poor thing has medical problems.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

What about simply getting the dog wet? The evaporative cooling off his fur should help?? I'm thinking that the cooling effect from dampening fabric will be negated by the insulating effect of the dog's fur? Also - make sure the fur on the bottoms of his feet are trimmed short (one of the few places they can sweat); and the long fur on the inside of his ears is trimmed back. My daughter's Shih-tzu likes to flap his ears backward when he's hot 🙂

[wanda573]

We got him from a shelter and he had heartworms. It took several treatments to get rid of them. Our vet was not sure how much damage the heart worms did to his lungs. However in temperatures below 60-65 he doesn't do the fast panting. When it gets warmer I walk him in the coolest AM and PM times. Just thought I would check with other dog owners to see if their dog experienced this problem and wondered if they tried one of the cooling vest.

[gbopp]

Did you have your dog checked to make sure there is not a medical problem?