Tips to keep a dog cool at a summer show

[hermann muenster]

We had a bit of good luck this afternoon -- it rained and cooled the air temp down to the 80's. Humidity was high - but it was much better than the 90's!!

The block of ice trick worked great!! I froze water in 9x13 cake pans, wrapped them in garbage bags and lined the back of my station wagon with them! Eight of them made a very large area for the dog to lay on. I covered them with a terry towels and let the dog lay on them. She loved it! Her tummy was nice and cool -- but not freezing cold! After 6 hours - the blocks were still in good shape! I think the plastic and towels acted as insulation for the ice. The mess was minimal because the towels absorbed all of the melting. Next time I wouldn't make as many blocks (6 would have been plenty) and I might consider arranging them on the ground so make the cleanup even easier!!

I used a wet bandana too. That really helped.

And --- here is my best tip of all -----
since my dog gets nervous and won't drink when she is out -- I brought some liversausage and smeared a little on my hand and then put scoops of water in my hand. The dog enjoyed lapping up the ice water to get to the sausage! The only downfall with this tip is that my hands still smell like braunschweiger!!!