Cool Ways to Keep Pets Comfortable During the Summer

Not just for kids! An oscillating sprinkler or shallow plastic swimming pool with 1 to 2 inches of water is the perfect resting spot for your dog on a hot, hot day (a pool makes for the perfect supply of drinking water, too). Keep it in the shade, rotate in fresh cold water every few hours, and persuade your pet to learn to love splashing.

Our favorite recipe for dog-friendly ice cream can be made well in advance, so it can be doled out all summer long. The combination of kefir, pumpkin, and banana is guaranteed to make mouths water (yours, too). Cut it into ice cream bars, or freeze the mixture in silicone cupcake liners so they’re easy to deliver on a hot afternoon.

Load submergible pet toys into a plastic container, and top it off with water — add a few food treats in there too, if you want. Once frozen, this icy block will provide hours of fun for your dog and it melts away, and they’re able to chew and lick their way to retrieve their treasures.

If you have to leave your dog at home on a long, hot day, keep the fresh water comin’! Use heavy-duty Velcro to attach a plastic bottle above your pet’s water dish. When the downward facing tip is submerged into the already-full water dish, it’ll continue to trickle out fresh water on demand as your pet rehydrates and depletes the supply. You can attach the upside down bottle directly to the wall above your pet’s dish, or create an "L-shaped" base for the auto-refill system using two pieces of wood, so the full water dish sits on the horizontal base, and the refill bottle connects to the vertical board. Tip: Freeze the refill bottle, and it’ll help to keep your pet’s water bowl chilled all day long.