Yeah, it's been stupid hot in California for the last week. It was 111 here on Sunday and today was the first day under 100 in several days...it was still 96. Supposed to be 102 for the next two or three days.

A good article on dogs and water http://www.yukonquest.com/site/water-water-everywhere/

Also if you don't feed with water try offering baited water about 2 hours after the dog has been fed -this is often when the dog is thirstiest so is a good time to offer the baited water as the dog will take in more. Even though eating/drinking habits are largely genetic you can kind of train in some habitual drinking habits by offering water at the the right times.

Also remember dogs are not horses so they can be watered when they are hot - if his system is not ready for it he will just puke it up. Most dogs will generally cool down for a couple of minutes and then drink when they are ready but you don't have to totally cool them down before drinking.

Alyssa: I am so sorry you had to go through this with Danke.
I am so glad that she is okay. Thank you for reminding us to
watch out " For the Heat". Here in Alabama the temps last
week were near 100 and humidity near the same. Luna and I
still played ball many times during the day but only for
5 to 7 minutes at a time. Luna has a wash tub that I keep
full of fresh water not only for drinking but she likes to
play in it and its in the shade on my porch (converted dog pen)
its not fun having to fill it up many times a day but worth it
watching her play and sling water all over. This cools her
down as she throws water under her chest and dunks her head,
cute to watch and great to have in this horrible heat wave.
Best of Luck to you and Danke.
Betty Reavis

Even though we are out of the nasty tree pollen season that caused Danke itchy-issues earlier this year, I think I will refill the water trough for belly wettings to cool down.

How terrible! I'm thinking good thoughts and hope Danke recovers soon.

Karen G.

Just catching up on this thread - Alyssa, SO glad Danke is alright, and good work for getting her to the e-vet so quickly! It's no fun having a sick dog, but a sick dog that needs emergency care must be even scarier... thank you for sharing this story and providing so many good reminders about keeping our dogs out of harms way.

And props to everyone else who's contributed such good suggestions! I have a camel as well who really only drinks from his water bowl maybe once a week. This started right after we switched to raw, and I consequently started pouring water over every meal - which he most happily laps up in any quantity. I will be extra cautious now of PRE activity hydration though, and start checking the ole gums more often... luckily I have a pretty self limiting dog who only runs himself into the ground if the squirrel chasing opportunities are prime - under all other circumstances he's a champ at finding a shady spot to lay down and keep himself cool and very well rested!

One note for people who give their dogs water ice "treats" of any sort - I was told by Oscar's dentist that ice cubes are very high on her list of no-nos because of their risk for causing teeth fractures in the dogs that crunch them up, vs. just licking them. I imagine this isn't a problem for a really large block of ice (or a substance like frozen yogurt, which doesn't freeze as rock solid as water), but if you're giving "chewable" sized ice cubes of frozen water, you might want to keep an eye on the dog's teeth for any signs of damage. I'm not sure if I believe they're THAT dangerous, but I have been cautious since visiting that dentist.

~Natalya

The other option to prevent tooth damage from ice is to let the ice begin to melt (and therefore become more porous and soft) prior to giving them to the dog.

Heat Injury Information, courtesy of Uncle Sam:
http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/doem/pgm34/HIPP/HeatRiskManGuideMar04.pdf