Meet my dog Catty (more photos of her throughout this post).
Normally when I go camping I’d leave her at home with my family.
I just never knew enough about camping with dogs that made me comfortable bringing her.
But now that I’ve moved out, Catty will be coming with me on camping trips.
Since I’ve never taken her, I wanted to know a few things to help her have a good time.
That includes keeping her cool in the Florida heat.
I did some research and I learned a lot of great tips and tricks.
So, how can you keep your dog cool while camping? You can keep your dog cool by giving them plenty of water, providing shady spots for them to cool off in, regulating their activity to keep them from overheating, and more.
There’s a ton of great information online about keeping a dog cool while camping, and I pulled it all together in this article for you.
Check it out!
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Make Sure Your Dog Is Ready For Camping
It’s always a good idea to take a trip to the vet before camping.
You can get up to date on any vaccinations and make sure that your dog is in good health.
Better safe than sorry!
How Easy Do Dogs Get Overheated?
How easy a dog will get overheated will mainly depend on the dog’s breed, age, weight, and overall health.
But in general, dogs can get overheated very easily.
In fact, dogs can get overheated by simply playing in your backyard for too long on a hot day.
It doesn’t take severe temperatures to cause overheating.
That’s why it’s always important to monitor them to make sure they aren’t showing signs of a heat stroke (more on that below).
Since you’ll likely be out in the sun for extended periods while camping (especially in the summer), things can get hot pretty quickly for your furry friends.
Dogs sweat very little, and actually resort to panting to get rid of excess body heat.
This isn’t as efficient as humans, who are pretty good at regulating body temperature.
The heat of the sun mixed with even minor activity can cause dogs to be in danger of overheating.
You’ll want to keep a sharp eye on your dog and look for any signs of overheating.
How Do I Tell If My Dog Is Overheated?
When your dog starts to overheat, they run the risk of heat stroke.
That’s why it’s super important to know what the signs are for overheating.
The following is a list of signs to look out for when monitoring your dog in the heat:
Excessive panting
Dogs only sweat through the pads of their feet and other places without fur.
Sweating plays a very small role in regulating a dog’s body temperature.
Instead they pant.
Panting is normal in dogs, and you’ll see them do this pretty much any time they even take a short jog or sit outside.
Knowing how much your dog pants normally will help you to look for signs of when it gets too excessive.
This will usually mean that they are starting to pant extremely fast and it seems much heavier than normal.
Drooling
Some dogs drool a lot regardless of what they’re doing.
Other dogs don’t seem to drool at all on a normal day.
If your dog doesn’t normally drool a lot this can be a tell-tale sign of overheating.
And if your dog does normally drool, look for an excessive amount coupled with heavy panting.
(The word drool was used way too much in the making of this section).
Dry Gums
A dog’s gums are usually not dry since saliva keeps them moist.
However, heavy breathing or panting can cause your dog’s gums to dry out.
If you feel them and they are bone dry, this can definitely be a sign of overheating.
Weakness
When your dog gets overheated, they will likely start to feel weak.
You can tell your dog is getting weak if they are stumbling around or if they fall on their side and can’t really move much other than to pant.
Feel Their Ears
A dog’s ears will be one of the first things you’ll want to look at when checking for signs of overheating.
Their ears will be baking in the Sun, so you’ll be able to feel them and see if they are hot to the touch.
What Happens If Dogs Get Overheated?
When a dog gets overheated, they will likely show multiple signs mentioned above.
If they don’t cool off they could experience heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death.
That’s why it’s extremely important to monitor the signs above.
If your dog is showing signs of overheating, you’ll need to cool them off right away to prevent anything serious.
Get them to a shady area immediately and cool them off by pouring water over them.
You can also bring them to a body of water and dip them in to help their body cool off.
If your dog showed signs of heat exhaustion (confusion or weakness) or collapsed, or if shade and water isn’t enough to cool them off, you’ll want to get them to a vet immediately.
How Do Pets Stay Cool In Hot Weather?
The best way to keep a dog from overheating is to prevent your dog from getting into situations that will cause them to overheat in the first place.
This can be done by monitoring your dog closely and using some of the tips below to lower their body temperature.
Bodies Of Water Are Amazing
Letting your dog go for a dip in a lake or pool is a quick and easy way to lower their body temperature and prevent overheating.
Before I moved from my parent’s house, I’d let Catty roam around the property and she loved to run around and see all the animals (my parents live on 12 acres and have a ton of animals).
Her running in the heat meant she was panting almost immediately.
We had kiddie pools set up for the pigs to play in, so when she would start to feel really hot, she’d disappear.
You could always find her soaking in one of the kiddie pools trying to cool off.
This works while you’re camping too of course.
Just take your dog to a body of water and bring them in.
If your dog isn’t particularly good at swimming you’ll want to be nearby or even carry them in the water to keep them safe, but it works great to cool them off!
Find Shade
If you don’t have access to water for your dog to swim in, find them a nice shaded area.
It’s always a great idea to have a shady area around your campsite for your dog to lay in as well.
Having an area your dog can escape the Sun will give them a chance to cool off and reset before going out to play again.
This isn’t always possible depending on where you are, but just know that removing a dog from the Sun’s rays can help them feel 10-15 degrees cooler.
Drinking Water
Dehydration doesn’t just happen with humans, your dog can become dehydrated too!
Be sure to give your dog plenty of water to drink so that they’ll remain hydrated.
It will help them stay healthy and cool.
Keep in mind your dog will be drinking much more water while you’re out camping due to all of the exercise and heat, so provide plenty for proper hydration.
Try To Avoid Heavy Activity In The Hottest Parts Of The Day
Having the sun beat down on your dog’s back can make it hard to stay cool, especially during the hottest parts of the day.
If you can, avoid any direct sunlight during the hours of noon to 3.
Try to find a shady spot to go fishing or just hang out for a bit.
Any exercise during hot parts of the day will speed up the process of overheating, so be extremely watchful during these times if you do plan on keeping your dog on the move.
Protect Their Paws
Have you ever ran out to the car to grab something barefoot in the middle of a hot day?
Your driveway is basically an oven at that point.
Pavement can get really hot, and while we have shoes to keep our feet from burning, our dogs normally do not.
If you plan on walking on trails that have rocky surfaces or pavement, remember that your dogs paws will be touching whatever you walk on.
It’s not a bad idea to get some dog booties to keep your dogs paws from getting injured on rocky terrain anyways, but having them will also protect from scalding surfaces.
If you don’t plan on bringing a pair, try to keep to grassy areas or trails that are out of the sun.
Comb Out Excess Hair
While dogs shed naturally, there could still be quite a bit leftover.
Combing out the excess will help make their coat thinner and help them stay cooler.
Dogs Can Get Sunburnt Too
Short or thin haired dogs are susceptible to getting sunburns.
If your dog has a thin coat, short hair, or pink skin, it’s probably a good idea to bring along a bottle of dog-friendly sunscreen.
This will help keep them comfortable while on your trip.
Stick Together
Being able to watch your dog at all times will help you to monitor them closely.
If your dog runs off, it could run into plenty of things besides just getting overheated.
And if you aren’t there to tone things down or help them cool off, they may not stop themselves before getting a little too winded.
Try to stick together so that you can make sure your dog doesn’t overheat.
Avoid Excess Play
Similar to the last point, avoiding excess play will help keep your dog cool.
When dogs play they get winded and need to pant to cool off.
And this is amplified when they are out in the sun.
Normally you can just bring them inside your house to get cool, but without an A/C you’re limited to how quickly you can cool them off.
Take precautions by having them cut playtime and take frequent breaks to cool off and get more water.
Add A Fan To Your Packing List
While it adds a little bit of bulk to your camping gear, bringing along a fan can be a great way to cool off your dog.
Simply plop them down in front of it to lower their body temperature.
This can also be a great way to keep your tent cool during those hot summer nights.
NEVER Leave Dogs In The Car
Unless you have the A/C blasting cold air, never leave your dogs in your car.
Vehicles are serious heat traps that can get overly hot in minutes.
If your car is off, make sure your dog is out of it!
Packing List To Bring For Keeping Dogs Cool
Use this list to help you pack the basics for keeping your dog cool during your camping trip.
- Water bowl: you’ll need something for your dog to drink out of!
- Extra water: make sure to give your dog lots of water while you’re out in the wilderness. And try not to let them drink from any water sources you wouldn’t drink from. Just to be safe, let them drink only fresh water that you brought or filtered.
- Shade: this could be in the form of your tent, a screenhouse, or just making sure your campsite has plenty of it.
- Leash: keep your dog by you at all times to make sure they aren’t playing excessively (to avoid overheating) or getting into trouble with the local wildlife.
- Dog comb: help your dog out by combing out their coat to make it thinner and cooler.
- Sunscreen: if your dog has thin, light-colored, or short hair or pink skin, lather them up with sunscreen to keep them comfortable on your trip.
Comfort Items That Make Cooling Off Easier
Add these items to the packing list above if you want some extra help cooling your dog off.
Cooling Dog Bed
Filled with gel, these dog beds use your dog’s weight to press down and cool them off.
There’s a ton of them on the market, but this one from Arf Pets has a 4-star rating with over 550 reviews on Amazon.
It will work to cool off your dog, and it folds up nice and small so you won’t have to carry anything big.
If you can spare the room, you can buy your dog it’s own cot.
These will elevate your dog off the ground, allowing more airflow to cool them off quicker.
And they’re about half the price as cooling mats.
AmazonBasics sells an ‘Elevated Cooling Pet Bed’ that has over 3,800 reviews averaging 4.5 stars.
A Nice Fan
Bringing along a fan will give you a way to cool off your dog in a hurry.
Keep it next to your dogs cooling mat or cot for double the cooling power!
Getting one that runs on batteries will most likely be best so you can move the fan around your campsite.
That way you can keep your pup cool no matter what you’re doing!
Cooling Collar
This works the same as those cooling towels you can purchase for yourself.
It almost looks like a little bandana, but it’s a collar that you soak in water.
Just soak, wring it out, and put it on your dog to keep them cool.
Novel Brands is currently selling cooling collars for under $10!
Cooling Vest
Cooling vests work the same as cooling collars.
It utilizes evaporation to remove body heat.
So you soak the vest, wring it out, and put it on your dog.
The water will trap heat and it will eventually evaporate, lowering your dog’s body temperature.
The Ruffwear Jet Stream Vest has a 4.3 star rating with over 300 reviews.
Pop Up Shade
Pop up shades are nice because they are much more lightweight and require less set up time than a tent, but they still offer great shade for your dog.
There are many reasons why you wouldn’t want your dog in your tent during the day, including getting it dirty.
Tents can also get extremely hot during the day if they’re in direct sunlight (check out my article on how to keep tents cool in hot weather for keeping tents cool).
Giving your dog a nice bit of shade will help them cool off.
And a pop up shade gives you the freedom to add shade for your dog whether your beachside, out in a field, or anywhere during your camping trip.
Booties
I mentioned a little bit ago about how your dogs feet can get really hot on pavement or rocky surfaces.
Well they can also get cut up while on rough terrain during your camping trip.
Booties are a pretty great way to help protect your dog’s paws from not only hot weather but also from other potential injuries.
Life Jacket
Some dogs are basically born with gills and love to swim.
Others need a little help with floating.
If you’re worried your dog might not be the best swimmer, set them up with a nice life jacket for dogs.
These work just like life vests for us, and they strap on to your dog to keep their head above water.
Outward Hound’s dog life jacket has a 4.5 star rating with over 6,500 reviews.
They also come in sizes x-small all the way up to x-large for all breeds.
Related Questions
Do cooling vests work? Yep, they sure do. Cooling vests work by using evaporation. You soak the vest and wring it out. The leftover water traps heat from your dog and evaporates it away, leaving your dog much cooler than before.
How long does it take a dog to recover from overheating? Depending on how severe the overheating was, your dog could take up to 72 hours (for severe cases) to fully recover. This is because overheating can cause a heat stroke, which could damage your dog’s liver and kidneys. It is best to try and prevent your dog from overheating by using the methods above. This will keep them cool and help prevent overheating from happening in the first place.
Does wetting a dog cool it down? Yes, wetting a dog is a great way to cool them off. Since dogs aren’t very good at regulating body temperature, submerging them in a pool of water or wrapping wet towels around them is a great way to remove body heat and cool them off.
How do you cool down an overheated dog? The best way to cool down an overheated dog is to submerge them in water. This will quickly drop their body temperature. You can also wrap wet towels around their body, bring them to the shade, and provide them with drinking water. If your dog is showing signs of excess overheating (collapsed, weak, or confused) you should bring them to the vet for treatment immediately after you try to cool them off.