Dog Cooling Coat - First Impressions

[DBK]

It's 38C at the moment and our Charlie is feeling the heat. He has a cooling mat but it feels hot. I put him under a tap earlier but he soon dried. So I dug out his dog cooling coat. I tried it earlier on a walk in Corsica and it seemed to work well and didn't seem to bother him at all.

It's called a Prestige dog cooling coat but other makes do similar things. It is made out of a thick material which absorbs a lot of water. When it is dry it is rigid so you have to remember to fold it while it is still wet. You could wet it under a running tap but a small bucket is better.

Then fit to dog.

It works by the evaporating water cooling the contents of the coat. The walk on Corsica was about an hour and the coat was still wet at the end but once wet it is easily re-wetted from a bottle of water.

The drawback with it is being wet it isn't particularly practical inside the van but outside it works fine. Recommended for your hot dogs.

 

[mart]

Used a similar coat on our boxer last year ,works great and does not seem to bother her.

 

[DBK]

and does not seem to bother her.

That was what surprised me, Charlie doesn't seem to notice he has it on.

 

[monzer]

Great idea and good that it seems to be working but he does look a bit embarrassed

 

[Ven]

We have similar for Misty, being a dachshund she is a sun worshipper and rarely warms to even panting stage in 30° plus but we used it once when is was 40° and it definitely worked.

The only problem is the one I ordered probably would have fitted a Labrador so I had to “adjust” and it now looks like something Frankenstein might have created It will still do the job though.

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[champers]

Please read up on these cool coats that have to be kept wet

I purchased one of the better cooling coats at a show last year £30:for chihuahua size
It had to be kept damp in their bag when stored..
I have since learned through dog groups that if left on the dog for longish spells they can get lung / pneumonia problems ..

I had in stock already a cheap B&M one which is great .for my chihuahua doesn't smell ....ps the expensive one stinks of mold so threw it out it was horrid
Just be aware folks xxx

 

[Langtoftlad]

Think I might be trying Kerry's for the first time this weekend at Bodiam, if the forecast is to be believed... she's got one of those cool mats too, but she doesn't like it, the plastic is too slippery for her...

 

[Rob Hammond]

Had one for the last 3 years ,definitely works for are dog .

 

[DBK]

Please read up on these cool coats that have to be kept wet

I purchased one of the better cooling coats at a show last year £30:for chihuahua size
It had to be kept damp in their bag when stored..
I have since learned through dog groups that if left on the dog for longish spells they can get lung / pneumonia problems ..

I had in stock already a cheap B&M one which is great .for my chihuahua doesn't smell ....ps the expensive one stinks of mold so threw it out it was horrid
Just be aware folks xxx

Ours doesn't have to be stored wet - I can't think of a better way to turn it mouldy.

Not sure about the lung problems, the coat is well away from his muzzle so he isn't going to be breathing in damp air. Sounds like a scare story but he will only be wearing it for a few hours at most.

He's now sleeping comfortably - and yes, another drawback, don't let them roll in the dirt!

 

[Shrimp]

I have one for our JRT but haven’t used it for a while, she hates having any kind of coat/clothing/harness on so we just soak her regularly. But a paddle or a swim works well for her!

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[Ven]

Ours doesn’t have to be kept wet (it was cheap ), it’s just mesh really. I would only use it when heat exhaustion is a worry - when we reached 44° she had it on for a few hours but it needed dampening fairly regularly at that heat.

 

[Odd-no-more]

We used a wet teatowel for Dolly

 

[TheBig1]

ridiculous idea to keep it stored damp, as mould spores will grow. Use it for a couple of days and wash it and dry before reusing

 

[TheBig1]

View attachment 313809

OMG! it's a doggy jihadi

 

[Welsh girl]

Li used one for my Yorkshire terrorist Susie, i think she appreciated it. Kept her really cool, she used to suffer a lot with the heat.

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[champers]

ridiculous idea to keep it stored damp, as mould spores will grow. Use it for a couple of days and wash it and dry before reusing

I agree..the smell was horrid ...

 

[Burgo]

I'm not convinced they work. A dog's fur is such a good insulator I'm not sure the temperature drop caused by evaporation will actually do much to the temperature of the dog's cappiliaries under the surface of the skin. Their primary method of temperature regulation is via panting, as unlike us they don't have skin sweat glands to evaporate sweat off in order to cool. Would be interested to see if anyone has ever actually done a proper evaluation of these jackets. You haven't got a thin thermo sensor, DBK, you could slide under a dry coat but next to the skin under the fur, then a wetted one by any chance?

 

[mart]

The only problem is some people think you are being cruel putting a coat on a dog when it is hot. Takes some explaining with a language barrier.

 

[champers]

Ours doesn't have to be stored wet - I can't think of a better way to turn it mouldy.

Not sure about the lung problems, the coat is well away from his muzzle so he isn't going to be breathing in damp air. Sounds like a scare story but he will only be wearing it for a few hours at most.

He's now sleeping comfortably - and yes, another drawback, don't let them roll in the dirt!

View attachment 313786

Info was from 2 vets I spoke with regarding these and from other dog groups ... maybe I haven't used the correct terminology....just advising not to over use too long ..

Kath

 

[TheBig1]

I'm not convinced they work. A dog's fur is such a good insulator I'm not sure the temperature drop caused by evaporation will actually do much to the temperature of the dog's cappiliaries under the surface of the skin. Their primary method of temperature regulation is via panting, as unlike us they don't have skin sweat glands to evaporate sweat off in order to cool. Would be interested to see if anyone has ever actually done a proper evaluation of these jackets. You haven't got a thin thermo sensor, DBK, you could slide under a dry coat but next to the skin under the fur, then a wetted one by any chance?

Oh it does work.....we use it as first aid for dogs with heat exhaustion or heatstroke using a wet towel

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[Silver-Fox]

We used a wet teatowel for Dolly View attachment 313809

E T phone home ?

 

[Langtoftlad]

I'm not convinced they work. A dog's fur is such a good insulator I'm not sure the temperature drop caused by evaporation will actually do much to the temperature of the dog's cappiliaries under the surface of the skin. Their primary method of temperature regulation is via panting, as unlike us they don't have skin sweat glands to evaporate sweat off in order to cool.

This is true, however Kerry gets hot when it's hot, cold when it's cold... so I anticipate that a cooling jacket effectively acts as sweating & evaporative cooling in a way their bodies cannot...
It prevents their internal body temp from rising to an uncontrollable level.

 

[bigtwin]

They certainly work for our boxer (the brand is Cool Coat):

It certainly reduces the extent of his panting.

ridiculous idea to keep it stored damp, as mould spores will grow. Use it for a couple of days and wash it and dry before reusing

I too thought that this was strange but, we have left ours for some months with no ill effects (mould or smells).

Ian

 

[RogerThat]

Interesting thread...

It's only been 24C these last few days but my poor girl is really suffering in her double fur coat.

I was wondering if someone made a paper thin foil dog coat, like you see the marathon runners wearing, I thought that might just reflect the heat away in the first place?

I can't get my head around wrapping her up in a thick wet coat/blanket. Yet I was talking to someone only yesterday who also swears by them for his Collie!

 

[Ven]

Interesting thread...

It's only been 24C these last few days but my poor girl is really suffering in her double fur coat.

I was wondering if someone made a paper thin foil dog coat, like you see the marathon runners wearing, I thought that might just reflect the heat away in the first place?

I can't get my head around wrapping her up in a thick wet coat/blanket. Yet I was talking to someone only yesterday who also swears by them for his Collie!

My coat is actually very thin, almost like a thin airtex if you know what I mean so as long as it’s soaked and wrung out, it definitely cools them down rather than making them hotter.

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[DBK]

I'm not convinced they work. A dog's fur is such a good insulator I'm not sure the temperature drop caused by evaporation will actually do much to the temperature of the dog's cappiliaries under the surface of the skin. Their primary method of temperature regulation is via panting, as unlike us they don't have skin sweat glands to evaporate sweat off in order to cool. Would be interested to see if anyone has ever actually done a proper evaluation of these jackets. You haven't got a thin thermo sensor, DBK, you could slide under a dry coat but next to the skin under the fur, then a wetted one by any chance?

I can only say after fitting the coat Charlie stopped panting after about 5 or 10 minutes. Dogs react to the ambient temperature so when that cools because of the coat around their body they feel cooler.

 

[emjaiuk]

We've always used a plant spray bottle which gives out a very fine spray. I think it has the same effect without making the dogs coat saturated, and we can spray that face and bottom of their pads as well. We can use it on humans as well! We got the idea years ago from the outdoor mist showers they had (have) on the A61/A62 motorways in the south of France. The idea was that you walk through fully clothed and evaporation cooled you down without soaking your clothes. They rally worked.

Malcolm

 

[barsteward]

I've found that if I throw a couple of buckets of water over the roof of my swift the dog Is luvverly and cool inside.......no idea why

 

[Hettie's Crew]

I can’t work out the logic in putting a coat on if it’s too hot in an attempt to keep cool. How can trapping air result in lowering temperature?
We’ve considered one of these but never been easily won over by sales talk.
We ensure our Cocker is regularly brushed and then her natural coat kept wet.

 

[DBK]

I can’t work out the logic in putting a coat on if it’s too hot in an attempt to keep cool. How can trapping air result in lowering temperature?
We’ve considered one of these but never been easily won over by sales talk.
We ensure our Cocker is regularly brushed and then her natural coat kept wet.

They keep the dog cool using the same mechanism humans keep cool by sweating. In order for our sweat to evaporate it needs energy which it obtains by drawing heat from the body. The water on the wet coat evaporates the same way, cooling the dog. You can get terraccota wine coolers which when soaked cool the wine inside as the water evaporates.
The real test is to try one, the dog coat that is, not the wine cooler, they work but we only use it when essential. Going somewhere cooler is the best solution and we are doing this tomorrow.

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