{"id":897,"date":"2018-07-30T12:03:02","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T19:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/?p=897"},"modified":"2025-05-11T23:17:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T06:17:06","slug":"keeping-your-dog-cool-in-extreme-heat-how-a-cooling-vest-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/keeping-your-dog-cool-in-extreme-heat-how-a-cooling-vest-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Your Dog Cool in Extreme Heat-How a Cooling Vest Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

Original Article by K9 of Mine<\/a><\/p>\n

Many dogs require copious amounts of exercise to remain healthy, happy and reasonably well behaved. But this can be difficult to accomplish during the peak of the summer, when temperatures soar.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Some owners can adjust their schedules to provide their dog with some early morning or late afternoon outdoor time, and others have access to shady areas, which aren\u2019t as sweltering as the surrounding area. But many owners are unable to alter their schedule or visit shady, wind-swept parks on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there is a solution: You can\u00a0fit your dog with a cooling vest to keep her comfortable while playing under the sun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Are Dog Cooling Vests?<\/h2>\n

Cooling vests are essentially dog vests that help cool your dog through the process of\u00a0evaporative cooling.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This phenomenon is exceedingly simple, and it has been used by almost every human civilization since the Egyptians were building pyramids. This technology is still used today in the form of swamp coolers, which work like small air-conditioning units.<\/p>\n

In fact, evaporative cooling is the same mechanism at work when you sweat.<\/strong>\u00a0It takes energy for a droplet of water to change from a liquid to gaseous state. This energy is pulled from the air surrounding the water, which results in a small temperature drop. When you evaporate enough water, the resulting temperature drop can be significant.<\/p>\n

You could accomplish this by simply wetting your dog before going for a walk in the hot sun, but this is messy and he\u2019ll likely dry out before your walk is over. Additionally, water doesn\u2019t evaporate from fur especially readily.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But\u00a0cooling vests are designed with special materials that help accelerate the rate of evaporation.<\/strong>\u00a0And while this evaporation helps cool the air surrounding your dog\u2019s body, which in turn cool him off, some of the best models feature conductive layers, which further accelerate the removal of heat from your dog.<\/p>\n

Note that cooling vests work better in dry air, where evaporation occurs quickly, rather than humid air, where evaporation proceeds at a snail\u2019s pace. This means that dogs living in the arid southwest will likely enjoy greater benefits from cooling vests than those living in the perpetually damp southeast will.<\/p>\n

Cooling vests do not require any type of power, and they are easy to prepare for use:\u00a0Simply dunk the vest under cool or cold water, wring it out and put it on your dog.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If it dries out before your walk is over, you can simply pour some more water on the vest. Some owners also like to put the vest in the freezer for a short time before putting it on their dog.<\/p>\n

Things You Want in a Good Dog Cooling Vests<\/h2>\n

While the principle behind evaporative cooling is very simple, some products simply function better than others. Be sure to select a vest that possesses as many of the following characteristics as possible.<\/p>\n

Cooling vests must fit properly<\/strong>.\u00a0Some dogs are more comfortable wearing clothing than others, but no dog likes to wear things that don\u2019t fit well. To ensure your dog is willing to wear his new cooling vest, you want to be sure you select a style that is suitable for your dog\u2019s body type, and you\u2019ll need to make sure you select the best size. Always refer to the manufacturer\u2019s guidelines when determining a size, and rely on your dog\u2019s measurements, rather than his weight, to obtain the best fit.<\/p>\n

Cooling vests should function for a reasonable length of time<\/strong>.\u00a0A cooling vest that dries completely in 5 minutes is pretty worthless; minimally, a cooling vest should work for about 15 minutes to make it worth the effort. Remember that while cooling vests will work better in arid climates, they\u2019ll also dry more quickly when there isn\u2019t much water in the air. Accordingly, this is a very important consideration for owners and dogs living in the desert-like areas.<\/p>\n

The best cooling vests also reflect the sun\u2019s heat<\/strong>.\u00a0Although evaporative cooling is the primary way by which cooling vests lower your dog\u2019s temperature, some of the nicer designs incorporate materials that help protect your dog\u2019s back and sides from the sun\u2019s rays, which helps keep them even cooler.<\/p>\n

Ideally, cooling vests should also feature reflective strips<\/strong>.\u00a0Even though you\u2019ll usually be using the cooling vest during the day, it can still be hot after the sun sets during the peak of summer. And because you always want to be sure drivers can see your dog easily in the dark, it just makes sense to opt for cooling vests with reflective trim, whenever possible.<\/p>\n

Cooling vests should be designed to work well with your harness or collar and leash<\/strong>.You should always keep your dog leashed when you are not in an enclosed area, so you\u2019ll want to select a cooling vest that will work with your dog\u2019s harness or collar. A few designs feature a leash clip, allowing you to use the vest as a harness.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cooling vests should keep your dog\u2019s fur cool and dry<\/strong>.\u00a0Wet fur can be irritating to your dog, and it may even lead to chaffing or skin problems. A little dampness is not a problem, but you want to avoid vests that allow your dog\u2019s fur to become soaked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original Article by K9 of Mine Many dogs require copious amounts of exercise to remain healthy, happy and reasonably well behaved. But this can be difficult to accomplish during the peak of the summer, when temperatures soar. Some owners can adjust their schedules to provide their dog with some early morning or late afternoon outdoor…<\/p>\n

Read More <\/i><\/b><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":264,"featured_media":898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28368],"tags":[27182,19746,27115,27185,27183,27184],"class_list":["post-897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-safety","tag-cooling-vests","tag-dog-care","tag-dog-cooling","tag-dog-heat","tag-evaporative-cooling","tag-keeping-a-dog-cool"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/264"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1621,"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897\/revisions\/1621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitmeanssit.com\/dog-training-mu\/san-gabriel-valley-dog-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}