It is a sad truth that each year thousands of dogs die from being left in hot cars. Within just a few minutes a car becomes hot enough to literally cook your dog, the RSPCA performed a demonstration a few years ago highlighting this, and to show the seriousness their test car (no actual dogs included inside) had all windows wound down.
There was also big media coverage of two police dogs who had died as a result of being left in a police car, a tragic story but one which hopefully all dog owners remember before leaving their dogs. After this the #dontcookyourdog campaign was born.
It only takes a few minutes for the temperature in your car to become too hot for your dog, so a quick pop to the shops can have a tragic ending even on a cloudy day. 
Dogs Today magazine are behind the #dontcookyourdog campaign which is gaining momentum, helped by a retweet from Steven Fry to his 3m followers. There are free car stickers available as well as other merchandise, to get your free sticker click the image to the right.
We wrote a post a few months ago providing info about taking your dog on holiday, here are some general tips on keeping your dog cool in summer.
Dogs are particularly prone to heatstroke, my German Shepherd/Collie cross Molly struggles in the heat due to her thick undercoat and can if I am not careful get heatstroke even around the house on a hot day. When humans get hot we sweat through our sweat glands all over our body, dogs only sweat on the pads on their feet so they need alternative ways to cool themselves. Dogs pant to lose heat but dogs with small noses find it hard to pant and find it hard to lose the heat.
If possible try to avoid walking your dog during the hottest times of the day which is usually between 12-3pm, also check the heat of the floor, we wear shoes to protect our feet but dogs don`t. Grass is the best surface to walk on when it is hot. Always walk where there is plenty of shade and frequent water stops, if there isn`t water nearby to splash it take a bottle and provide frequent drinks and put some water on the floor for your dog to stand on and cool their feet.
I admire dogs for their dedication and perseverance, but this could cause problems when it is too hot. A dog will keep walking with you, they will walk to the point of collapse (unless you have a dog like my Molly who has a very strong mind and can be a stubborn so and so at times – but I love her for it). Read the signs, is their head drooping, are they over panting, are they starting to drop behind on the walk? Look at their body language and stop if necessary.
You can help your dog out by grooming them, the smaller their coat the less heat they retain. Last year we had a grooming accident with Molly which meant she had to be taken down to the bare coat. She looked like a completely different dog for a few months and I was even asked many times what breed she was haha. I may not have liked how she looked but she had the best summer of her life, she had so much more energy because she didn`t overheat and when she was getting too warm it was easy to cool her down with a cool towel.
Here are more tell tale signs of heatstroke in a dog
Heatstroke is very serious, here’s what to do if you think your dog is overheating
They say prevention is better than cure, I hope this post helps prevent any hot dogs this summer. Is there something I have missed and do you have any comments on the post? Submit your comment below.
