# Warm Weather Dog Bed/Mat Recs



## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

I'm looking for recommendations on dog beds for a very specific need. Mia overheats easily, and I live in the south, which means that Mia overheats for most of the year. She ends up sleeping on the floor to stay cool, ignoring her thick dog beds. I'm cool with her on the floor, but I suspect over time that she'll prefer something with a little padding to help her joints. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Have you looked into a cot like bed for her? That way she's up off the ground but the bed part is still breathable...


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

SpooOwner said:


> I'm looking for recommendations on dog beds for a very specific need. Mia overheats easily, and I live in the south, which means that Mia overheats for most of the year. She ends up sleeping on the floor to stay cool, ignoring her thick dog beds. I'm cool with her on the floor, but I suspect over time that she'll prefer something with a little padding to help her joints. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.


We live in North Carolina and had ridiculously high temps last year (over 100 many days). Rocky is incredibly hairy (Chow/Husky mix) and sleeps on a cooling water bed. It just fits perfectly in his crate and he LOVES it. It is the kind that has an outside made of rubber and the inside is a foam pad. You fill it with water until the foam has absorbed it all. It's about 1/2 inch thick. I made a cover for it out of some remnant denim but they say it doesn't need a cover. 

Mine is about 7 years old. I had a seam come apart once, and the company replaced the entire mat for free. Since then (about 6 years ago) there has never been a problem with it leaking. It does get really heavy once the water is in so it's not something you are going to move all over the house.

I'm pretty sure that mine is a Canine Cooler. The other brands have a cloth exterior and Rocky prefers the rubber with a simple denim cover. He doesn't like big fluffy things (too hot for him).


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Look into the Canine Cooler! I got the human version, called the Chillow for myself years ago when The Discovery Channel Store was still around. It's awesome to put on the bed in the summer (I don't like AC much). Louis overheats easily too so I got one for him last summer. It took him awhile to see it as a bed and not a chew toy though. I heard they advertise that a truck can run over it without popping...Louis is small though, and I don't know how destructive your Mia is. It uses the cooling properties of water to stay cool, but you have to make sure you get the air bubbles out of it for maximum benefits. Coupled with a fan, it works even better. We keep it at the foot of our bed in the summer months and Louis is always on it. Shop around for prices. It's not cheap, but I'm glad I got mine.

ETA: Aww, looks like chowder beat me to it!


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for the recs on the Canine Cooler. I also live in NC, and the recent warm spell reminded me that Mia needs a way to stay cool this summer. The CC looks like a great idea. Have you had any problems with the seams splitting? The reviews suggest that this is the weak point in the design, although other review say that if you take the time to fill it up correctly the first time, you can avoid many of the problems. Mia's not much of a chewer and I keep her nails trimmed, so I'm not too concerned about her puncturing it.

I've looked at the Kuranda style beds in the past, and may go that direction if the CC is really flawed.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I like PetCots a lot, they're pretty indestructible...Like Danemama said the mesh is breathable.

I'm looking into a canine cooler for Indi, since we are in Texas, and we compete out in the sun, and she gets hot easily we will probably be making a purchase. How heavy is it and does it take a ton of water? I need a cooling bed I can take to trials + put in a pretty big crate...Then I'd probably have to bring my own water, which isn't too bad if the load isn't more than like 10 gallons...


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

CavePaws said:


> I like PetCots a lot, they're pretty indestructible...Like Danemama said the mesh is breathable.
> 
> I'm looking into a canine cooler for Indi, since we are in Texas, and we compete out in the sun, and she gets hot easily we will probably be making a purchase. How heavy is it and does it take a ton of water? I need a cooling bed I can take to trials + put in a pretty big crate...Then I'd probably have to bring my own water, which isn't too bad if the load isn't more than like 10 gallons...


I had the seam split once when I first got it 7 years ago and the company replaced it for free. Since then it's been thru two dogs and I haven't had a problem. HOWEVER....it stays in Rocky's house crate full time and I ony move it when I take off the cover to clean it. I don't think toenails and stepping on it are a problem, but it is really heavy and awkward to move once you have it full of water. Maybe about 20 pounds (I have the size that fits a Chow size crate). I'm not sure it is something I would want to empty and fill very often. That might be when you have to worry about the seams. As a permanent bed though, Rocky absolutely loves his. 

We used to use a small floor fan with our other chows in addition to the bed (they were show quality and had extremely thick fur) but Rocky doesn't like the fan too much. 

For dog shows, I have seen cooling vests for the dogs but haven't personally used one.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

A cooling vest might be the way to go, then. I've seen those too...whenever a water hose or pool is available at shows Indi is in there in a heart beat and soaking wet when she gets back to her crate to lay on her mat...So does the bed absorb water well or does it only retain it well once you've filled it up? The current crate pad we use gets soaked and I don't like that much, but there wouldn't be much avoiding a soaked crate if I got her a cooling vest.

The fact that filling them up all the time breaks the seams isn't good though. I wonder if there is another kind that is more durable or if the basic design for all beds like that shouldn't be filled and emptied on a pretty regular basis.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

I know most of you have big dogs so I'm probably of no help, but Louis has the small one (18'x24')...and although I don't remember off the top of my head how much water I put in (they come with detailed instructions), I think it might have been close to a gallon. There is a trick to pouring in the water, you basically have to lift the corner with the opening wih one hand while pouring simultaneously. It gets more difficult the more water you add. And the hardest part is squeezing out all the air. I did that part slowly over a few days. At first the bed wasn't cool, but once I got all the bubbles out it stayed cool for the duration of summer. Also the cap on the opening is pretty much air tight. I had to refill my human one a crew times, but that was over the course of 6 years or something like that.
I poked Louis' the other day and it's still squishy. So the adding water is more of a one-time thing. A little bit might evaporate here and there, in which case you just pop it open and top it off. In the end you want it to be pretty solid with the foam being just saturated enough with water and then create a vacuum seal. It should feel firm and not like a sloshy water bed.


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