How do you keep pets cool?

[Bonzothemac]

I am looking to be a full time RV'er by this fall and will be traveling with my Schipperke (small, black, furry dog). I'm curious how other people deal with preventing over heating in their pets if they need to leave them in the unit for several hours if there is no power available. I've looked at cooling pads, fans etc but I haven't found what looks like a good solution without running a generator and cooling the whole RV. I would like to hear any suggestions from fellow pet owners.

[catkins]

First choice is to avoid leaving the dogs in the RV in hot weather but when we cannot avoid it - we use the generator with AC on BUT also have a 12V fan that we set down at dog level and leave it running. If for any reason the AC or generator stop, there is still lots of air moving via the 12v fan which helps some. And of course we leave plenty of water available.

Not ideal but for those QUICK shopping needs is the best we can do. Given a choice, one of stays in the RV with the furkids but a solo traveler does not have that option. Shop early in the day before tempos get too warm if you can. Good luck!

[dturm]

skipnchar wrote:
Dogs (like humans) have survived for thousands of years without air conditioning. Open some windows.

Not to be too argumentative, but they don't always survive. Given hot conditions animals seek shade, cool spots - some way to mitigate the heat and are not locked in a metal box in the middle of an asphalt field.

Dogs and cats (a little less sensitive than dogs) don't do well when ambient temps are above 80 without some sort of relief. If there is any kind of medical condition there can be life threatening results.

We leave AC with generator when indicated by conditions.

Doug, DVM

[sher9570]

skipnchar wrote:
Dogs (like humans) have survived for thousands of years without air conditioning. Open some windows.

I agree, and turn your fans on.
If your simply going grocery shopping you probably won't be in there very long, by opening the windows and exhaust fans on I can't imagine it will get too hot.
You did say this fall? Where are you heading, what part of the country? You may not even run into extreme heat by then, something you will just have to watch carefully. You could always go in the evening when it cools down.
There are options and choices. Good luck!

Sher

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Get a battery operated fan, and Don't be gone long?

[skipnchar]

Dogs (like humans) have survived for thousands of years without air conditioning. Open some windows.

[Pawz4me]

GizmosMom wrote:
We leave the generator on also, but only for a short period of time like going for groceries or for a very quick bite at a restaurant.

We have never done that for longer than one hour.

Ditto.

To the OP -- Is there a reason you don't want to leave your generator running?

[colliehauler]

I leave the generator running with the A/C on or I wait until I'm at the campground hooked up then go to town to get supplies.

[CA_POPPY]

Bonzothemac wrote:
I am looking to be a full time RV'er by this fall and will be traveling with my Schipperke (small, black, furry dog). I'm curious how other people deal with preventing over heating in their pets

This breed has a very dense coat and may need more care than others to keep cool. I did find this page in a search:
Dog cooling beds

I think I would find a Schipperke forum online so you can get further ideas to keep your pal safe and cool in your travels.

[GizmosMom]

We leave the generator on also, but only for a short period of time like going for groceries or for a very quick bite at a restaurant.

We have never done that for longer than one hour.

[raindove]

In hot weather, if we stop enroute at a grocery store, we let the generator running with the a/c going.

When at a CG, if we leave the dog, we have the a/c running, close the curtains, and set up battery operated fans as backup, in case of power failure. We never leave them very long when it's hot out, and leave our phone numbers at the office in case of a problem.

I also have a cooling mat for the dog to lay on.

The interior of any vehicle or RV can heat up very quickly on a hot day and turn to disaster.

No way I would leave a dog in an RV for several hours without being hooked up to elec and having the a/c running. Even with the genny running and a/c on, I would not leave them for hours, as something could happen and the gen could shut off.

[TexasShadow]

you don't have a lot of options with the scenario you've given.
is it impossible to leave the dog in the trailer with the generator running and air conditioner turned on?
we do this with our Lhasa if we cannot take him with us.
but with two of us, we usually take him along and one of us stays with him to run the car's a/c or get him out on a leash and find a shady spot to wait.
maybe you can find a dog sitter in the park. maybe there's a kennel close by that will take him for a couple hours. or a pet salon...get him a bath and manicure while you're gone 🙂

[Bonzothemac]

I completely understand not leaving a dog in a hot trailer and that's why I put out this post. I will be traveling solo and will have to go into a grocery store at some point so I am looking for a solution so he can stay cool.

[gcloss]

Our dog is simply a member of our family just like our children. We wouldn't leave our children in a hot trailer, nor would we leave our dog in a hot trailer.