Jump to content

Preparing For Next Weeks Severe To Extreme Heat...


westiemum
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 246
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I got 2-3 hours sleep last night - and the westies are almost as grumpy as I am - we're all really sleep deprived except Mac! He has slept OK as he was perfectly happy on a wet towel on my bed under the fan and didn't move all night. Sarah the woos took ages before it dawned on her that the other wet towel was a good option and she seemed to get some sleep after about 2 this morning. But Andy... what do I do with Andy... he stays away from the fan as he doesn't seem to like the air movement or noise and jumped off the bed and gets into his putridly hot hidey holes eg under my bed - and he seems more susceptible to focal seizures in heat. I literally wet him down at 3 this morning but I'm getting really concerned about him. And the problem for me is having two westies on my bed is like sleeping with 2 little hot bottles!:eek: Yes I know I should make them sleep elsewhere but we all really need to share the fans and its an old house withonly one power point in the bedroom and not too many options for positioning fans near us all.

I think I'm going to have admit defeat and move out to aircon somewhere for three nights until this is over - but finding a pet friendly something at a reasonable price is not proving easy - the pet friendly caravan parks with aircon in their cabins don't generally allow pets in the cabins - only on powered sites. Maybe if I beg?

Or does anyone know if you can hire portable airconditioners anywhere? That might be another option... given my very temporary living arrangements I'd rather not buy. Or anyone know any hotels or motels that would take all four of us?

TIA.

Edited by westiemum
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Iced water in a hot water bottle and place in bed and that apparently kept them cool , might work for puppies or smaller dogs

This is a great idea!!

I have a cooling mat for Jager but he doesnt like it. I "forced" him to lay on the mat with the help of some treats and but once the treats ran out he was off the mat in a flash!

Today he will be alone in the house for a couple of hours (with access outside) and i have left the fan on, put the cooling mat in one of his fav spots near the gate and also put a frozen bottle of water wrapped in a tea towel near it. He sleeps near the baby gate when we arent there so even if he doesnt lay ont he mat he might get some coolness radiating off the bottle.

Our house held up reasonably well yesterday. Was substantially cooler inside rather than out, dont know how long that will last with another 3 days of heat planned with no relief overnight (our low overnight was 26 degrees).

Hope everyone else is staying as cool as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our dogs seemed fine when I checked on them early but when my OH got home 20 minutes ago Sarah had thrown up a couple more times :(

He's wet her down and put her on her bed with the fan directed at her but she's still panting a lot. He's giving our vet a call to see if they have any more suggestions. I'm concerned that the constant change from hot to cold is putting unnecessary stress on her but I don't know what else to do. It's hard to know how much she's drinking because she's not generally a big drinker, she did have a bit when I got home and took an ice-cream container of water out of the fridge.

Turns out a work mate's housemate has a couple of portable refrigerated aircon units he's planning to sell. Hoping to pick one of those up tonight

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like the alfoil idea. I might try that, thanks :)

My neighbour chopped down a huge tree that was shading* the hottest side of my house. It must be well insulated because it isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I would still like that side to be cooler.

Oh yay, the thunderstorm is here!

*Is that a verb or did I just make it up? It should be :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got no water now for a few hours, burst water main, how bloody annoying. :laugh: Still have water in my fridge for a cuppa T though.

That was me last night, only took 2 hrs to fix instead of the 4 they thought. Hope it's the same for you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shame you're not in Vic, westiemum, otherwise you could come and stay at my place!

Thanks iggy - if I didn't have to work in Adelaide tomorrow I'd take you up on it! :laugh:

No luck hiring an airconditioner - all gone. No luck with the caravan parks - no dogs in cabins - no exceptions. Now looking to some B and Bs - but having trouble getting them to answer their phone...

Keep cool everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

another tip is to make sure your windows are insulated in the really hot days, prevent heat getting in and cool from getting out

a cheap way to do this is to buy some "space blankets" from a camping supplies shop, a pack of 4 is usually <$10.

the space blankets are really large, one should cover a window, they are thin like cellophane so easy to tape against the inside of your windows. They are also a little bit see through so the house wont be in total darkness

I am going to try these rather then the alfoil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But Andy... what do I do with Andy... he stays away from the fan as he doesn't seem to like the air movement or noise and jumped off the bed and gets into his putridly hot hidey holes eg under my bed

maybe Andy is finding that cooler as it the floor which is not as hot as up higher

Sam use to lay on the carpet floor in between the warddrobe and bed in a corner of room of room and he seemed as thought that was his spot

what about a damp towel in his hiding spot ?

tynka is my concern with her advanced cancer and after trying to keep her in the coolest room she prefers the kitchen , so I direct a fan into the kitchen and she is handling it a bit better

View Post"Tara and Sam, on 15 January 2014 - 12:11 AM, said:

Iced water in a hot water bottle and place in bed and that apparently kept them cool , might work for puppies or smaller dogs

This is a great idea!!

I did try it once one summer and it did help me , made the sheets on bed feel nice when get in it and stayed cool

put more smaller ice cubes in and cold water and hand towel around it and smaller dogs might sleep on it or near it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might be a bit over the top but many years ago we had a holiday house at the beach that we spent every summer at with our cousins. The boys slept on the closed in verandah and it got very hot so dad decided one year to hire a refrigerated shipping container and let the boys sleep in there, apparently it worked brilliantly and everyone wound up sleeping out there in the end!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got no water now for a few hours, burst water main, how bloody annoying. :laugh: Still have water in my fridge for a cuppa T though.

That was me last night, only took 2 hrs to fix instead of the 4 they thought. Hope it's the same for you

It's back on, but with very little pressure, so according to their website, still not fixed. :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've just checked my thermometers and outside it is 45.2 degrees, it's 33.5 in my bedroom [only got a fan running in there] and 27.5 in my kitchen/tv room [where the air con and a fan are running]. Going outside for dogs potty breaks is like walking into a furnace.

Hope you are all coping with this heat, take care everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shame you're not in Vic, westiemum, otherwise you could come and stay at my place!

Thanks iggy - if I didn't have to work in Adelaide tomorrow I'd take you up on it! :laugh:

No luck hiring an airconditioner - all gone. No luck with the caravan parks - no dogs in cabins - no exceptions. Now looking to some B and Bs - but having trouble getting them to answer their phone...

Keep cool everyone.

Maybe have a look at pet friendly rentals on the stayz website?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The border collies are driving me nuts. They don't go in the padding pools. I bring them inside into the air con and they want to go back outside. I put them right in front of the sir con and Poppy appears to be scared of it.

I try ice blocks, they look at me like I am trying to kill them!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The border collies are driving me nuts. They don't go in the padding pools. I bring them inside into the air con and they want to go back outside. I put them right in front of the sir con and Poppy appears to be scared of it.

I try ice blocks, they look at me like I am trying to kill them!!

I have been feeding my dogs their food frozen - diced roo, chicken mince etc, I buy it in 1kg blocks and they spend ages gnawing through it and it cools them down. I am going to make them some stock and water blocks tonight and put some treats in there

I just did it and put them in the work freezer in mealworm tubs that I can pop out - water, good oil, duck jerky, fish treats, liver, meat roll, kangaroo jerky and some of their other fave treats so will see how they go

Edited by casowner
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...