Taliecat Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 So the south east region is having a little bit of a heatwave at the moment.. Out my way, which is a little bit west of beenleigh we hit 37 degrees yesterday and expecting 40 today. And of course we moved into a house that doesn't have aircon... In an attempt to keep him comfortable he's had: some dogscicles (iceblocks made with weak stock and goodies) a frozen bone for breakfast (AKA Meat popsicles) got to play with/munch on some ice. I've wet his tummy, chest and thighs down. And let him inside to lay on the cool tiles - our tiled areas are about 8-10 degrees cooler than outside. He still seems quite uncomfortable, as he's decided to join us on the couch instead of the nice cool tiles next to the couch.. He unfortunately has gone off his shell pool and won't have a splash in it to cool off.. Although if it gets much hotter I might, and it wouldn't be the first time.. Can anyone offer some other suggestions to keep him cool and comfy? I am keeping an eye on his gum colour and making sure he's not exhibiting major signs of heat stroke.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Cool coat? Fan blowing on ice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliecat Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Unfortunately can't get anywhere to buy a cool coat It was Mr taliecat's birthday last night and he's in no condition to drive. I might do the fan with ice though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Someone who knows about house cooling, told us that window glass is a major factor in interiors really heating up. It's the glass that catches & reflects the heat inside. Outside blinds cut down the sun heating the glass in the first place.... but drawing curtains inside helps, too. He told us that makes both insulation & air-conditioning work more efficiently. Presently, we've got all the curtains/blinds drawn... & just with the house being insulated, it's presently tolerable. No need to turn on the air-conditioning yet (will probably need it soon, tho' :) ). We're in the north western suburbs which tend to have slightly higher temperatures. The tibbies are sprawled on the polished wood floors... & they've picked an internal room that's sheltered from the outside (doesn't have any windows that look directly outside). I just went up & wiped down the outside furniture that's under the huge mango tree in the backyard. To my surprise, it's actually cool in that shade (not as humid), with a breeze blowing thro'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliecat Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) As a kid under our mango tree was the coolest place to be in summer. Every blind in the house is closed except for the one to the patio, which gets no direct sunlight. And every fan going... Dozer is currently laying on the tiles in our dining room area where it's coolest after Mr Taliecat kicked him out of the bedroom, he's not panting as rapidly anymore and is looking much more comfortable. I think I may look at a cool mat or cool coat for the rest of summer. It's our first summer without the air con and we thought the house was well insulated enough, but I might reconsider our hot weather plan.. Edited November 16, 2014 by Taliecat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Sarah, the cat's just voted with her paws. I brought her up from downstairs.... but she turned around & went straight back to where she was. Under a car parked in the carport across the back of the house. I just put my hand on her under the car... the concrete is so, so cool.... & a cooling breeze is blowing thro' ruffling her fur. Isn't that interesting.... the 2 coolest spots are outside! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storm Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 mine are sitting under the air con, its hit 43 out here at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I'm in Beenleigh Taliecat so am getting the same temps as you. I have air cond though and it is on in both areas which keep the entire house bearable. We had work and I had a show yesterday and last night so all three dogs stayed inside with the air cond for company. I did panic a little that we wouldn't have a power outage and had mum on standby in case it did. Unfortunately the theatre where we did our show lost it's air cond. Cast and crew struggled through with fans and water but we lost some of the audience. I also heard there were a lot of people stuck on the motorway because of G20 traffic issues. This kind of thing always happens on those horribly hot days! I see a storm is brewing outside right now so hopefully it will cool off this arvo. YAY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRG Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Hang wet tea towels on a clothes horse and blow air on them. I have done this with great success to keep puppies cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliecat Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Oh wow! Little Gifts, that's pretty intense that the power went out mid show! Those stage lights are horrible! Thanks for more ideas JRG, I'll add a clothes horse to the list of things to buy. I've been alternating between a cold wet cloth in front of the fan on Dozer and I pretty much all day. Although he pretty much just gets a wipe down, I have the cloth draped over various major arteries to handle the heat! I keep checking the BOM and Higgins storm chasing to see if there's anything coming, I swear I can hear thunder rumbling in the distance... Please storm cool things down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jemmy Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Days like this I don't miss living in QLD at all! I used to resort to having a 10 second shower fully clothed. I also love misting a spray bottle towards the fan. Hope the storm cools you all down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieW Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 2nd heatwave we've had in SEQ and it's not even summer yet. Arrrgh. Had to resort to putting the aircon on today, even the breeze is hot. I'm NW of Brisbane and get temps more like Ipswich - it was just under 43 yesterday and over 43 today. It's supposed to be a bit cooler tomorrow and then warming up again by the end of the week. Another good thing about leaving the dogs in the house when I'm out instead of outside (the other is it lessens the barking as I mentioned in another thread) is that it's cooler indoors. When I go out in the morning I close the doors, windows and curtains so it's quite pleasant when I get back (though I'm not gone all day). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Finally, we had to turn the air-conditioning on. Then the cat voted with her paws again... left the cool cement & breeze under the car & came up into the air-conditioning. Good tip for a Qld heatwave... get a cat & follow it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Buy a small air con for one room that you fit in a window. You can pick them up for around $250 new. Choose a room that a small air conditioner will cool sufficiently with a door that closes then at least you will have one comfortable room for when it gets roasting. You can take a small window out to insert it & fill in any surround with wood for now & store the pane of glass in a shed or safe place. Then if you decide to move house remove air con & put the pane of glass back in. Easy. You really do need air con in one room with our australian heatwaves even if its just a bedroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Since the floors are tiles, wet a towel and let him lie on that too. I had to do that Friday night when I found Tibor having a minor fit. His room was cool. But his age meant he did not cope well at all. ( 15 years). Also, consider getting some Pedialtye to give in his water to maintain electoltye balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeimMe Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) Ugh it was disgusting where I live - 43 degrees. Hugo refused to go outside all day. He's been laying tummy up, legs spread on the wooden floor all day in our feeble air conditioning. Thankfully when I'm back at work next week it will be a bit cooler for him. Edited November 16, 2014 by WeimMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibi Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 My mum came over with her little dog for the air con. Dogs had so much fun playing in the cold air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESCS Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 We're also in Brisbane and yesterday and today makes me wish we lived in Tasmania! I placed a large ice brick inside the pillow case of the pillow my tibbie sleeps on when I turned off the A/C. It feels nice and cool! On really hot days, I also put ice bricks in their water bowls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkehre Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) Our Polar Pads are a fantastic idea for these super hot conditions. Depending upon the conditions they can last several days before requiring re activation. The quantities we are posting to QLD at the moment are incredible. I really feel for you guys up there, you've had such hot days. We have Polar Collars as well, but I prefer these for supervised or semi supervised scenarios. http://k9softdogcrates.com.au/polar/polar-pads Edited November 16, 2014 by Starkehre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piperspal Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I live in alice springs, so hot days are the norm around here in summer. I make sure the concrete is wet before I go to work, as well as areas in the shade where they can dig into the cool dirt. They have clam shells as well as water in the shade, and we dont do anything once it gets past 7am, until around 6pm. The dogs handle it pretty well, and I do similar to the chooks. The horse is a whole other ball game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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