So I live in the west of ireland, and my ten yo dog is chained up to his house at night time (lots of farm animals around)...I let him off every morning and tie him back up at night, but the last few days when i let him off he runs straight down to a tree in our garden and sits down in the little bit of shade we have for the day...

he literally doesnt move for like 9 hours (except to do his business and drink).

He has 3 big buckets of fresh water left around for him everyday but i just feel really bad for him.... he's been quietly crying (you know what I mean) every now and then.

Is there anything else I can do for him to make him feel better in this heat? I gave him as cold bath with the hose the other day but he HATES water

Well that is extremely helpful

Do you not have a place in the house he could be? On tiles? My dogs dont go out in the sun (Well apart from the puppy who chases insects. lol), even though my door is open, but find a place on the tiled kitchen floor.

try looking after him a bit better , its pretty obvious that where you have him chained up is too hot , move him somewhere cooler ? ? ?
secondly the water will be heating up in this heat so instead of providing three buckets try using one and changing it every few hours for colder water .
lastly it doesnt matter one jot if hee does not like water , i hate going to the dentist but know what it is good for me , the same applies to your dog . a soaking in this heat is good for him so regardless of him hating it or not just do it .
and maybe google " how too care for your dog "

This thread is not going brilliantly really.

Chained up and hot weather

he needs to be inside where it's cool. You live on a farm I take it? How about chaining him up in a cool outbuilding with the door open instead if for some reason you don't want him in the house.

My dog is walked very early and very late during this weather. He has a cold wet towel draped over him on his return to cool him down. Lots of cold fresh water available too.

You can also purchase a cooling coat for a dog which is filled with cold water packs.

If he likes it down by the tree where he can lay in the cool grass you could always put up a temporary shelter there, like a tent. Or get a cheap kids paddling pool which he can lay in too.

But inside the house would make a lot more sense to me. Not sure why you object to having him inside?

Seriously...why have a dog if all you're going to do is chain them up.
its too hot outside,let him inside.

I don't want to get into the debate on rights and wrongs here but offer some advice to anyone with pets in this hot weather,
Dogs can be kept cooler by filling a 2lt bottle with water and freezing it then wrap in an old towel/pillow case and put in thier bed (I keep 3 bottles on rotation). This can also work for rabbits etc but use a soaked frozen brick in case they chew it.

People have dogs outside to do a job. This dog is on a farm so there are quite a few jobs it could be doing. It most certainly needs shade though. The temperature of the drinking water is not important as the water will warm up fairly quickly and the cooling effect is caused by the heat of evaporation (evaporation uses a lot more energy than simply warming water up).

Are you serious???

If you read my post it clearly says he is chained up at night time..ie. from 11 until mornings.

Its for his own safety.


He's been in the family for over 10 years, and all i'm doing is asking a simple question just to make sure he's comfortable in this weather.

Not need for all the condescending replies

He isn't chained up during the day, just at night and he has a very large dog house .. He's a very large dog and very energetic, my mum doesnt like him in the house because he usually destroys the place



thats a great idea, thanks

Maybe you could hose down his house in the evening as the sun is going down to make sure it's cool for bedtime and do it as often as needs be during the day.

While you are at it, if you could spray my bedroom about 8 or 9 o'clock I'd really appreciate it.

Thats actually a great idea



I'm after just hosing him down with cold water, had it on a misty spray but he still hated it....I'm sure its benefited him though...

I bought a large parasol this morning and put it down beside his tree to extend his shaded area, and put up a small tarpolen up the top of the garden but he doesnt like that... lol

I have 2 Labs who absolutley hate water, even brought kiddies pools for them, wouldnt mind if they had been scared or frightened in their past but nope even the 1 born here in the spare room is scared of water, let alone his dad, OH said he should have taken them down the Millpond when they were young, even when I get the hose out, 2 white arses disappear in the back door and they have never been sprayed with it,but quite happy to lay under garden brollies on the grass in the shade or on the brick shed floor.

He's probably just suffering from the heat - after all he is 10 years old.

My dog is quite thick coated and he just sleeps all day in this weather and livens up in the evening.

I regularly spray Baxter with one of those plant spray bottles filled with water. I initially got it as a training aid to stop bad behaviour but he loves being cooled down with it.

How about training the dog so it doesn't wreck the house... maybe interact with him, give him a safe area so he's not chained up, have you heard of fences?

Another condesending reply...


He is chained up at NIGHT TIME

He has an acre of green to run around during the day that is surrounded by a wire fence...

He's a big dog and if he want's to get out he can, but he doesn't during the day. He's been left off in the past at night but has gotten out, and there's far too many animals around so he's tied up at night for his own safety

Chaining a dog up is animal abuse. Bring him into the house.

Whats his kennel made of ? Not corrugated metal

its wooden with a slate roof

Maybe it needs to be re-positioned could be in a sun trap so does not cool down.