Summer is coming! This is the time for you and your dachshund to go out and explore more than your neighborhood. You might want to go hiking in a forest, visit (pet) shops, go to restaurants, etc. But to get to all these places, you need to travel, and most people travel by car. But summers are hot, very hot. Especially inside cars temperatures can rise very fast. Every year, thousands of dogs die from overheating. By the time their owner notices somethings wrong, it is almost always too late already. This is why it is important to keep your doxie cool inside a hot car. Here are some tips and tricks on how to do this:

1. Use a cooler pad

Regular cooler pads have their limitations: you need to refrigerate them before they cool, which takes a long time. They are also not very useful when used during traveling, because most people don’t have a refrigerator in their car. But the cooler pad pictured above, has a very cool feature: it cools on contact. You do not need to add water, refrigerate, or use electricity. The pressure activated gel begins cooling when your dog lies down and cools for up to 3 hours. The pad recharges automatically after 15-20 minutes of non-use. Buy this cooler pad here.

2. Make sure your dachshund drinks enough water

It is extremely important that you keep your dachshund hydrated. If you don’t do this, the chance of your dog getting overheated is much bigger. A very useful product is the bottle/bowl you see above. You have a bottle and a bowl in one, so you will never forget one of them again or have to share your bottle with your doxie. Buy the bottle here.

3. Don’t pour water over your dachshund’s body
This might seem like a logic solution, but pouring cold water over your dog when he is hot is a very temporary solution. The water will reach the skin, but will not dry up immediately. The hot skin of your dog will heat the water, causing it to leave burns on the skin because the water gets so hot. Avoid this at all times, because this is extremely painful for your dachshund.

4. Leave a window open
A lot of cool, fresh air will get into your car through the open window. To make sure your dachshund does not catch a cold (which can happen) or jumps out of the open window, you need to make sure you open the window just a little bit. Especially with an open window it is highly recommended to use a seat belt clip for your dachshund, which you can buy here. Dachshunds are very clever animals, and they will always find a way to get themselves in trouble.

5. Don’t put any clothes on your dachshund
A naked dog is a cool dog. Clothes are fine during winter time and around air conditioning, but not in a hot car.

6. NEVER leave your dachshund in a car by himself!
Never ever ever leave your dachshund alone in a hot car. Even when you just go out to do some 5 minute grocery shopping, leaving your dog inside a hot car without supervision can be fatal and is considered as a crime.

I hope you found these tips and tricks useful. Remember that your dachshund is not a human, and needs you to take care of him.

What do you do to keep your dachshund cool in the car? Leave a comment below!