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  • 1.  Extremely Hot Weather and Animal Management

    Posted 04-07-2024 03:07 PM

    I am the Animal Care Manager at a shelter in the desert. During the summer, temperatures are regularly 110 degrees or more. Due to this, we typically struggle to get dogs out of their kennels after 11am. During cooler weather, we are fortunate enough to get dogs out at least twice a day but last summer had us almost lose a large amount of staff because there wasn't a summer protocol in place and people were burning out and getting sick from the heat. We had staff pulling dogs and using misters and hoses to keep yard areas slightly cooler, which didn't work as well as we'd like. 

    As we move into the summer months, we are working on restructuring our days to ensure all of our dogs get out before the day gets too hot and focusing on in-kennel activities for the remainder of the day. With that being said, does anyone have ideas for in-kennel activities that are engaging for the dogs? We've got kongs and click-for-quiet along with some other things, but I'm hoping to get some creative ideas that are a little out of the box. We do have some indoor spaces, so I was thinking of group training "classes" with the animal care staff and volunteers and the dogs. Any insight or resources that would help with that would be hugely appreciated!

    We're very open to any and all ideas! We just want to make sure we are doing everything we can for the dogs while keeping everyone safe and healthy. 

    Thank you!


    #Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment

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    Zach Mills
    Animal Behavior Manager
    Heidi's Village
    AZ
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  • 2.  RE: Extremely Hot Weather and Animal Management

    Posted 04-10-2024 07:31 AM

    Hey Zach,

    We would definitely be interested in hearing some ideas for our cats as well. We are located in Florida, we don't deal with as high temperatures as you but we do have 2 outdoor rescue shelters that we have adults cats in. We are working on funding to build an indoor air-conditioned shelter but we might not getting it done before we get to the summer months. We have large fans installed that help keep the cats cool and we make sure we keep large amounts of water in the shelters to help keep them hydrated.

    Look forward to hearing any ideas!



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    Jeffrey Boegli
    Secretary/Treasurer
    Kitty Rescue Corp
    New Port Richey, FL
    https://kittyrescuecorp.org
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  • 3.  RE: Extremely Hot Weather and Animal Management

    Posted 04-11-2024 08:00 AM

    Have you tried any frozen enrichment for the cats? In past summers, we have brewed catnip like tea, then froze it into ice cubes of differing sizes. We've also mixed different treats or foods into water and frozen it. The cats love it and it keeps them cool and hydrated. 



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    Zach Mills
    Animal Behavior Manager
    Heidi's Village
    AZ
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Extremely Hot Weather and Animal Management

    Posted 04-11-2024 08:38 AM

    Ours is the opposite problem!..Northwest Mn. We have graduated cold weather(windchill) protocols  for time allowed outside in outdoors runs. Have to rollout more often for shorter periods of time. Boredom is a problem during winter with the dogs. Due to climate change  we have had to add hot weather(heat index) protocols too. Generally that affects us  a short window of time each day and not very many days a season. Fortunate to have central air and heat.



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    Rochelle Hamp
    Executive Director
    Headwaters Animal Shelter
    MN
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  • 5.  RE: Extremely Hot Weather and Animal Management

    Posted 04-15-2024 05:31 PM

    Hello Zach,

    Until recently, I lived in the Phoenix area and volunteered with Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue so I know Heidi's Village very well!  Great place!   And you have that wonderful indoor space where you could add scent training to give the dogs an indoor activity.   Here is a short clip showing an easy way to set up nose work with misc. cardboard boxes (recycle those Amazon boxes!).  This is how I trained one of my dogs, and the room was full of boxes of various sizes.  Only a few of the boxes had treats under them.  

    https://youtube.com/shorts/x83HmiKlj74?si=EjcKwv4t8LczZk3H

    I'm now living in Oregon and volunteering at our local Humane Society.  I was just talking to our Volunteer Manager today about additional ideas for in-kennel activities.  Maybe you have already seen the Boredom Buster Program?  I found it here on Maddie's Fund forum.

    Hope your summer is a good one!

    Lisa Smiley, CFDM

    VSA Student



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    Elizabeth Smiley
    Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue
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  • 6.  RE: Extremely Hot Weather and Animal Management

    Posted 04-16-2024 06:42 AM

    We also keep outdoor pools in the dog runs in the summer.:more just for fun. We found the kiddie pools are not very durable though.

    We scrounge and request used kid's (first step brand) plastic sandboxes from garage sales and toss the covers. We clean and refill the pools daily. We have four outdoor dog yards.

    The baby pools are awesome though for newborn puppy litters and moms. Easy to clean. Mom can get in and out. Contains the puppies until they are able to climb out.



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    Rochelle Hamp
    Executive Director
    Headwaters Animal Shelter
    MN
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Extremely Hot Weather and Animal Management

    Posted 04-16-2024 06:15 AM

    Hi!

    Up until a few years ago, we did not have air conditioning in our K9 area. It would get miserably hot for both the dogs and the staff. All of our dog kennels do have a small outside area. We can open the guillotine doors on nice days so that they can go in and out as they please. During a particularly hot summer, we asked the public to donate the little kid swimming pools. We received a ton! We would place these in the cooler areas of our "bark park" space so that when dogs were out on walks they would have the option of getting in the pools if they chose. We would also place the pools in the outside areas of the dog kennels containing breeds like huskies. If it was insanely hot, we would as for donations of ice and place bags of ice into the kiddie pools. Dogs thought this was great! They would steal pieces of ice to play with or eat. Someone once brought us a handful of special bowls that could be placed in the freezer and then taken out to put water in, and the water would stay cold for a long time. The downside was that they bowls didn't hold up well and so didn't last very long. We would sometimes give the dogs a bowl of water as well as a bowl of ice. And then throughout the day, we would add ice cubes to the dogs water bowls. We had some wonderful people in our community that also considered the staff's wellness during the heat. Someone donated a big cooler and we would keep it filled with ice and bottled water and Gatorade for the staff. We had a staff member bring in a bunch of those cooling cloths that you could freeze and wear around your neck to help keep you cool. And we would rotate staff in and out of the K9 center so that no one was in there too long. The friendlier dogs we would rotate in and out of offices so they could have a chance in the air conditioning. We are fortunate that are cat area has always had air conditioning. 



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    Erin Robinson
    Foster Coordinator
    Licking County Humane Society
    OH
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