*I was provided with a Cool Pet Pad. All opinions are my own.
Did you know that dogs don’t sweat very much? They can sweat through their paw pads but most of the rest of their body doesn’t sweat. Instead, they use panting to help cool off and moderate their body temperature. Pugs aren’t very good at using panting to cool themselves because they have short nasal passages and small mouths (both are the result of having the “smushed” face). For this reason, pugs are really sensitive to heat and as a pug owner, I need to have a few tricks up my sleeve when my pugs get overheated.
While Frank & Beans are both pugs, Beans’ face and snout are much flatter than Franks and she struggles with the heat much more than he does. She begins panting while lying around when it’s less than 75 degrees sometimes. I had heard about dog cooling beds before, but they had to be put in the freezer and I didn’t really have the freezer space for that. So when I came across The Green Pet Shop, I was immediately interested in their Cool Pet Pads that don’t need to be ‘chilled’ in any way – no fridge or freezer storing, and no water or ice to add to the bed.
Cool Pet Pads don’t require any “prep” at all. You can leave the pad lying around on your floor, a dog bed or wherever you like and it will automatically be activated when pressure is applied. Its filled with a special gel that reacts to the pressure of your dog’s body weight and will remain cool for up to four hours. Then to “recharge” it simply needs a little while of non-use and then it can be used again. If you want the mat to get extra-cool you can put it in the refrigerator but it is not needed.
Beans hasn’t yet decided to start lying on the mat on her own. If I notice that she is panting I will lay next to the mat and then she will lay on it (to lay next to me). Frank on the other hand, appears to completely understand the purpose of the mat. If we run around and play and he gets warm, or if it’s just a particularly hot day, he will go hang out on the mat until he cools down. I found it pretty fascinating that Frank appeared to understand how the mat works from the start, and Beans still hasn’t. Instead, if she gets hot I lay next to it so that she will lay on it, or I put the pad next to me while I am on the couch and then she will come lay on it.
Beans is 20lbs and Frank is 24lbs, so based on their weight they should have fit the small mat which is just $25 and measures 11.8 by 15.7 inches in size. I knew this was much smaller than their dog bed, so I got the medium mat which is for dogs 25-69lbs and measures 15.7 by 19.7 inches. As you can see, it still seems a bit small for my dogs at first but this is because they only really need to have their belly’s on the mat, not their whole body like a dog bed. So if you plan to have your dogs entire body on the mat, you’ll likely want to size up instead of ordering based on their weight. I’ve found that Frank doesn’t really seem to attempt to lay on the entire mat most of the time, anyway. He usually lies on it at an angle so part of his body is above the mat, and then the mat goes under his tummy and the rest sticks out on one side of his body or behind his legs. Having the mat be on the smaller size makes it fit just about anywhere. My dogs like to sit with me on the couch and it fits great on a single cushion of the couch, in a medium size dog kennel, on a vehicle seat and more.
If you want to purchase your own Cool Pet Pad, check out the Green Pet Shop to purchase.
Do your dogs struggle with heat during the summer? How do you keep them cool?
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
Your pooch seems to love it! My dog lays on the tile floor flat on his belly with legs stretched behind him. he could probably use something like this adding a little comfort to the floor.
My dogs go and sit in my tub to cool off. I would rather have this cool pad for them than to have to clean the tub every time they get in and out. Thanks for sharing.
MzBaker
Rebecca Swenor
We used to have a long-haired dog that would have loved this in the summer! Will keep it in mind for our next one!