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The dog days of summer are July 3 through August 11. Though, I think they should extend that date. We have an excessive heat watch for Thursday, August 24, 2023, dangerously hot conditions with heat index values up to 109° possible (until they change it 😉 ). So, I thought I would do a quick post about a cool mat I made for Faith.
This is for travel, when your dog is in the crate, like after a hike or dog training… But also, if your dog is outside or comes in after a walk, especially in hot weather. I had a dog that would run to the air conditioner register and lay on it, smart dog.
You could also buy a cool mat if you don’t have a sewing machine. I have this one and keep it in one crate during the summer. I’ll add the one I made on top of it if it’s super-hot, especially after any exercise.
But, if you have a sewing machine, you can make this one!
I’m no seamstress, not even close & this was easy to make.
I used fleece material like this for the front and this for the back side where the pockets are. You’ll also need ice packs, I used some like these. I cut my packs to fit the sized pockets I needed. You may need to make the pockets of your cool mat to the size of your ice packs, especially if you can’t cut them.
What came first the chicken or the egg?
Do you buy your ice packs to fit your pockets or do your pockets and find ice packs to fit??
First measure the bottom of your crate, if it’s going in the crate, or your dog while laying down. So you’ll know what size bed you’ll need.
This is the top fabric size. Plus like an inch all the way around (4”) to fold over to make the edge nice. You’ll want two of these. Sew them together. This makes it softer on top of the ice packs.
Then figure out how you want your pockets and what size you’ll need.
Faiths bed has 8 pockets. The middle of the bed on the long side, is where I load the ice packs. You can see the frost where it came out of the freezer. The bed is 35(L) x 23(W) She is way bigger than this when she stretches out but it fits in both crates ok and her core will get cooled.
I took a different fabric color, which was all black, took the same measurement as the top fabric added another 2 inches (so I could fold in the fabric where it’s open in the middle). Then cut it in half on the long side.
Sew the strips onto the backside of the top fabric, on three sides. Be sure to have that inch folded in down the middle. Do this again on the other side. Assuming you have 2 strips. Then, sew for your pockets.
I’m able to fold the bed kind of in an accordion style and put it in a plastic bag and I can keep it in the freezer. Until the late fall.
The ice packs I use first have to be soaked in water, so I do that first, then put them in the freezer. Sometimes I’ll get them out and pop them into the bed. Then pop the bed into a cooler and take with me. If the bed isn’t dirty and I don’t have to wash it, I keep the packs in the bed and pop the whole thing in a plastic bag then into the freezer and it’s ready to go.
So, for the Dog Days of Summer next year, you’ll be ready. But it’s still not too late to diy your dog his/her own cool bed. The next couple of months could be a bit warm, especially when you think about wearing a fur coat in 70 and 80 degree weather.