If you’re looking for a cooling water bowl for dogs this summer, we’ve found plenty of effortless ways that you can keep your dog’s water cool and refreshing all summer long.
2022 is definitely shaping up to be a year of record-breaking temperatures across the country and not in the way that my Newfies would like the weather to be breaking records.
It’s hot and it’s humid and the crisp days of fall seem pretty far away.
Keeping your dog’s water bowl cool in the summer heat will help them stay happy and healthy this summer!
And if you have a senior dog or a sick dog that needs to drink more water, cool water is definitely what they need.
A dog’s body is made up of 80% water so keeping them hydrated is super important to their overall health and well-being, not to mention having a nice bowl of cold and refreshing bowl of water will make them happy and keep them comfy and cool all summer long.
Giving your dog a cool of fresh, clean and cool water seems pretty easy.
All you have to do is fill up the bowl and set it down but on these warm summer days, that bowl of water can quickly become warm and stale.
If you don’t want to drink a warm glass of stale water, just think about how your dog feels!
But no matter how good of a pet owner you think you are, keeping a bowl of water cool and refreshing inside and outside of the house can be a challenge!
Thankfully, there are a few tricks you can use to make sure that you have a cold water dog bowl that stays fresh and cool all summer long.
Tricks To Keep Your Dog’s Water Cool Inside
- Refill the water bowl often
- Use ceramic or clay bowls in the summer
- Use a cooling mat
- Add ice cubes
- Frozen water bottle
- Freeze the bowl
- DIY ice bucket
- Dog water fountain
- Cooling dog water bowl
Even when we have our AC on, on super hot days, it doesn’t keep up and it just runs and runs so don’t think that just because your air conditioner is on, your dog’s water is staying cool.
Refill the Water Bowl Often
When you’re owned by Newfies, you’re constantly refilling water bowls but my dogs will usually let me know if their water bowls have more slobber than water and need a fresh refill but regardless, I still fill their bowls several times a day.
Make sure that you’re emptying the bowl completely and refilling it with fresh, cool water.
Use Ceramic, Clay or Stainless Bowls
I’ve always used stainless steel water bowls but I recently learned that ceramic and clay bowls tend to keep water cooler longer than bowls made out of plastic or steel.
I have 1 stainless and 1 ceramic bowl that I keep upstairs and the same amount downstairs.
In the summer, my dogs do tend to go to the ceramic bowl more for water.
Use a Cooling Mat
We have an abundance of cooling mats and not all of the dogs use them so if you bought a cooling mat recently and your dog won’t use it, don’t worry, we found a good use for it!
Most cooling mats are pressure activated meaning that when something lays or is placed on them, the cooling effect begins.
Place your water bowl on the mat and let it work its magic.
Ice Cubes
Ice cubes are a great way to keep water cool and most dogs love ice cubes!
Adding ice cubes to your dog’s water bowl will work great unless you have a dog like Lou that likes to nose dive for ice cubes, then you’ll just have a mess.
And don’t worry, ice water is safe for most dogs and ice doesn’t cause dog bloat.
Frozen Water Bottle
I can’t do this because Lou would just take the water bottle out and run around the house with it but if you don’t have a wacko Newfie, freezing a water bottle and then placing it in your dog’s water bowl will keep it nice and cool for quite a while!
Freeze the Water Bowl
If you have an extra stainless steel water bowl, place it in the freezer overnight.
In the morning pull it out of the freezer, fill it up and your bowl is ready to go!
I wouldn’t recommend putting clay or ceramic bowls in the freezer though!
Bucket Cooler
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If you have a spare plastic bucket, fill the bucket up with ice and then place the bowl on top of the bucket.
Instant cooler dog bowl!
Even if your bowl won’t fit perfectly on the lip of the bucket, you can still place it on top of the ice.
DIY Ice Bowl
A DIY ice bowl is a great idea to keep dog water cold but wouldn’t work in our house because all of my dogs love to eat ice and that’s probably because we make a lot of ice licks.
This way takes a little effort but it’s an easy kind of effort.
Check out how my friend Jodi from Kol’s Notes did it.
Dog Water Fountain
Dog water fountains are a great way to keep water cool and clean in the summer because they’re constantly moving.
They do require a lot of maintenance with filters but when we had one, I loved it and so did the dogs!
Tips To Keep Your Dog’s Water Cool Outside In The Summer
On super hot days, the dogs are only outside for a few minutes to do their business and then they’re right back inside to their AC vents or cool ceramic tile.
But on semi-warm days, they enjoy a dip in their pool and a few zoomies.
So it’s still important that they have fresh water available for after their zoomies.
While most of the above tips and tricks for keeping your dog’s water bowl cool in the summer will work outside too, there are additional things you can do outside.
Keep the Water Bowl In The Shade
This is super important when you use stainless steel water bowls because if that bowl is sitting in the sun, it will get scorching hot.
So always make sure the bowl, no matter what material it’s made out of is in the shade.
Get a Cooling Water Bowl For Dogs
If you want to buy a cold water dog bowl, there are several water bowls available that claim to keep a dog’s water bowl cool like the fancy Yeti bowl but you don’t have to spend a ton of money.
There’s a wide variety of cooling water bowls on the market that keep a dog’s water cold like this one that has an impressive 4.5/5 star Amazon rating.
I did not include any bowls with gel inserts or other cooling gels added to them due to safety concerns!
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phyllis
Tuesday 26th of July 2022
Thanks for the watering notes. Where in Ohio are you located?