Does Summer have to equal bad behavior for my Coton de Tulear?

by Mia
(Illinois)

Help, my dog behaves so badly in the summer months. Summers here in Illinois are too hot for people, let alone Cotons. But keeping her cool seems to have a direct impact on her behavior. Most of the time she is a very active dog since we live near many parks; and when she has limited access to the parks or her long walks turn into short walks due to the heat she starts acting out.


My sweet little girl turns into a devil - barking, destroying furniture, accidents in the house. She never has these behavior problems when she's able to get lots of activity and exercise.

Does anyone have ideas on how to keep my dog active indoors? We've spent a fortune on dog toys but they all seem to bore her to pieces.

Comments for Does Summer have to equal bad behavior for my Coton de Tulear?

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Jun 10, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Summer
by: Vicky & Jonah (Az)

Jonah also has a sm. pool for when we come back from the dog park. I just gave Jonah a haircut yesterday & took of 3-4 inches & then bath today. AZ gets hot & this yr. has started off early. This will be his 2nd ever cut & he is 4.5. but it makes it so much easier when pool water is to be involved more frequently since they mat so easily.

Here they have indoor agility areas that are fairly cheap to join that they may have in ur area or most chains ie Petsmart etc have play areas where u may take them to. If the destruction is excessive it may be cheaper in the long run to use these 2-3 days a week.

I know their are no magic answers & with work it can be hard to manage outside activity. Here in the summer I get up at 6am & leave my house for us to get a walk in & be back no later than 8am because of our heat. If we go to the dog park we are their by 7-8am & back by no later then 10am since our heat is brutal. Good luck
Jun 10, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Summer fun
by: Elizabeth

We live in Alabama so it is always hot in the summer here. My Coton, Oscar loves the big pool and will actually jump in and swim on his own. When he was a little pup he had his own life jacket so he learned safely where the steps to exit the pool are located. So now as an adult less stress for Mom and Oscar really enjoys the water.
Jun 10, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Bad behavior
by: Gale

Mia, you could be writing about Luc. He doesn't do well in the heat either and he definitely starts misbehaving if he doesn't get enough activity. If Luc gets bored I know he will find a way to get into some kind of trouble. When the weather is nice, we go on long walks and he plays hard in the yard or at the park - I can hardly get him to come inside. Whole different story when it's hot - he's not a fan of our Florida humidity and his pads are very sensitive to the hot sidewalks.

I love the pool idea. I am definitely going to try that. I do use some cooling scarves (I freeze them and it goes around his neck to keep him cool) and I've also got a cooling mat on the back porch so he can be with me when I'm out there (really works but the cat usually beats him to it since she loves the heat).
Jun 10, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		I was going to suggest a pool also
by: Kathy

... and heaven forbid ... another dog. Two can be very destructive though -- but when they are together and can run, they have the best time.

My dogs don't seem to mind the heat, and I'm in South Carolina. It gets to 90-95 deg F here for usually 3 months each summer. I bought the baby pool at Lowe's. Two of my Cotons love the pool. My older one does not.

I have a fenced yard so I can just let them run and have fun. I get some shade in the evening so it's not so bad in the back yard in the evening. But as previously posted, the mornings are also cool. I'm usually at work in the middle of the day, and they are in the dog room (aka the bathroom).

I did find a good chew that I like for them. It lasts the longest but it is made in China. It's distributed from a company in Anderson SC though. It's called "Waggin Train" -- the chews are called Big Blast. It's a pork skin wrapped around chicken liver center. That keeps them occupied when they are inside a lot.

Good Luck and let us know what works for you!
Jun 10, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Summer Trouble
by: DeMarie Rossi

We live in So Cal and it gets horribly hot here in the summer, so we do our long walks early in the am, before the heat hits - that means getting up early - but it is worth it. We do have a pool - but our Coton doesn't like the big pool so I slowly introduced her to a baby pool and she loves it - jumps in and out and expends a lot of energy that way - the pools run about 13 dollars at a hardware store and are well worth it!

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