Great information. I know leaving a small lamp on really helped my dogs. I still use it. With a black dog, I'm always afraid I might step on her at night!
The doggie stairs didn't work for me either. One dog was afraid of them, the other would climb them to get up on the bed and then launch himself across the room. Not good for a geriatric.
This is a great idea for a thread. My two senior dogs are now at the Bridge
but this tip may help others. My oldest dog had a thick, heavy, black coat and the summer was brutal. I found some cooling bandannas that really helped with our summer-time walks. There are some specifically for dogs (Kyjen Outward Hound Cool-It Bandanna among others). You soak the bandanna in water and polymer crystals plump up and then give an evaporative cooling effect around the neck. You can also find a cooling neck strip in the tennis area of sporting goods stores. Before I found these, I took a regular bandanna and folded it in half and stitched a wide pocket at the fold, open on one end. I got some small ice cube type pouches of water that could be frozen and placed in cooler bags. These were the small ones that were about 1.25 x 2.5 and contained a safe water--not the blue cooling gel. I kept these chilled in the refrigerator instead of the freezer and was able to slip a few of these in the bandanna I made. Tying around the neck kept the pouches from slipping out. It is heavier than the products with the water-absorbing crystals, but is also an option. It works and keeps the dog cooler. I can still see my little guy wagging his tail when he would see me pull out his bandanna! Hope this tip can help someone.
My young dog has the bandanna for agility practice. It really works! (And Mom has one of the cooling strips as well.
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