How To Make a Cooling Collar for Your Dog

Looking for a way to help your pets beat the summer heat? It is often overlooked, but many pets can become overheated during the hot summer months, especially if left to their own devices. There are several easy steps that you can take to help your pet cool off, from making sure that plenty of fresh water and shade is available, to making a special cooling collar. Here's how to make a cooling collar for your dog:

Materials and supplies:

• Water saver crystals
• About 1/4 yard fabric (look for durable, water-resistant fabric)
• Velcro
• Needle and thread (or sewing machine)
• Cloth measuring tape
• Scissors
• Pins

1. Measure your dog's neck. Measure around the neck of your dog. Then, add four inches. This is the length you need to cut your fabric so that it will fit your dog's neck. If your dog is still a puppy, and is growing rapidly, you may want to add a couple of additional inches to this measurement so that they will not outgrow the cooling collar so quickly.
2. Determine the optimum width for the collar. Decide how wide you want the collar to be. Keep in mind that the cooling crystals contained within the collar will expand. The collar fabric should be cut to the total size, taking into account expansion of the crystals.
3. Cut the fabric. Cut one piece of fabric that is as long as the measurement from step two, and twice as long as the desired width of the finished collar. Pin together with the right side facing inwards, since the fabric will be turned inside out after you're finished sewing it, at which point you want the right side facing outwards.
4. Sew the sides. Now, sew the long side and one of the narrow sides closed. You can hand-sew or machine-sew this project. You may want to go over the lines twice so that the stitches are very strong. When you're done sewing, turn the fabric right-side out.
5. Attach the Velcro. Stitch the Velcro into place on the end of the collar that has already been stitched closed.
6. Add the water crystals. The amount of crystals the cooling collar for your dog will require depends on the size of your dog. The crystals triple in size when they are wet, so don't add too many to the collar. Fill the collar with the crystals, leaving room for expansion. Finally, stitch the tube of the collar closed, about two inches before the end of the fabric.
7. Attach the second Velcro piece. Finally, attach a piece of Velcro to the end left after stitching the second narrow edge closed. Make sure that the Velcro is positioned correctly. When the collar is closed, the two Velcro pieces should overlap to secure the collar around the neck of your dog.
8. Soak the collar. Once the collar is complete, soak it in cold water for four to six hours. This will be enough time for the crystals to soak up water, expanding to fill the space in the collar.

This cooling collar is an easy sewing project. It can be stored in the refrigerator in a bag of water to make it easy to cool off your dog during hot summer days without having to soak it for several hours first.