29/11/2017
Ok so there have been some questions about cooling mats. We stock 2 different types.
1 type is the 'too cool' brand. These work the same way as kitchen tiles stay cool. They have a NON-TOXIC gel in them and you simply place them somewhere on the ground and the dog lies on them. Eventually the dog's heat will warm up the mat and it will stop cooling. If the dog gets off and the mat is still somewhere cool, it'll cool down again by itself and will work as before. These are great if you have somewhere shady for the mats to be placed and don't need a huge amount of cooling to occur, just somewhere nice to lie, and are going to be away for a long time. They can be chewed and the gel can be ingested but as it's non-toxic it should just pass through the dog's system (not advised to give a known chewer any type of gel to eat however!). There are similar, cheaper, imitations out there, please beware that some of these are not non-toxic and are potentially very dangerous.
Our second type is made of the same material as the cool coats that we stock. You simply wet the mat, squeeze it out and place on the ground. The mat is made of a number of layers of different materials that are designed so that the mat is cool to the touch rather than wet, and it controls the rate of water evaporation. As the water evaporates, more heat is drawn from the dog's body to the mat, cooling the dog. Once the water is totally evaporated it becomes just a mat. The length of time for this to occur depends upon the conditions - in sunlight / shade etc etc. but usually good for a number of hours. This type of mat is better for chewers (no gel to be eaten), has a better rate of cooling than the gel type and folds up smaller for easier storage / transport. Some dogs don't like the 'squidgy' feel that the gel mats have and so this mat is great for them. The downside is that it does need re-wetting every so often and is slightly more expensive. It can however be put in the washing machine if it needs cleaning.
If either of these sound good to you, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Gel mats are available in 3 sizes: S (30 * 40 cm = $25), M (40 * 50cm = $35) and L (50 * 90cm = $50)
CC mats are available in 6 colours and 5 sizes: XXS (41 * 56cm = $60), XS (48 * 71cm = $70), S (56 * 86cm = $80), L (71 * 109cm = $100) and XL (106 * 142cm = $150)