Why Do Huskies Suffer 2x More in Summer Heat? (And What 40,000 Nordic Breed Owners Do About It)
Every July, the same scene plays out in thousands of American homes. The Husky who sprints through snowdrifts in January now lies flat on the bathroom tile, panting, restless, refusing his afternoon walk.
Many owners assume their dog is just being lazy. He is not. He is overheating, and his own coat is a big part of the reason.
The Double Coat: a Winter Superpower That Backfires in July
Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Aussies, Berners and Chow Chows all share one thing: a double coat. A dense, woolly undercoat sits underneath a layer of longer guard hairs.
That undercoat is a phenomenal insulator. It traps a layer of air against the skin, which is exactly what you want at 10 below zero.
The problem is that insulation works both ways. In summer, that same trapped layer slows down how fast your dog can shed body heat. Add the fact that dogs barely sweat (they cool down mostly by panting and through their paw pads and belly) and you get a dog that heats up faster and cools down slower than a short-coated breed in the same backyard.
The Warning Signs Most Owners Miss
Overheating rarely starts with something dramatic. It starts small:
Restless pacing at night instead of sleeping. Skipping meals on hot days. Constantly relocating from spot to spot, looking for a cooler patch of floor. Heavy panting that does not settle after 10 minutes indoors. Lying flat on their belly with legs stretched out behind them, pressing as much skin as possible against a cool surface.
That last one is the big clue. Dogs instinctively hunt for cool surfaces because belly contact is one of their most efficient ways to release heat. Your dog already knows what he needs. He just cannot find enough of it in a carpeted, 78-degree house.
Why the Obvious Solutions Fall Short
Running the AC harder
Cooling an entire house to dog-comfortable levels all summer is expensive, and it still does not give your dog the cold-surface contact he is instinctively looking for. Central air cools the air. Your dog wants to cool his belly.
The garden hose or kiddie pool
Great for some dogs, but a soaked double coat can actually trap moisture against the skin and stay damp for hours, which can lead to hot spots and skin issues. And it does nothing for the 22 hours a day your dog spends indoors.
Shaving. Please, never do this.
It feels logical: less hair, less heat. But a double coat does not work like a sweater you can take off.
The coat shields the skin from direct sun and helps regulate temperature in both directions. Shave it and you expose pale, unprotected skin to sunburn. Worse, the coat often grows back wrong: the woolly undercoat regrows faster than the guard hairs, producing a patchy, dull, Velcro-like coat that can be permanently damaged. Some coats never fully recover.
What double-coated dogs actually need in summer is regular brushing to remove dead undercoat, and a way to dump body heat on demand.
What 40,000 Nordic Breed Owners Do Instead
The simplest fix mirrors what your dog is already trying to do: give him a surface that stays cool, big enough for a full sprawl, anywhere in the house.
That is exactly what the NORDPAW Ice Silk cooling mat does. The woven Ice Silk fabric feels noticeably cooler than room temperature the moment your dog lies on it, and keeps pulling warmth away from his body as he rests. No gel that can leak or be chewed, no water, no refrigeration, no power outlet.
Unlike the generic cooling mats sold for "all dogs," NORDPAW mats come in L and XL only, sized for a stretched-out Shepherd or a 90-pound Malamute, because a mat only works if the whole belly fits on it.
Owners report the same pattern again and again: the dog sniffs it, lies down, and simply stops relocating. Calmer afternoons, and for many, the first full night of sleep of the summer.
"My Samoyed spent every evening glued to the AC vent. Now she stretches out on the mat and stays there. I honestly did not expect it to work this well."
"Two Huskies in Florida. Enough said. We have one mat in the crate and one by the back door and both get used daily."
The Summer Deal: Buy One, Get One Free
Because most owners end up wanting a second mat (crate, car, or the other favorite napping spot), NORDPAW runs a simple summer offer: buy one mat, get the second one free. Size L is $49.95 and XL is $59.95, and every order includes two free ebooks on summer care for double-coated breeds, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Mats ship from a US warehouse and arrive in 3 to 5 days, which matters when the forecast says 98°F by Friday.
30-day money-back guarantee · Ships in 3-5 days from a US warehouse
This article is published by NORDPAW and features our own product. It is educational content, not veterinary advice. If your dog shows signs of heat distress, contact a veterinarian immediately.