Cooling Foods for Summer Comfort

As summer temperatures soar in the UAE, pet parents everywhere are taking extra steps to keep their furry family members cool and comfortable.

While hydration, shade, and limited midday walks are essential, many people don’t realise that their cats' and dogs’ diet can also affect body temperature.

According to Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) principles, food energetics, the idea that certain foods have warming or cooling effects on the body, can help regulate your dog’s internal balance. TCVM food therapy is often combined with other modalities such as herbs and acupuncture.

What Are Cooling Foods (and Why Do They Matter)

In TCVM, foods are categorised by the energetic impact they have on the body: warming, neutral, or cooling. Cooling foods for cats and dogs are particularly beneficial if your pet spends time outdoors in hot climates like the UAE, or for pets showing signs of excess heat in their body, such as:

• Panting and restlessness when not exercising
• Red tongue or warm ears to the touch
• Itchy skin or inflammation
• Seeking out cool surfaces

TCVM also emphasises the importance of light and easy-to-digest foods during summer to avoid overburdening the digestive system. Our fresh, unadulterated, species-appropriate foods are exactly this.

While TCVM offers valuable insights into the energetic properties of foods, modern nutritional guidelines must first be considered when feeding your dog or cat. Combining the principles of TCVM with evidence-based nutrition, like our detailed recipe formulations, can help best support your pet’s overall health and energetic needs.

If you'd like, try to incorporate more cooling foods into your pet’s diet during the summer months, and you can help reduce internal heat and support their ability to regulate temperature more efficiently.

Cooling Proteins

Our range of expertly formulated, complete and balanced raw meals, meal toppers, freeze-dried treats, and hydrators provides you with a variety of options for cooling protein for dogs and cats to incorporate the principles of food energetics into your mealtime routine. Here are some standout cooling proteins for cats and dogs ideal for summer feeding:

• Rabbit: Considered one of the coolest meats. Lean, novel, and ideal for pets with inflammation, skin conditions, or food sensitivities.
  
• Duck: Cooling and moistening. Great for pets with dry skin or warm constitutions.
  
• Whitefish: Rich in omega-3s and deeply cooling. Helpful for inflammatory conditions.
• Raw Goat Milk Kefir: Kefir’s beneficial bacteria are thought to support gut health and may have a cooling effect on the body.
• Turkey: Neutral to slightly cooling, it's highly digestible and easy on sensitive stomachs.

All cooling foods for dogs and cats used in our products are ethically sourced from responsible farmers who practise sustainable methods. No hormones and no added antibiotics.

SHOP COOLING PROTEINS

Cooling Foods for Dogs from Vegetables & Fruits

Many of our organic vegetables and fruits in our meals for dogs offer cooling, hydrating, and digestive cooling pet food benefits. These balanced recipes include 14 to 15% certified organic produce, including:

• Zucchini (green and yellow): hydrating and a mildly cooling food for dogs
• Romaine Lettuce and Celery: high in water content and support fluid balance
• Parsley: detoxifying and a little cooling
• Blueberries and Cranberries: antioxidant-rich and slightly cooling
• Broccoli and Kale: known to help clear excess heat from the body
• Apples (no core): moistening and refreshing

Any of the above produce, including watermelon, melon, and cucumber, are great cooling foods for dogs and can be fed in moderation as healthy snacks. In addition to parsley, herbs such as chamomile and mint are known for their cooling properties.

SHOP COOLING MEALS

Oils and Moisture: Feeding for Hydration

In summer, it’s especially important to focus on moisture-rich meals that are easy to digest. All of Furchild meals are fresh, unprocessed and contain approximately 72% natural moisture (compared to just 5% to 10% in ultra-processed kibble and biscuits!)

Furchild also incorporates high-quality healthy fats that support the skin, coat, and natural cooling functions:

• Organic Flaxseed Oil: rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3s
• Cod Liver Oil (Wild Alaskan): cooling, nourishing, and full of essential fatty acids

Included in the right quantities and combined with fresh raw ingredients, our recipes help support hydration and your pet's ability to manage heat effectively from the inside out.

Feeding Tips for Summer Wellness

Here are a few practical adjustments you can make to your summer food for dogs and cats:

• Offer cooling foods more frequently in hot weather
• Feed early in the morning or after sunset, when temperatures are lower and digestion is stronger
• Incorporate hydrators or broths to increase fluid intake
• Stick to high-moisture, raw meals rather than dry or heavily processed food

Feeding cooling foods can contribute to your pet's comfort, but they should not replace moisture-rich diets and constant access to clean, fresh water.

And, for pet parents and pet professionals, it’s important to be aware of heat stress symptoms and consult your trusted veterinarian if anything seems off.

Read more about the importance of high-moisture diets here.

Why Rotation Still Matters

Not every pet needs the same foods year-round. While cooling foods can be especially helpful in the summer foods for for dogs and cats, warming proteins like lamb, ostrich, venison, chicken, and shrimp offer excellent nutritional benefits, great for colder months, and can be especially important in supporting balancing pets with a yin deficiency: those pets who tend to seek warmth, have low energy, or cold extremities like limbs, nose or ears.

Neutral proteins like beef, camel, salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, and camel are also excellent choices to include in your pet’s rotational diet and can be fed anytime of the year.

The key is balance. We strongly recommend focusing first on feeding a well-balanced, fresh species-appropriate diet to support your pet’s long-term health and vitality, and then try to incorporate cooling, neutral or warming proteins into your pet's diet when required.

Help Your Pet Stay Cool, Naturally

In effort to add variety to your pet's diet and help them stay cool through nutrition, try to include more cooling proteins for cats and dogs like rabbit, duck, whitefish in the summer months. At Furchild, we’re proud to offer cooling meats for dogs and cats with our meals, treats, toppers and hydrators that support your pet from nose to tail, naturally.