Best cooling mats for dogs in 2025, tested by my dogs

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a day ago

The best cooling mat for dogs we tested
Best cooling mat for dogs: Green Pet Cool Pet Pad If the summer heat is slowing your pet, consider using one of the best dog cooling mats or pads to help them regulate their temperature. Cooling mats are either filled with water or a unique gel that absorbs the heat of your furry friend and then dissipates it to keep your dog cool.
To find out if these cooling mats truly do work, I called in five of the most popular and tested them over a few weeks. I sat on them myself, had my dogs lie on them and even ran a few controlled experiments to find which cooling mats are worth buying. One emerged as the best for most dog owners (and dogs).
Green Pet Cool Pet Pad
The Green Pet Cool Pet Pad didn't have the absolute best cooling power, but its straightforward, lightweight design makes it incredibly easy to use and portable. Its combination of simplicity and durability, and its wide range of sizes makes it the best dog cooling mat on the market. The best cooling mat I tested was the Green Pet Cool Pet Pad. It strikes the perfect balance of cooling power, portability and ease of use. While the water-based mats I tested performed better in my cooling tests, they're a pain to fill up, use and transport. That's why this mat from Green Pet, which utilizes a nontoxic gel to help absorb excess heat from your pup in the summer, easily won out over its competitors.
While some might like the increased cooling power of a water mat, I don't think dealing with the intense prep of them is worth it, unless you're going to leave them in a semipermanent spot like a back porch that's next to a hose for easier filling.
The Green Pet mat, on the other hand, couldn't be simpler to use. All you have to do is unfold it and place it on the ground. There's no need to fill it with water since the gel inside can immediately start lowering your pup's temperature, and moving it from your porch to your family room is a breeze, thanks to its lightweight design. Even though it didn't work as well as the mats filled with cold water, I thought that skipping the five- to 10-minute setup process was a huge perk.
The Green Pet mat, like all the other mats, had a respectable cooling score. All the pads I tested scored about the same in one of my two temperature tests, where I stuck a bottle of hot water on the mats before measuring how much it cooled off after 15 minutes. I performed this test with both K&H mats filled with room-temperature water, and they had similar cooling scores as the gel-filled mats (although I'm sure if I filled them with cold water, they'd have performed better).
In my other temperature test, I prepped each mat (this time using cold water for the fillable mats) and set them out in direct sunlight. The thinner gel mats quickly heated up after 15 minutes, which meant they wouldn't be much help for your dog. The water-filled ones, on the other hand, stayed cool much longer, thanks to the cold water inside. This is an extreme test since you likely won't always be using a cooling pad in direct sunlight.
Despite the increased cooling capabilities of water-filled pads, I think most people will enjoy the simplicity of gel mats, which is why the Green Pet Cool Pet Pad is my winner. What you miss out on in cooling efficiency is more than made up for in its simplicity and portability. As long as you use the Green Pet pad inside or in a shaded area, it can help bring your dog's body temperature down to prevent them from overheating. If you have no choice but to put your dog's cooling pad in direct sunlight, you may want to consider a water pad, despite how difficult it can be to use.
Beyond the Green Pet mat's ease of use, I also loved how durable the mat proved to be in my tests. Can it hold up against super chewers? Probably not. But it is strong enough to hold up to some digging and nibbling. And if your dog does get through the outer fabric, the gel inside is nontoxic.
After all my tests, the Green Pet Cool Pet Pad stood out as the best option to buy. It's extremely easy to use, has enough cooling power for most situations, comes in five different sizes to fit whatever breed of dog you have and even has extra color options just in case you hate blue. If your dog needs help cooling down after their midday walks this summer, the Green Pet Cool Pet Pad is an easy pick.
To find the best dog cooling mats, I got my hands on five of the most popular and put them through a series of real-world tests. I ran multiple cooling trials, weighed them and also let my dogs relax on each of them to find the best. Here's every test I ran.
Performance
Cooling power: I prepared each mat according to manufacturer instructions, then placed them outside on a sunny sidewalk for one hour. I measured the temperature of the mat with a temperature gun every 15 minutes. I also filled a water bottle with hot water, placed the bottle on each mat. After 15 minutes, I measured the temperature of the water itself using a meat thermometer to see how much the mat cooled the water.
Portability: I folded each mat as small as I could, weighed it and packed it in a tote bag to see how easy each would be to carry around.
Ease of use: I followed the instructions for each mat to see how easy or difficult it was to prepare and use.
Durability: I rubbed each mat on concrete 10 times and took note of any damage or scratching.
Design
Cleaning and care: I researched any and all care instructions and cleaned each mat myself according to those instructions.
Sizing: I researched how many sizes each mat came in and if the sizes were appropriate for all kinds of dogs.
Warranty: I researched each brand's warranty and ranked them.
Dog cooling mats and pads help cool down your dog with some simple science. 'There are different types of cooling mats based on how they accomplish the goal of heat transfer. Some mats contain a gel material that acts like a heat sink, trapping heat from the dog's body and then transferring it to the environment, creating a cool, refreshing surface to lie on,' said Dr. Brian Collins, a veterinarian with the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center.
From my product testing, I found that water-filled mats get colder, since you can fill them with ice-cold water from your faucets, but they're much harder to set up and use than their gel-filled counterparts. However, it's important to think about when and how you want to use your cooling mat before buying one. If you intend on leaving the pad in a semipermanent spot and have easy access to a hose, water-based mats might be the better pick. On the other hand, if you know you want to bring your cooling mat around town or on road trips, the superior portability of gel mats is hard to beat.
'You should try to find a style and model that your dog will use, is effective for your situation, is easily cleaned and [is] safe,' Collins said. 'Most cooling mats will not contain products that are toxic to your dog, but since some dogs love to chew or dig, it's important to confirm that whatever you choose doesn't contain anything harmful.'
Collins also said that some dogs may like the feel of one type of pad over another, and in my testing, I found that to be true. The water-filled mats were not only harder to set up but they also felt like a water bed, which my dogs didn't find very comfortable.
'Cooling mats can be a great extra tool to help keep dogs comfortable in warm weather, but it is also important to consider other means of cooling as well, such as shade when outdoors, fans (inside or out), a cool house or air-conditioning,' Collins said. 'Be aware of the signs that dogs exhibit when they become too warm, undertake measures to cool them off and when to seek veterinary attention.'
Arf Pets Cooling Gel Mat for Dogs
Very similar to our winner, the Arf Pets cooling gel mat is a great alternative if it's on sale or if the Green Pet pad is sold out.
The Arf Pets Cooling Mat is extremely similar to our winner, having similar performance and portability scores. And that makes sense because Arf Pets is an authorized licensee of the cooling technology patented by Green Pet. If our winning mat is ever sold out, or if this one is on sale, it's a great buy to help your pup stay cool in the heat.
Green Pet Chillz Gel Mat
This mat felt cooler to the touch than thinner mats, but its softer gel can be slippery. I liked the feel of this mat a lot, and while it performed similarly to the thinner gel mats in my temperature tests, to me, it felt slightly cooler because of the larger pockets of gel. However, those gel pockets were quite soft, which made them a slipping hazard in my house. I unsuspectingly stepped on the mat a couple of times while walking around and almost lost my balance. For this reason, this mat fell in my rankings, but it might be a good option if you use it in a low-traffic area.
K&H Pet Products Cool Bed III
I thought both of the water-filled mats were too much of a hassle to use, but if you want the extra cooling power, I'd go with this option. Both water-filled mats I tested were a pain to fill up. They need too much water to fill with a pitcher, but it's difficult and awkward to fill them up in the tub. However, if you can actually get them filled with cold water, they can cool your dog a lot faster than gel mats in general. I liked this one more than the K&H Pet Products Cooling Mat because it has an air valve that lets you squeeze all the air out before using it.
K&H Pet Products Coolin Pet Pad
The water mats were not only hard to fill but they felt like water beds, and my dogs didn't like the uneven sensation. This bed is similar to the Cool Bed III, except it doesn't have an air valve, which makes it harder to remove any excess air before use. When filled with cold water, it outperformed the gel mats, but it gets so heavy when it's full that it's a pain to move around. Plus, my dogs didn't like the unsteady feeling when lying on any of the water mats.
The following FAQs have been answered by Dr. Brian Collins, a veterinarian with the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center.
How do cooling mats for dogs work?
How do cooling mats for dogs work?
'Cooling mats typically work by transferring heat away from the dog's body,' Collins said. 'On warm days, we often find our dogs trying to do this on their own — by lying in dirt or on hard surfaces rather than on softer surfaces such as carpeting, furniture or their dog bed. Dogs control their body temperature primarily through the loss of excess heat during panting. Cooling mats can complement panting by allowing for the loss of body heat through the mat itself.'
Is it safe for dogs to sleep overnight on a cooling mat?
Is it safe for dogs to sleep overnight on a cooling mat?
'For most dogs, this will not be a problem,' Collins said. 'However, with smaller dogs, dogs with underlying medical problems or dogs with mobility issues, it might not be ideal for them to be on a cooling mat all night without periodic monitoring to prevent them from becoming too cold or reducing blood flow to one area for too long. However, most dogs will move around regularly or move off the mat when they no longer need it.'
Where is the best place to store a cooling mat for dogs?
Where is the best place to store a cooling mat for dogs?
'It's ideal to follow the manufacturer's instructions, but it's good to store the mat in a cooler location versus in direct sun or warm rooms so that it is cool when your dog needs it,' Collins said.
For this article, we consulted the following experts to gain their professional insights.
Dr. Brian Collins, veterinarian with the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center
CNN Underscored thoroughly tests the products in our testing guides and provides full transparency about how we test them. We have a skilled team of writers and editors who have many years of testing experience and ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. We talk to top experts when relevant to make certain we are testing each product accurately, recommending only the best products and considering the pros and cons of each item.
For this article, outdoors, sustainable living and pets editor Kai Burkhardt spoke to a veterinarian to get the lowdown on dog cooling mats and how they work. To test the mats, Burkhardt spent several days with each option and ran regimented tests alongside his two dogs to find the best one.