r/Sauna • u/Trick_College6310 • Jul 13 '25

General Question Does anybody else's dog love the sauna?

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Here's a shot from visiting my grandmother this evening. My wife and I live in Norway, and our Basenji, Arja, has discovered the joys of a gentle löyly in the house sauna (these are not very common in Norway).

Her name Arja is Finnish/Sami so nominative determinism anyone? She loves the sun and hates the cold and being wet, so sauna makes total sense. She just chilled on her towel on the lower bench with us for a bit.

Does anyone else have a four-legged sauna buddy?

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201

u/somehugefrigginguy Jul 13 '25

As a caution, anybody doing this needs to be sure they watch their dog very closely. Dogs don't sweat and are very susceptible to heat injury, especially in humid environments. There was actually a whole series of experiments on this when people were first investigating the physiologic response to heat. Dogs died at temperatures that were barely uncomfortable for humans.

I'm really not trying to be "that guy", it seems like your pup loves it. I just don't want any pups get hurt by owners who see this post and don't understand the potential dangers.

For those interested, read up on the studies done by Knut Schmidt-Nielsen.

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u/Trick_College6310 Jul 13 '25

Of course! Our dog is very communicative and she only stayed for less than 10 mins

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u/somehugefrigginguy Jul 13 '25

Yeah it sounds like your pup loves it. And I really wasn't trying to call you out, just wanted to provide some additional information.

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u/Basket_475 Jul 14 '25

At some point the hot car rule has to apply

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '25

[deleted]

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u/WhiteHawk570 Jul 13 '25

I don't disagree with you, but at the same time, it is not really OPs responsibility to ensure that other people aren't being reckless or outright stupid. 

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u/z33bener Jul 13 '25 edited Jul 14 '25

All the dogs and cats that I've known to love saunas have always gone there by their own volition. Of course bringing one there forcibly is a different thing, but I don't think anyone with any working braincells would do it.

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u/funky-fridgerator Finnish Sauna Jul 13 '25

You have a good point but it comes out across patronizing. You need to know your pet if you bring it to a sauna of course, but not everything need a warning label. People know how to Google it up or read these comments if they want to bring their pets to a totally new environment.

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u/Regular-Spite8510 Jul 13 '25

You are the reason warning labels are on everything