Home > Dog > Summer & heat

BEFORE THE FIRST 27-DEGREE WEEKEND: WHAT NEEDS TO BE DIFFERENT THIS SUMMER.

Sat. 16 May 2026 | 09:47 — 14,293 👁

By Anne de Vries · Editorial Team

f ☎ ✉

Built for 90 warm days. Not for four heatwaves.

Soft, breathable premium material. Three gel-free layers. Three summers' functional guarantee.


It's mid-May. The weather app has been showing temperatures above 22 degrees for the coming week – your dog's comfort zone ends at 22. You remember last summer: the nightly panting next to the bed, the cooling mat that stopped working after eight weeks, the second one he wouldn't accept, the emergency vet's number you'd taped to the fridge. This summer has to be different. The Alto cooling mat was built precisely for that: 90 to 110 warm days per summer, three-layer construction without gel, soft breathable premium material, three summers' functional guarantee.


These are 10 reasons why the Alto cooling mat should be ordered now, not during the first heatwave:

1. Works from the second he lies down on it.

Do not charge. Do not freeze. Do not fill with water. Alto works with pure physics. A top contact fibre draws heat away from the dog's skin. A pressure-activated core absorbs and dissipates it. A bottom ventilation membrane releases it into the air. As soon as your dog lies on it, the system starts working. When he gets up, it regenerates itself. You don't have to do anything, prepare anything, or think about anything.

2. Built for 90 hot days. Not for four heatwaves.

Most cooling mats on the Dutch market are built for acute emergencies, not for long-term use. They work when the mercury hits 32 degrees, but fail over the course of the season. Alto was designed with the opposite in mind: not for the peaks, but for the baseline. For the 90 to 110 days between April and September when the temperature is above 22 degrees and your dog leaves its comfort zone. That's half the year. It was specifically constructed for precisely that.

3. Soft, breathable premium material.

Soft, breathable premium material is not a marketing term. It means that every yarn, every fibre, every component of the mat has been chosen to feel pleasant against the skin — and that air circulation through the material supports cooling rather than hindering it. Your dog will have five to eight hours of belly contact with the mat in summer – every day, for months. This material was chosen precisely for that.

4. No gel. Nothing to leak. Nothing to swallow.

Every summer, the same threads appear on Dutch dog forums: "Help, my dog chewed on a cooling mat, what now?" In the middle of the night, the manufacturer has no phone number, and nobody knows what's even in the gel. Alto is designed to be gel-free. Three textile layers, pressure-activated function, not a drop of liquid inside. Even if your dog chews off a corner because they feel like it, absolutely nothing happens. No panic at two in the morning. No phone call to the vet.

5. What a night at the emergency vet costs.

A single emergency room visit for heatstroke after 10 PM in Dutch animal clinics costs between 300 and 500 euros. An emergency surgery costs well above that. An overnight stay can reach four figures. Alto is a one-time purchase with a three-summer performance guarantee. Converted per season, you are looking at less than 30 euros per summer – less than a tenth of a single emergency night.

CHECK AVAILABILITY NOW 👉

6. 96 out of 100 dogs voluntarily lie on it in the first week.

This is the most important question every dog owner has in the back of their mind: "Will my dog even accept something like this?" You probably know the answer from your own experience – he left the previous mat after three sniffs. Alto is so finely tuned haptically and thermally that 96 out of 100 dogs will seek it out on their own within the first seven days. It is not forced. It is chosen. And for the 4 out of 100 who don't, you send it back. Free, no form, full purchase price back.

7. Three summers performance guarantee. In writing.

"Before this, we had three mats, all three of which were useless after one summer. Alto is now in its third summer and looks like it did on day one."


"You can immediately feel the material alone. You notice the quality before your dog even touches it."


"I was skeptical about spending more. Now I regret investing that money in the cheap mats I bought before."

8. Wash at 30 degrees in the washing machine. Don't throw away after one summer.

Machine wash at 30 degrees if it has dirt, saliva, or pee spots. No gel that degrades. No filling that shifts. No material that tears from a little scratching.
The mat comes out of the cupboard in April and goes back in September – for at least six summers.

9. Delivery in six business days.

No more waiting six weeks for a package that arrives precisely when the heatwave has already been over for two weeks. If you order today, it will be there this weekend.

10. Ordered today means ready for use before the mercury rises.

Check the weather forecast for the next ten days. If it already shows days above 22 degrees – and in most Dutch cities, it does – your dog has already exceeded its comfort zone. At 24 degrees, its body starts expending energy to combat the heat. At 28 degrees, its panting mechanism fails. Those who order now will enter the summer with a tool that works. Those who wait will discover during the first hot weekend that their delivery is still en route.

 

"Before this, we had two different mats. She ignored the first one, and the second one broke after one summer. With Alto, she started lying on it herself after three days. She's been on it every afternoon since May. The panting phase after her walk is noticeably shorter."

— Sandra K., owner of a 9-year-old French bulldog, Amsterdam

 

To the Alto cooling mat ☀️

☀️ No risk this summer: 30-day money-back guarantee + 3 summers performance guarantee 🇳🇱

If your dog does not accept the mat within the first week, return it. Return shipping at our expense. Full purchase price refunded. No form. No questions.

⚠️ Delivery 6-8 business days

✅ Step 1: Choose the size (S, M, L, XL for large breeds such as Bernese Mountain Dog, St. Bernard, Newfoundland)

✅ Step 2: Add to cart

✅ Step 3: Receive in 6 business days, lay it down, and let your dog find its spot

Don't let your dog go through what it did last summer again. Turn its warm hours back into calm hours. Order the mat now and give it back what we have taken from its life due to our modern homes – a cool floor that doesn't radiate heat. Because every dog deserves a place where it doesn't have to endure summer, but can experience it.

🔥 A dog that breathes calmly at night is a dog that gets through the day well. And an owner who sleeps through the night is a different person in the morning.

CHECK AVAILABILITY NOW 👉

6-8 business days delivery time
3 summers functional guarantee · 30-day money-back guarantee


The Alto cooling mat is not available at bol.com, not in pet shops, not at discount stores. Exclusively direct from the manufacturer via alto.com.

Check availability →