Summer is a fun time – we love to hang out with our friends, family, and of course, our furry friends. However, summer can pose threats to the health and safety of our dogs and cats.
It is important to avoid dangerous situations to keep your pets as safe as possible but with a few precautions for your pet’s safety, summer’s a great time of year for him too!
Here are some safety measures to take over the summer with your pets:
Be mindful of the heat
Plan to take your dogs for their walks during the cooler hours of the day, like early morning or evening. Keep exercise to a minimum in the heat and always provide fresh water. If you feel it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your dogs.
Check the asphalt
Remember, asphalt absorbs heat, and that black pavement can scorch your dog’s tender feet. Some pet parents like to put shoes or boots on their dogs to protect their feet, others just avoid the pavement. If you place your hand on the pavement and it’s too hot for you, yep, it’s too hot for your pooch.
Offer healthy, refreshing snacks
Just like we love our popsicles and ice pops, our four-legged friends love a good refreshing treat, too. You can freeze fruits like blueberries and bananas for your pup either alone or in cups of water for them to lick outside.
Leave them home when you run your errands
Even a minute or two in a hot car can be deadly for a pet. Heat stroke can happen fast. Never leave a pet in a parked car.
If the air temperature outside is 90 degrees, it only takes ten minutes to reach 109 and 30 minutes to reach 124 degrees. In less than 15 minutes, pets can succumb to heatstroke.
Keep your flat-faced or elderly pets inside
Flat-faced pets like Persian cats, pugs, and bulldogs are susceptible to overheating due to their facial structure. Elderly pets and those with other health issues have more trouble in the heat, so let them stay inside during the hot, humid days of summer.
Know the signs of overheating
Warmer temperatures put dogs at more risk for heat-related illness such as heat exhaustion, sunstroke or hyperthermia. A number of factors bump up the risk for some dogs, for example: large size, thick or long coat, flat-faced, overweight, or older dogs and those with underlying health conditions such as dehydration or breathing issues.
Signs of distress include heavy panting, tiredness, confusion, drooling, even collapsing. If you’re concerned about heatstroke in your pet, do not delay – he needs to be cooled down immediately – move him to the shade, provide a cool floor in air-conditioning or fans, offer water, cool water sponge bath focusing on neck and tummy. Most importantly, talk to your vet.
Play in the hose
An easy way to keep your pet cool while running out their energy is by letting them have a small pool to roll around in or a little sprinkler to play in.
Flea and tick/heartworm prevention
We see an increase in those little critters during the warmer months, so be sure to keep your pets on their heartworm and flea and tick prevention.
Be snake aware
Summer is snake season and it just takes one curious sniff to get a bite. Keep your pets out of overgrowth or bushes, that’s where snakes may love to hide. Be aware that snakes love to soak up that asphalt heat and often are basking on the roads after dark. Take a light with you for nighttime walks so you don’t stumble over a snake.
