Warmer Weather Safety

The Healthy Bark

With a lot of us starting to see warmer temperatures, this is a reminder to keep your pets and your self well hydrated. Animals cannot cool their bodies like we can. They do not sweat, that is why you see them pant, it is how they cool their self. As they become more over heated they pant harder, which than raises their heart rate. This is how pets can have a heat stroke much faster than we can.
Taking your pets out for exercise in the warmer months should be done early in the morning before the heat and humidity becomes to high. Watch for signs of distress. If you pet is over weight, work up to longer walks over time, do not push them especially in the heat.

Taking your pet with you for car rides while you run errands may seem like a great idea since they love to go with you, however leaving them in a hot car for even a few minutes can cause great harm, brain damage, and even death. Leaving the windows cracked does nothing to keep the car cool. If it is too hot for you to sit in the car, it is to hot for them! Many states now have laws that make it illegal to leave your pets in the car in warmer months, it has also become legal in some states to be able to break a window to remove a pet from a stressful situation.

The pavement can scorch the bottom of your pets paws and cause severe burns to them. If you walk your pet on sidewalks and pavements during the warmer months, you can equip them with boots that protect their feet.

There are cooling bandannas you can buy that will help keep them cool for summer walks. You wet them, put in the refrigerator to cool, than put them on when you head out the door.

For dogs that like water you can put a kiddie pool in your backyard for them to cool off in, however make sure you empty it and fill with clean water. You do not want to give mosquitoes a breeding area.

Cooling treats on a hot summers day is not only for us. My dogs loved getting frozen spare ribs to gnaw on while we were out on the back porch. The also had cots to crawl up on that kept airflow beneath them. I set up mist tubes on my porch that they adored laying near.

For dogs with hair getting the summer cuts will help keep them cool. If your dog is fair skinned you can put lightweight dresses on them to help stop sunburn that are made for the summer heat. For dogs with double coats it is NEVER advised to shave them down. Their undercoat is there for a reason and shaving it can cause heat stroke in the summer. It helps cool them in the summer and warm them in the winter. Removing that undercoat can cause skin problems, over heating, sunburn, skin cancer, and numerous other issues. When the coat tries to come back in it must go through a process to rebuild, just like a forest has underbrush to balance out the ecosystem, the undercoat helps balance out our pets cooling/heating system.  While the undercoat is repairing from being shaved it would be like us wearing thermal clothing to go do gardening, we would pass out from the heat being trapped, and become dehydrated very fast.

Keep plenty of fresh water available for your pets. Put out extra water bowls, make sure they have access to water when outside. Feed foods that have moisture such as raw diets, instead of kibble which depletes your pets water inside their body.