HONOLULU, Hawaii: Roses are in full bloom, sunflowers are kissing the blue sky. Butterflies and golden dragonflies are flying happily. Skirts are getting shorter, shorts are back in season. Children are selling lemonade. Everyone loves summer, right?. Well, no. Summer can be a dangerous time for pets.
Pet owners are no different to anyone else in loving summer. This is the season to bask in the sun and enjoy its golden glow. It is a season meant to be enjoyed by all - the young and the old, girls and boys, and even our four-legged furry friends. Pets, especially dogs, love to go on trips with their family wherever they go - even if it means risking their lives.
Risking their lives? Yes. That heavy doggy panting with a lolling tongue may look cute, but it doesn't always mean that your canine is giving you a big, fat, juicy grin. It is a sign of your dog overheating, and in extreme cases is a sign of impending canine heatstroke. Too much heat could cause Fido to fall unconscious, suffer brain damage, and and occasionally make that one-way trip to doggy heaven.
So before taking your pet out into the hot sun, take some extra precautions to safeguard your beloved pooch during the dog days of summer. Below are some tips on keeping your pet cool on hot days:
1. Locked car heat trap: Never ever leave your dog inside a parked car. Even if the car windows are left slightly open and the car is parked in the shade, temperatures can rise to dangerous levels in just a matter of minutes. On an 85-degree day, it can reach 102 degrees inside a parked car with the windows cracked in just 10 minutes. That's not a lot of time, but it gets worse. After only half-an-hour, the temperature can rise to 120 degrees or higher. Making that "one-minute" stop to a drugstore can turn your car to a furnace and literally cook your pet alive.
2. Water, water, everywhere: Have cool and clean drinking water everywhere, every time. Make sure to check and refill your pet's water bowl regularly. For an added treat, dissolve some stock cubes into water and freeze for a frozen meat-flavoured treat, or even give them a doggy ice cream once in a while. If you and your pet are outdoors, take a thermos filled with cool water.
3. Don't walk in the heat: Exercise is good, but not on hot and humid afternoons. A walk or run with Fido should be held either in the early morning or late evening. Asphalt and cement heat up quickly in extreme sunlight and can burn your pets' paws. Would you run barefoot in the street in a hot afternoon?
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“On an 85-degree day, it can reach 102 degrees inside a parked car with the windows cracked in just 10 minutes. After only half-an-hour, the temperature can rise to 120 degrees or higher.”
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4. Keep your pet indoors: Pets, especially dogs, are most at risk during the hottest part of the afternoon. Don't worry about your power bill sky-rocketing due to air-conditioning costs - while a simple electric fan can is enough to keep your furry friend cool on the hottest days, dogs are smart enough to find the coolest part of the house themselves. If dogs are not allowed to stay indoors, make sure that the big fellas are in a shaded area with fresh and clean drinking water.
5. Pooches need sunblock: Just as humans need sunscreen on their skin, dogs need a dab of sunscreen on their noses, ear tips, and belly to prevent sunburn and skin cancer.
6. No frolicking on the beach: That is, if there isn't a shaded area for your pet to lounge in afterwards. If you do decide to take your pet to the beach, be wary of hot sand toasting your pet's paws. If they insist on swimming in the ocean (and who can blame them), make sure to rinse them with fresh water afterwards.
7. Time for a summer fur-do. Take your dog to a groomer and have its fur clipped and untangled. Matted and tangled fur traps heat. Do not, however, shave off their fur. Your dog's fur coat serves as a barrier from the sun's harmful rays. Remember, while it may be cool for balding men to shave it all off, a bald dog is a sorry sight. Remember to choose your groomer carefully.
8.Don't mix dogs and gardening: Summer is a good time to fertilize gardens and mow the lawns. However plant food, insecticides, and fertilizers are fatal to dogs. Keep your canines away from treated areas. Play it safe and keep them away from unknown gardens where there may be plants that are poisonous to your pet.
9. Summer is parasite season: Mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and heartworms are summer's biggest threats to dogs. Consult your veterinarian (or Pet Shed's own Petcyclopedia) for the best options to protect your pet from these blood-sucking little critters.
10. Give them rain: It's good to hose down your pet with water on extremely hot days to lower their temperature and keep them cool.
Happy summer, everyone!
Being inside a locked car is like being inside a microwave oven and its torture
those are great summer tips! thanks pet shed. i never realized how deadly the summer heat can actually be to my furry pal.
summer's a tough time for dogs. i feel sorry for them when i see them panting, lying on their backs to expose their bellies, and sleeping on the kitchen tiles! if summer's hot for us, what more for fur-covered dogs??
that's right. global warming is really taking its toll not only on people but on every living thing. our pets need our help now more than ever.
Summer is an expensive season - aside from keeping the fans on all day and the aircon at night, lots of water's wasted on cooling the pooches. but better safe than sorry. i'd kill myself if something happens to my dogs coz i was too cheap to spend a little.
i've seen my friends' dog collapse because of the heat and it's not a pretty sight. she was a St. Bernard and after taking a walk, she suffered a heat stroke and just died. the best time to walk is very early in the morning or late at night when its cooled.
what this is really is global warming taking its toll on us.. aside from temporary protection against the sun what we should focus on is long term defense against global warming..
what about cats? can i put sunblock on em too?
because of global warming, everybody needs protection from the sun even our pets. it's actually quite frightening to think what our world will be like 10 or 20 years from now.