Every season presents its own set of perils for pets. Summertime is fun time and translates into more time spent outdoors. While our pets love summer just as much as we do, they need a little extra consideration to stay safe and healthy.
– Never leave your pet in the car. Even if you are only going to be gone for a minute, temperatures will quickly soar to dangerous levels.
– Make sure your pets have access to shade when outside and can stay cool. If they like the water, a baby pool is a great way to cool off during the day. Just make sure your pet can get in and out safely, or supervise playtime whenever the pool has water in it.
– Keep paws in mind. When the temperature is high, asphalt and pavement are hot, hot, hot! Take walks during cooler parts of the day. If you must walk during any of the hotter portion of the day, keep to grassy areas as much as possible to protect your pet’s paws. This is also good advice if you’re walking in early evening as the asphalt and sidewalks may not have cooled enough from the heat of the day yet. Check the temperature with your hand or bare feet. If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your pet!
– Watch the humidity. If the humidity is too high, pets will be unable to cool themselves by panting and their temperature will skyrocket quickly.
– Believe it or not, your pets can sunburn, especially those with short or light-colored coats. Even indoor pets can get sunburned through a sunny window. There are pet-safe sunscreens available that you can use to help prevent your pet getting burned.
– Keep your pet protected from fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Many of the diseases these parasites carry, like Lyme disease, can be caught by humans, too!
Enjoying the great outdoors isn’t hard, it just requires some thought and attention, and you’ll both do fine.