It is so important to keep pets safe anytime of the year. We would like to thank Dr. Mitch Foster with Carolina Virginia Anima Hospital for these important summer safety tips for the pets.
Summertime safety pet tips!
By Dr. Mitch Foster, Carolina Virginia Animal Hospital
Welcome to summertime and our high temperatures and humidity. I am beginning to wonder if back in the winter I should have been complaining about how cold it was and wishing for warmer weather. Now as with people, it is an important to keep animal safety on your mind. Higher temperatures pose all sorts of risks to your pets, so it is important to find ways to keep them cool.
Some dogs are more susceptible to heat issues than others due to age, weight, breed and other health factors, so you should consider these factors when deciding how to ensure your pet’s safety in hot weather.
- Dogs who are outdoors on a warm day should ALWAYS have access to shade and a bowl of clean water. Don’t force your dog to exercise on hot days and consider taking a day off, reschedule activities for the cooler times of day, or consider a swim rather than a jog.
- We all know that we should never leave our pets in a car. Not even with the car running and air conditioner on. On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels. On an 85-degree day, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees. Your pet may suffer irreversible organ damage or die.
- Many people like to take their pets on trips with them but there are precautions we should take to keep them safe. Bring a water bowl so you can fill it at pit stops along the way. Not all cars have good airflow to the back seat or seat wells where your pet might spend their time so keep a close eye on them and adjust airflow as needed.
- Do not tie your pet in a place with no shade. Also, remember that even if they are tied in the shade, often pets can get tangled up in other structures and be stuck in the direct sun. Remember that certain body parts are more sensitive to sun like: ears, noses, and newly clipped areas. Tree shade and tarps are ideal because they don’t obstruct air flow. Doghouses can actually make things worse.
- Hot temperatures can also cause significant thermal injuries to pet’s feet as solid surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, stone and sand can get extremely hot. Test these areas with your own bare feet. If it is too hot for your feet, then it is too hot for your pet.
- Fans don’t provide significant cooling for pets. Pets respond to heat differently from humans. Humans perspire and can get cooled down by fans that increase evaporation. Dogs sweat primarily through their feet and not their bodies so fans don’t cool off pets as effectively as they do people.
Thank you Dr. Foster for these tips on how to keep our pets safe this summer!